Public art helps jolt Atlanta’s street life out of its zombified stupor
Animating the city is a tough job, but ATL artists are willing to do it
- Tara-Lynne Pixley
- Luminocity Atlanta’s Hinterland attempted to create “an entirely new way for people to experience downtown Atlanta.”
As far as Atlanta’s street life goes, it’s barely alive.
- http://clatl.com/atlanta/ImageArchives?by=1223504
- Cinqué Hicks
No wonder the producers of the AMC zombie drama “The Walking Dead” chose Atlanta as the setting for a post-apocalyptic dystopia where the only people out in public are either lifeless monsters or heavily armed survivalists.
Thick forests of razor wire, overgrown lots, discarded tires and boarded up buildings can make getting around town an unpleasant chore at best and downright dangerous at worst. There are a few lively mini-environments: Little Five Points or the West End for example. But moving from one to another requires hopscotching through urban wastelands. Even Atlanta’s tonier districts and suburbs sometimes feel less a part of a city than a desert of parking lots surrounded by the homes of people who suffer unforgiving commutes for the privilege of parking in those lots.
Earlier this month, I joined a number of Atlanta’s contemporary art aficionados in a very different kind of city: Miami. That’s where Art Basel, the so-called Super Bowl of the art world, took place in an alternate universe of sunshine, music and high-rolling art deals. And people. Lots and lots of people throughout the city who enlivened the light-filled streets and friendly sidewalks.
It’s not exactly fair to compare Atlanta’s worst stretches to Miami’s best during a global festival. But the contrast does reveal with startling clarity how dysfunctional many of Atlanta’s streetscapes are and, on the other hand, what a city full of vibrant public spaces might look like.