Graffiti Teaches Tolerance

The 8th Grade Students just completed a Graffiti Project that was centered around the following questions:

• Is Graffiti a valid form of artistic or political expression?
• Does Graffiti contribute to a sense that a neighborhood is blighted?
• Can Graffiti be a positive influence on city life, or is it always detrimental?
• Who decided what is good Graffiti, and what is bad?
• Can different sides of the Graffiti debate come to a consensus on its validity?

The objective of this project was for the 8th grade Expressive Arts Students to step into the shoes of a Graffiti Artist to gain a better perspective of the art form in order to make informed judgments whether or not Graffiti is art or vandalism. Students began by investigating Graffiti within their community and the greater Sacramento area. They then selected a word of their choice and created digital graffiti using graffiticreator.net. They used a screenshot of their digital graffiti and replicated the digital graffiti design by hand “stepping into the shoes” of a graffiti artist. Using acrylic paint, students carefully applied blending techniques to create a gradient color effect for their letter designs and layered effects.

This project was a total success with 100% student engagement and effort poured into every last detail or their artwork right down to their artist signature. Student reflections in the form of QR Codes prove that their artistic process has been used to interpret as opposed to judging artistic intention and meaning in original works of art. This project is one example of how art can be used to teach tolerance.