Stonewall Jackson : Secrecy Shrouds Plan for Mural

The way the Hollywood Arts Council saw it, a 100-foot-tall mural of Michael Jackson would be unfurled one day on the east facade of the historic El Capitan Theater Building on Hollywood Boulevard, as if by magic.

But a maneuver that size in such a high-profile neighborhood is impossible to keep under wraps and, despite a tight lid on all plans, it didn’t escape notice.

Now municipal agencies, private groups, the California Office of Historic Preservation and the National Park Service are expressing concern about protecting the facade of the 1926 showcase theater. Only a year ago the Walt Disney Co. completed a $6-million restoration of the building.

Despite the interest among these groups, the community-based, nonprofit Hollywood Arts Council is holding a cloak over the project. “You’ll see it when you see it,” said Oscar Arslanian, the Hollywood Arts Council’s executive director, in an interview.

Arslanian declined to answer questions about how the mural, by L.A. artist Kent Twitchell, will look, where the idea for it originated and when it will be hung. While he would not indicate a cost, he said all the funds are in place, and the donor is “anonymous.” Some knowledgeable sources estimate that a mural that size would cost more than $200,000 to create, hang and pay for the proposed 10-year rental of wall space.

Because of the secrecy, some are speculating that the “anonymous” donor is Jackson himself.

“This whole thing is far more Byzantine than any of us ever expected it to be,” said Margaret Bach, the president of the Los Angeles Conservancy, a community group that was assigned authority for the El Capitan facade by the owner in exchange for historical building tax credits.

She said the conservancy’s duty is to ensure that any work done on the building at 6834 Hollywood Blvd. meets conservation standards. “There is some overall sense of appropriateness. We see it in the context of (Hollywood’s) revitalization . . . and, quite frankly, we didn’t feel it was inappropriate,” Bach said. “But this isn’t necessarily an endorsement.”

Los Angeles Cultural Commission President Amarjit Marwah said his panel saw portions of the design when it reviewed the project. He said he regretted that the commission could not legally render an opinion on the content of the mural. And, Marwah said: “We never knew who is paying for it--whether it was Michael Jackson or someone else.”

For the Hollywood Arts Council, which is more accustomed to promoting arts festivals and educational programs, the project has meant a lengthy and involved process. The group isn’t a large one by Los Angeles standards; it is run out of Arslanian’s public relations business office in Hollywood. His wife, Nyla, is the council’s president.

Earlier this year a group of Hollywood activists attempted to stop the Jackson mural, saying that a more appropriate candidate would be film director Orson Welles, whose 1941 classic “Citizen Kane” had its premiere at the El Capitan.

Then, in April, when the Arts Council first got work going on the site, a third of the scaffolding fell one windy night.

A new method of hanging the mural had to be devised and the wall at this point remains bare.

One of the severest critics of the Jackson mural is Robert Nudelman, a Hollywood resident who would have preferred a rendering of Welles. Nudelman says the mural project is “a case of ego gratification for Jackson. The reason I was told why it exists,” he said, “is because Michael wants it near the Chinese Theater.”

Michael Kellerman, who operates the Hollywood Fantasy Tours double-decker bus rides, speculated: “Someone’s paying thousands of dollars to have Twitchell do this mural of Jackson. I would imagine it’s MJJ Productions (Jackson’s production company). . . . that’s the name that I’ve seen on all the literature from the Hollywood Arts Council.”

Kellerman, a member of the arts council, strongly favors the Jackson project. “It could be an instant attraction for Hollywood. . . . Jackson’s got a star on the Walk of Fame. He’s obviously an international star.”

Privately, others say the mural was initially to be used as a publicity gimmick. Originally planned for a mid-June unveiling, it was to have been pegged to the start of Jackson’s current European tour. There has even been talk that the Hollywood Arts Council might license the mural image for T-shirts and souvenirs, though Arslanian had no comment about that point.

An inquiry made to Jackson’s MJJ Productions, about Jackson or MJJ’s involvement, was referred to Arslanian and the Hollywood Arts Council for an answer.

Ask Arslanian about the source of the idea or about where the money to pay for it comes from, and there are “no comments.” All he will acknowledge is that some work has begun at the site.

There’s still no end to the mural’s hurdles.

Los Angeles chief building inspector Russell Lane said, “The proposed mural would seem to constitute a sign,” or what he alternately called a “banner sign.” Under that definition, he said, a construction permit has not been issued for the work.

The mural also must still be approved by the California Office of Historic Preservation and the National Park Service. Both are involved because the Disney Co. is applying for more than $1 million in federal tax credits in exchange for the work.

Although the national and state bureaus have asked for renderings and plans for the mural, they had not received them as of last week.

Michael Crowe, an architectural historian for the National Park Service’s western region office in San Francisco, said when he first asked to see plans months ago, he was told they were “confidential information.”

Meanwhile, Jackson’s personal spokesman, Lee Solters, said he did not know who was paying for the mural or what it looks like.

But Solters added: “Apparently, Michael Jackson must have seen it (the artist’s sketch).”

As of now, only artist Kent Twitchell knows for sure how the mural will look, and he’s not revealing much. He said it would be a drawing of the singer with one hand reaching out to the side.

“I wanted to paint a subject who is viable and today,” said the artist who has more than 20 major murals to his credit. “I wanted to avoid making Hollywood a mausoleum that only looks back.”

As for the source of the funds? “I’m simply the humble artist. I don’t know where the money comes from,” Twitchell said.