3M, Billboard Artist in Dispute : Art: He says the company is censoring him by backing out of a deal to erect an anti-tobacco industry billboard.

“Who’s burning America?”

That’s the question Los Angeles artist Charles Sherman has been longing to ask Southland residents for the past three months. But according to Sherman, a major corporation is trying to stop him.

Sherman signed a contract in June with 3M National Advertising Co., a subsidiary of the Minnesota-based 3M Corp., to erect an anti-tobacco industry billboard at Crenshaw and Washington boulevards. And while local 3M officials approved the project and cashed his check in August, the 43-year-old artist claims the company is attempting to back out of the deal.

“3M reserves the right to refuse to display any message in which the content or the presentation is in questionable taste,” said Peter D. Bear, manager of government and community affairs at the Chicago headquarters of 3M National Advertising. “In its present form, Mr. Sherman’s artwork is just too controversial.”

In June, Sherman designed a 12-by-24-foot billboard that depicts a massive American flag being ignited by a glowing cigarette. Initially, the singed flag surrounded the inscription: “JESSE HELMS IS BURNING AMERICA.” To the right of the flag, Sherman printed the following text: “JUST SAY NO TO TAXPAYER SUBSIDIES TO THE TOBACCO INDUSTRY.”

Sherman said he created the piece because he believes American taxpayers are being duped by Helms’ anti-NEA obscenity stance.

“I wanted to get people thinking about who’s really burning the nation,” Sherman said. “Is it a few NEA-financed artists who create controversial pictures judged obscene by Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.)? Or is it Helms himself, the most visible congressional (supporter of) the tobacco industry, a business whose products have been linked to the deaths of more than 390,000 Americans per year?”

3M National Advertising, which owns 300 billboards in Los Angeles and 2,700 more across the nation, is no stranger to the arts. Last year, the firm’s parent company contributed nearly $3 million to arts, media and cultural groups. The 3M-affiliated McKnight Foundation--named after former 3M chairman William L. McKnight--also recently announced plans to donate an additional $28 million to arts-related organizations in the Minnesota area.

But three weeks ago, the billboard firm enraged local art activists when executives in the Chicago headquarters declared guerrilla artist Robbie Conal’s West Hollywood anti-censorship billboard “too controversial” and ordered it to be taken down.

Conal’s billboard--which depicted an acidic portrait of Helms with a caption that read: “ARTIFICIAL ART OFFICIAL”--was reinstalled the next day upon order from the same officials who had demanded its removal.

Conal, who plans to put up a second art billboard after his current piece on Santa Monica Boulevard comes down in November, said he supports Sherman in his battle with 3M.

“Giant corporations are very touchy about their self-image,” Conal said.

“One of the things I learned from my experience with 3M National is that you really have to hone your angle of attack. It almost requires the delicate touch of a Zen archer to get your concept past the corporate inspectors,” he added.

Sherman first met with 3M National field sales representative Christine Edwards on June 26, submitted a mock-up of his design and wrote the company a $1,705 check.

On July 19, 3M wrote Sherman a letter requesting alterations in his design. The letter, accompanied by Sherman’s uncashed check, explained that when Edwards sought approval from 3M’s legal counsel she was informed by “constituents at the corporate office” that Sherman’s text for the billboard was “too controversial.” Sherman was told if he eliminated the anti-Helms saying that 3M National would be “more than glad” to display his message.

Sherman sent 3M a new mock-up, resubmitted his check and authorized 3M’s final fax proposal of his design Aug. 14. His check was cashed in Chicago on Aug. 17.

Two weeks later, Sherman said he received a call from Dennis LeBlanc, director of advertising at 3M National’s Woodland Hills office, demanding he remove the burning American flag from his design because of the current Middle East crisis.

“This has absolutely nothing to do with the trouble in Iraq,” Sherman said. “It’s just a case of one big corporation being afraid to step on the toes of another. The tobacco industry is one of their biggest clients.”

Neither LeBlanc nor Edwards could be reached for comment, but Bear said that rejection of Sherman’s design had nothing to do with the Middle East.

“3M is not opposed to displaying messages that criticize the tobacco industry,” Bear said. “We believe that the image of the burning flag is likely to be highly offensive or distressful to viewers.”

Bear said he has instructed the Woodland Hills office to reimburse Sherman for his cashed check plus interest.

“We’re not trying to censor the content of the man’s message or pass judgment on his art,” Bear said. “There may be a universe of other possible ways for an artist to get that particular political or social idea across. But in Mr. Sherman’s case, his design is clearly something that we are not going to display.”