For three decades, Atlanta artist R. Land has been the city's unofficial chronicler, creating provocative street art that both celebrates and satirizes the rapidly changing metropolis. His iconic "Pray for ATL" image - featuring reverently folded hands signed "R.L. Ministries" - has become as synonymous with Atlanta as potholes and traffic jams, appearing on walls, telephone poles, and even tattooed on locals' bodies.
The 62-year-old satirist, whose real name reflects his R.L. Ministries signature, has spent his career as Atlanta's "arch satirist," creating a wild menagerie of cartoon characters and pop culture-inspired artwork. His colorful works feature an eclectic cast including snails, alligators, bumblebees, ants, birds, Speckles the cat, Little Bunny Foo Foo, Scout the Ham Cat, and the infamous "Loss Cat" - a wanted poster for what he calls "the most reckless feline of them all" and his most licensed artwork to date.
Land's artistic style draws inspiration from an unlikely mix of sources: Mad magazine's irreverent humor, Disney's cartoon aesthetics, B-grade horror films, and the carnivalesque novels of authors Carl Hiaasen and Harry Crews. This unique blend has made his work a beloved source of local pride, helping Atlanta maintain its grit even as generic franchises, gentrification, and skyrocketing home prices threaten to erode the city's character.
Over his 30-year Atlanta career, Land has been commissioned for numerous high-profile projects. He painted a Lexus at Ford Fry's Attack of the Killer Tomato Festival, created countless murals throughout the city, invented cartoon characters for Adult Swim, and contributed artwork to various Hollywood films. His street art provocations like "Pray for ATL," "Yuppie Ghetto," and his "Georgia Music Land" map have established him as a local legend.
The city that shaped Land's career is now honoring him with a comprehensive retrospective. "Landmarks: Inside the World of R. Land" runs through September 7 at Atlanta Contemporary, showcasing three decades of career highlights and influences. The exhibition features notable pieces including a photograph of André Benjamin in front of a praying hands mural, a 3D folk-art-inspired devil in teal underwear inscribed with Howard Finster-style text frenzy, a wooden cutout of a demonic-looking Little Bunny Foo Foo, and a display case of merchandise.
Curator Floyd Hall, the museum's former executive director and longtime Land enthusiast, considers the show a milestone for Atlanta Contemporary. "This is an artist who has had a profound impact on the city," Hall explained, noting his satisfaction at watching a remarkably diverse crowd - from corporate executives to hipsters - enthusiastically meet Land at the exhibition's opening.
The devotion to Land's work runs deep among Atlanta residents. Doug Walker of Roswell has been collecting Land's pieces for three decades, including a framed print featuring comedian David Cross depicted as "a personified cross carrying a sword in one hand and the severed head of the devil in the other - it's so hilarious and so macabre at the same time, but it's also very Atlanta." Walker loaned his piece "Digital Character Watches," featuring alligators, bug-eyed blue birds, and toothless Peter Pans, to the Atlanta Contemporary exhibition.
Walker appreciates Land's subversive approach to transforming Disney's saccharine characters into swamp creatures. "It can be brilliant and funny and odd all at the same time," Walker said. "He just gets this city." Similarly, Candler Park resident and retired financial advisor Jody Owenby began purchasing Land's work in 1995 and now owns approximately 24 pieces, though he's run out of display space. When hiring an interior designer, Owenby stipulated she could make any changes except one: "The crazy art stays."
Though Atlanta is his "heart home," Land's countercultural sensibility was forged in his native Jacksonville, Florida. At 18, he launched his art career creating hand-painted, silk-screened clothing that friends wore to New Wave and punk clubs to attract potential buyers. He displayed his paintings in Jacksonville clubs, hair salons, and restaurants. His father was astounded when Land sold a painting for $600, telling him, "You sure scammed them!"
For six years, Land balanced art creation with random jobs at places like NAPA Auto Parts while partying and earning his associate degree in communications at the University of North Florida. His work retains a distinctly "Weird Florida" aesthetic, characterized by wacky roadside signage complete with intentional misspellings like "Hot Boil Penust," the hillbilly wit of tourist-shop trinkets, and references to old Florida attractions like Gatorland and Weeki Wachee mermaid shows.
Florida maintains its grip on Land, as he splits time between North Florida, where most of his family including his wife live, and Atlanta, where his brother Robbie Land serves as a senior lecturer in film at Georgia State University. His first professional Atlanta venture in 1981 involved a short-lived AmericasMart booth selling irreverent greeting cards. "They didn't go over especially well," he recalled. "I was super green."
Land made the leap to full-time Atlanta residency in 1994, establishing his reputation by plastering roadways with Loss Cat and Yuppie Ghetto signs, along with the ubiquitous "Pray for Atlanta" hands that have been tattooed on numerous Atlantans' chests and forearms. The piece represents less a nod to Southern piety and more a call to activism "because I felt like the city was losing its soul," he explained, referencing the endless strip malls, parking decks, and cheaply constructed residential developments sprouting across the city.
While he occasionally still creates public pieces, Land does so less frequently due to his current celebrity status reducing the mystery. Testament to his staying power, he has maintained a studio off Edgewood Avenue for 26 years and takes pride in making a living from his art in Atlanta. His last traditional job was in 1988 as a designer at a Florida advertising firm.
"If there's any achievement in my life that's worthy of great praise, or something that I would want to have on my tombstone, it would be just like, 'Holy s---. I haven't had to have a job,'" he said, laughing. However, he emphasizes his motivation extends beyond financial gain. "I'm not in this to enrich myself. I want to have a conversation with the community and I want to make a living when I do it."
As Land has evolved as an artist, Atlanta has transformed alongside him. Longtime residents remember when the city was a flyover afterthought, perpetually overshadowed by Los Angeles and New York. Owenby, who moved to Atlanta in 1988 from Athens - home to Pylon, the B-52s, and R.E.M. - recalls, "I can tell you from firsthand experience, there was nothing cool about Atlanta at that time."
That perception has dramatically shifted as Atlanta has become a magnet for young people and established its influence in music, culture, film, and politics. Travelers to major cities like Tokyo, New York, or Chicago now witness a sea change in how Atlanta is perceived - suddenly, the city has credibility and cultural cachet.
Owenby believes Land played a crucial role in Atlanta's transformation: "[He] put his stamp on Atlanta as it was becoming cool." Land's affection for his adopted city remains unwavering. "This place is special in a way that's unlike other places. You can't quit it, you still want to be a part of it," he reflected, admitting he's equally content working on art and eating a peanut butter sandwich at his Poncey Highland home as he once was carousing in search of the next party.
Despite all the changes, his fundamental relationship with Atlanta endures. "It's always felt like the center of the universe to me," Land concluded. The retrospective exhibition continues through September 7, with a closing night party and artist talk scheduled for 6-9 p.m. on September 5 at Atlanta Contemporary, located at 535 Means Street NW.
