Recently, the BPHS Art Club won an Almanac sponsored contest against five other school districts. The contest was to see who could most creatively transform a regular newspaper dispensing box into a functional work of art.

The newspaper dispensers were set up in the Galleria mall where people could vote by putting coins into the machine. Not only did the public vote, but a panel of local artists scored them.

The BPHS art students turned the newspaper dispenser into the Cathedral of Learning building and had King Kong hanging onto the top of it.

Art teacher Mr. Wallisch oversaw the students while they made the project. They spent an entire month on the project.

Mr. Wallisch said everyone contributed to the idea of the project. At first they were just thinking of doing a building, and brainstormed interesting buildings in Pittsburgh. They decided on the Cathedral of Learning because it’s the largest school house in the western hemisphere. They then thought to put King Kong on the top to represent the movie industry in Pittsburgh.

The final project was about six feet tall, and was made of newspaper, cardboard, wheat paste, plaster of paris, polyurthane, and painted with acrylic paint.

Their award for winning first place was a plaque, a pizza party, and $300. The Galleria will keep the box on display for some time, so you can still check out the award-winning BPHS art!

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