The original Seminole Peace Mural was painted on the side of the 424 Seminole Avenue building in 1985 by David Fichter. It told the story of nonviolent resistance to nuclear weapons and included images of leaders in the 1950’s peace movements including Albert Einstein, Dorothy Day, Bayard Rustin and others who organized against the weapons. Over time the mural faced damage from a vehicle accident and multiple graffiti artists covering the original artwork. The Alliance received a Community Impact Grant from NPU-N to fund the Peace Wall project and intended to recreate a new version of the old Peace Mural in collaboration with property owner Tomas Valenti.
Artist’s Statement
I designed the mural as a pseudo collaboration with Mr. Fichter's artwork from the 80s to be a bit of a time portal to the current through the artistic medium he and I used bringing traditional brush artwork method to modern Graffiti Art interpretation. The subject matter is still based on Fichter’s work that is timeless about Motherhood, intellectual excellence, and social awareness through "peace, love, and unity.”
These are original lyrics from James Brown but serve as a mantra from HipHop Culture and Black Culture where Graffiti Art was born. My Graffiti letters are camouflaged in humanity in which I call "The only Hood I represent now is Fatherhood" as one of the biggest struggles in America is Absentee Fatherism and the allure of street life. My letters depict Fathers of different ethnic backgrounds being in their children’s lives and supporting, loving, and teaching their children.
The colors chosen represent the vibrancy and diversity of L5P. Even though the colors range throughout the color spectrum, the Harmony achieved as they all come together in the mural is a metaphor of the life and people of L5P. I consider myself a Graffiti Artist raised in part in L5P, and I feel that the nature of the mural from the past Fichter version to the Graffiti Mr.Totem version is a sign of the time showcasing progression but not forgetting where we came from in spite of the world around us changing at a rapid pace.
Upon closer look at the wall, Alliance board members realized that part of the current artwork that had been untouched by others was created by a well-respected street artist, Mr. Totem, and saw an opportunity to create a new piece that would bring the history of the 1985 artwork and current street art culture together.
Mr. Totem is a world-renowned graffiti artist and muralist. Self-employed for more than three decades, he is highly sought after for his style and technique, most notably for his pioneering 3D paintings and artistic versatility. He has worked with the City of Atlanta on multiple mural projects, and when the Alliance reached out to him regarding a new piece of artwork in L5P, he was excited to participate.
Today we have a piece of artwork that reflects the L5P community of protest, community activism, street culture, and collaboration in the almost completed Peace Wall Redux. The way this artwork happened in collaboration with the property owner, residents, and the arts community is unique to the way the Alliance works – bringing various groups to the table to create a stronger and more vibrant L5P.