Mister Totem
April 18, 2021: Atlanta native Emir Alighanbari (better known as Mister Totem) began his long graffiti writing career at the dawn of the 1990’s. As a teenager he developed his skills working with Tats Cru, a prestigious group of muralists from Brooklyn. In 1995, Mister Totem was on the vanguard of painting in the now famous Krog Street Tunnel. As a reaction to gentrification, other artists, followed his lead and now the Krog Street Tunnel serves as an impromptu art gallery, message board, and tourist attraction. In Totem’s early days of commercial work, his main patrons included restaurants, sometimes paying the artist with meals. Inspired by the people he has met, the experiences he has lived and his favorite music such as chill hop, Mister Totem has become one of Atlanta’s most widely displayed and most iconic artists. Today the artist is still a graffiti writer, and also a designer, a commercial muralist, the owner of a design studio, and a car enthusiast hosting vintage auto meets. He is also a husband and proud father of four boys who loves to show off his sons’ dancing and skateboarding skills on social media.
Mister Totem uses various media, but he is best known for his master spray can skills. He works in both 2D and highly complex 3D styles. His works are seen all over Atlanta ranging from graffiti so cryptic, you might not even recognize it as graffiti to beautiful story-telling murals. In his younger years, the artist was fascinated by the interaction of two things that normally don’t go together: lettering and machines. Over the years, he has developed this unique juxtaposition into his now signature style which he calls “Mechanical Battle Serif”. Totem’s Tactical Dreadnaught Lettermech pieces featuring “TOTEM” spelled out in Mechanical Battle Serif letters resemble an armored steampunk battle spider. Mister Totem sometimes represents the letter “O” of a Tactical Dreadnaught piece as a baby or small child operating the machine. This symbolizes the tender small child inside all of us surrounded by the armor which we all build up around ourselves over the years. His “Body Style” pieces feature fanciful characters with their bodies contorted into the letters of his name. Always be sure to take in the background of each piece because Totem creates a unique and detailed world hosting his weaponized letterforms.
One of Mister Totem’s most beloved characters is his friendly ghost called Mister Fangs or the Geist. Around Atlanta, Mister Fangs is just as ubiquitous as Totem’s graffiti and murals. The Geist sometimes wears the normal ghost’s sheet, and sometimes is decked out in imaginative costumes. The color Mister Fangs sports can be indicative of its mood or context. For example, white is a color associated with memory, so Mr. fangs in an abandoned location might be white. A yellow Mr. Fangs might be feeling playful, and a red Mr. Fangs might be mad. When you see the Geist interacting with a fried chicken leg, it symbolizes the South. Of course, no loveable character would be complete without merchandise. You can get your Geist Merch on the Geistown website.
Mister Totem has been invited by governments, events, and organizations to paint in countries all over the world including Japan, Switzerland, New Zealand, Germany, and France. Corporate clients include names such as Nike, Pandora, Xbox, PSP, Coca-Cola, Red Bull and The Red Cross. His list of private collectors reads like a Who’s Who of the celebrity world. The artist’s international acclaim is further evidenced by his more than 100,000 followers on Instagram.
Link to Mister Totem’s Instagram and website:
https://www.instagram.com/mistertotem2/
https://www.geisttown.com/