City Will Not Use Any Art From City Sticker Contest
By Chuck Sudo in News on Feb 12, 2012 7:00PM
Caitlin Henehan, Senior, Resurrection High School
Henehan's family informed Mendoza they were withdrawing her design and released a statement that indicated the "unwanted media and public scrutiny and criticism of her artwork" was too much for the Resurrection High School student to handle. Marty and Maria Henehan said in the statement:
“While our daughter truly enjoyed participating in the design contest and was proud to see Chicago select her as the first runner up, what should have been a happy accomplishment in her life has now turned sour.”
Mendoza spokeswoman Kristine Williams said the family reacted to "anonymous criticism" about Caitlin Henehan's artwork, which was supposed to replace the original winning city sticker design of Herbert Pulgar. Pulgar's design was pulled last week after anonymous police blogger "Detective Shaved Longcock" claimed it contained gang symbolism. Mendoza pulled Pulgar's design and said the position of the hands "could be misinterpreted" as gang signs.
Both Pulgar and his art teacher said the position of the hands "Longcock" expertly described as the pitchfork symbol of the Maniac Latin Disciples instead closely resembled a photo Pulgar used as a reference to draw the hands. Mendoza said she would personally buy a $1,000 savings bond for Pulgar, which he would have earned for winning the contest.