Even on his knees, the man is very tall. His dark outline covers most of a 17-story building. He looks up, hands together in what could be prayer. Something is piercing him just below the throat. A beam of light? A drinking straw? This mural has towered above downtown Atlanta for 14 years, leaving a legacy of confusion.
“I tried to understand the meaning, and I cannot find it,” said Jose Anico, standing on the Courtland Street bridge and examining the mural on a recent afternoon.
“It’s about pollution? It’s about the pipe filling up a human with oil?”
East Atlanta’s vibrant street art array gets 4 new and diverse mural projects
His co-worker Tim Phebus gazed across the distance, toward the eastern wall of the Connally Hotel, and studied the enigmatic figure…