Is it vandalism or is it art? Can't it be both?
Atlanta has a reasonably active graffiti community but one image stands out from all the rest: Mr. Fangs.
While the Krog Street tunnel might be the easiest place to find him, you've seen him all over town. Usually he is in the form of a laughing ghost but sometimes he shows other emotions or brings along a leg of fried chicken or a birthday cake. If Atlanta had a mascot (Izzy doesn't count), Mr. Fangs would be it.
To the untrained eye, he might just look like a ghost but it goes deeper than that. Through both the emotional appearance and color of Mr. Fangs, a message is being sent to the world.
See a blue one? Well, that means Mr. Fangs creator "Totem" felt a bit guilty about putting Mr. Fang there. Check the website for more insight into the various colors of Mr. Fangs.
Speaking of Totem, though he is credited with the creation of Mr. Fangs, the ghost has taken on a life of its own. Some question if Totem is truly the creator of Mr. Fangs or just a conduit through which Mr. Fangs is able to make himself seen to the world.
Sadly Mr. Fangs appears to be dying. He isn't around as much as he use to be. Is he taking a vacation, sick, or being gentrified out of the city. Who knows? What I do know is that it is getting harder and harder to find new appearances. Perhaps Mr. Fangs actually is the soul of old Atlanta, which is slowly fading away.
Minus half a star for the vandalism aspect of Mr. Fangs. There is no way around it, the majority of the places that Mr. Fangs calls home did not invite him. There is value in the social commentary and he does do a reasonably good job of not popping up in places that would create a danger (such as covering an entire stop sign) or are in active use but nevertheless, his presence is usually a form of vandalism.
While I am not part of the crowd that romanticizes what Atlanta was in the 70s and 80s, it will be sad if there is no place for Mr. Fangs in the renewed city that is currently being created.
