(January 13, 2003) -- A LB Dept. of Parks, Recreation and Marine
sponsored event -- described in a press release as a "mural
collaboration and exhibit" featuring "the top 14 women graffiti
artists of Southern California" presenting "the art of a new
generation" -- has generated further controversy as the
President/Exec. Dir. of a national
anti-graffiti group blasted the City of LB's actions in
a mass email to his readers.
Responding to the story first reported on
LBReport.com, Randy Campbell, President and Executive
Director of NoGraf Network, Inc. (a 501(c)(3) non profit group),
said the City of LB "is helping promote graffiti by showcasing it at
the same time as the city pays for [its] clean up" and vowed no
longer to promote the city of LB and its past work.
Noting that he had "preached for years about a wonderful
anti-graffiti program run by the city of Long Beach, California" and
promoted LB's anti-graffiti program in interviews, Mr.
Campbell said in a mass emailing to readers of the group's web site:
"Never again will I promote this city and all they
have done in the past. They join the ranks of the lost souls
behind them that tried and failed in their ability to be
responsible adults. All that money spent on an annual basis to
clean graffiti, is now just thrown away and wasted."
The NoGraf Network web site (www.nograffiti.com), which describes
anti-graffiti efforts worldwide, says it considers graffiti exhibits
sponsored by art museums and municipalities "to be both irrational
and irresponsible." It also contends such exhibits have acted as
accelerants, resulting in increased vandalism.