Last month, Georgia Department of Transportation crews helped neighborhood volunteers remove splotches of gray paint from a defaced mural.
On Tuesday, they returned to University Avenue, painting over the 240-foot mural they just helped save.
It marked the latest chapter in Atlanta’s contentious relationship with street art that has played out over the past six months. In August, controversy over a mural at the intersection of McDonough Boulevard and Sawtell Avenue, picturing a woman in various state of undress, was painted over after some residents complained about the nudity.
“The art community is very discouraged,” said Monica Campana, director of the nonprofit Living Walls Conference, which commissioned both murals. “I heard from a couple of artists already saying what’s the point if their work is just going to be painted over.”
This time, officials said, the issue was more about procedure than content, though it appears unlikely the University Avenue mural — located just off I-85 in the Pittsburgh community — would have been covered up had it not featured imagery some termed as “demonic.”
GDOT spokeswoman Jill Goldberg said the agency painted over the mural — depicting a man with a reptilian head emerging from a dystopian city setting — at the request of Atlanta City Councilwoman Cleta Winslow, who complained that Living Walls didn’t obtain the necessary permits.
Campana said Carey Limousine, thinking it owned the wall, approved the mural by French artist Pierre Roti. The wall actually belongs to the state DOT, though Goldberg said the agency had no plans to cover the mural prior to the complaints from some city officials.
“It’s all politics,” said Campana, adding that most in the Pittsburgh community supported the project.
Indeed, when the mural was painted over in November by former state representative Douglas Dean and three other activists, dozens of residents from the surrounding neighborhoods showed up with sponges and dishwashing liquid trying to preserve it.
But in the end, Dean — who was not charged despite having no authority to cover up the mural — and his supporters won out.
“There were multiple wrongs,” said state Rep. Ralph Long, a Sylvan Hills Democrat. “Living Walls didn’t have the proper permit, and the City of Atlanta let a vandal go without any penalty.”
Campana acknowledged Living Walls could do a better job engaging the community where its murals are painted but said art can’t be neutered.
“Art is supposed to be challenging,” she said. “We want to put thought-provoking art on the street.
“I don’t see us painting flowers or butterflies anytime soon.”
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