Artist Fights for Giant Mural

Will a 12-story-tall New York City firefighter rescue artist Mike McNeilly from Los Angeles’ long-running feud over giant murals?

Los Angeles officials have ordered McNeilly to remove his 120-foot-high depiction of a fireman and the Statue of Liberty from the side of a Westwood office tower, where so-called super-graphics advertisements are banned under city law. He was cited on 25 code violations and faces fines of up to $1,000 for each of them.

But McNeilly contends that the image he calls “9-11” is a tribute to rescuers involved in the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and vowed Tuesday that it will not come down until he is ready to ship it to New York to hang on the side of a skyscraper.

McNeilly has displayed various wall-size images of the Statue of Liberty at that same spot, and those have been at the center of a continuing dispute with city officials for more than 2 1/2 years.

McNeilly, 47, asserts that his liberty-themed murals are designed to honor military veterans buried at the nearby Los Angeles National Cemetery.

City officials complain that McNeilly is using the tower at Wilshire Boulevard and Gayley Avenue for periodic movie advertising--including the 1999 action film “The Corruptor” and the more recent drama “Pearl Harbor.” City zoning laws prohibit installing super-graphics of any sort along Wilshire between Beverly Hills and Santa Monica.

Westwood-area City Councilman Jack Weiss said McNeilly has used the liberty murals to sneak giant billboards into Westwood. This one is no different, he said.

“It’s a cynical attempt to use symbols relating to the worst atrocity in this nation’s history to get a foot in the door for future commercial exploitation,” Weiss said.

The latest vinyl-backed artwork was erected last week. City officials promptly ordered McNeilly to remove it by Monday. When he failed to do so, they cited him.

McNeilly acknowledged that some of his previous liberty murals have been advertisements. But this one is not, he insists.

“It’s not coming down. I’m only going to take it down when I find another venue for it. I’m trying to find a building in Manhattan we can display it on,” he said.

“This mural is a tribute to the courage and sacrifice of all the people who come and put their lives on the line in times of need.”

City officials agree that the current installation is patriotic and artistic. But they also say it is in clear violation of city laws.

“What he has up there now is beautiful and important art. It should be displayed legally. This is illegal. The bottom line is, this is not a free-speech issue. He’s breaking the law,” said Ben Austin, a special assistant to the city attorney.

Building and Safety Department spokesman Bob Steinbach said citations were also issued for each of McNeilly’s previous liberty murals.

McNeilly said he’s not finished in Westwood. When the firefighter-liberty mural goes to New York, he said, it will be replaced by a giant painting honoring troops and reservists being called up to fight terrorism.