JANA SUMMERS An ad for "Pearl Harbor" has replaced the
liberty mural on the Westwood Medical Plaza building.
By Dexter Gauntlett
Daily Bruin Contributor
On Feb. 26, artist Mike McNeilly put up a 12-story vinyl
supergraphic on the west wall of the Westwood Medical Plaza,
advertising the Touchstone Pictures film “Pearl Harbor”
““ and Friday the city officially ordered it to be
removed.
The work is the latest in a series of “larger than
life” graphics that have been a source of controversy for
Westwood and a thorn in the side of Los Angeles fifth district
councilman Mike Feuer.
According to the Code Enforcement Bureau’s chief Dave
Keim, the supergraphic was installed without a permit. An order to
comply was issued Mar. 2, and the the owner of the building, Jon
Muller, has until Mar. 7 to comply.
“The graphic is oversized by definition, and they must
remove it,” Keim said.
Failure to comply could lead to a possible misdemeanor resulting
in a $1,500 penalty or up to six months in jail.
McNeilly and Muller were not available for comment after
repeated phone calls.
According to Friends of Westwood President and former UCLA
professor Laura Lake, the supergraphic directly violates a new city
ordinance passed two months ago.
“It’s not about artistic representation, it’s
about advertising. It’s about greed. Now it’s really
illegal.” said Lake.
Lake and city councilman Mike Feuer fought McNeilly over the
last few years over the perception of his work as art or
advertisement.
In 1995, Muller, a real estate developer, purchased the Westwood
Medical Plaza building located at 10921 Wilshire Blvd. The
windowless west wall of the building faces the Veterans Memorial
Cemetery and provides an ideal location for advertising, as it is
visible from the 405 Freeway.
According to a Los Angeles Times article this month, in 1997
Muller commissioned McNeilly to develop an advertisement for
Disney’s re-release of “The Little Mermaid,” but
the request for the permit was denied.
Without applying for a permit to display it, McNeilly placed a
rendition of the Statue of Liberty on the building in February,
1999.
Opinions from community members about the work varied from
praise of McNeilly’s patriotism to criticism that the
supergraphic was actually intended to be an advertisement for
Disney Touchstone Pictures’ then-upcoming release, “The
Corruptor.”
Regardless of his motive, the violation lead to McNeilly’s
arrest and prosecution by the city for five misdemeanor criminal
charges, spearheaded by Feuer.
This prompted McNeilly to add a tear to the eye of Lady Liberty,
and an eventual “censored” banner across the
supergraphic in protest of what he saw as a violation of his
constitutional rights.
Charges were dropped when a judge upheld an appeal by
McNeilly’s lawyer, citing the city’s claim as
“prior restraint on free speech.”
Before Memorial Day last year, McNeilly added images of
patriotism to the original supergraphic. He surrounded Lady Liberty
with the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima, the cemetery on Omaha
Beach, the Vietnam Memorial and American fighter jets, which were
all strewn across the Constitution in the background.
In an article in “The Finger,” portion of New Times
published in June 2000 after the additions, McNeilly encouraged the
public to look at his philanthropic background.
“Look at my history,” McNeilly, who also did the
tribute to Hollywood on the side of the Mann’s Chinese
Theater for free, told New Times. “I’ve done this for
years. For charities. For free. For political statements. And
I’ve never charged anybody. But people don’t like to
think, “˜You mean, there’s actually some crazy artist
who actually does stuff for free?'”
In December, Feuer and 11th district councilwoman Cindy
Miscikowski wrote an ordinance that specifically banned the use of
supergraphics along Wilshire Boulevard between Beverly Hills and
Santa Monica.
Deputy to the councilman Dave Hinerfeld offered his comments in
regard to the Pearl Harbor supergraphic.
“We’re aware it’s changed, and we’ve
received several complaints,” he said.
Recently, the International Creative Management building located
on 8899 Beverly Blvd. in West Hollywood put up a replica of the
Lady Liberty supergraphic on their west wall. This is the
building’s second graphic as artist Andy Warhol’s
popular “Campbell’s Soup Can” occupies the east
wall.