Artist: Graham, RobertTitle: Dance Door
Location: Music Center Plaza, 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles
Owner: The Music Center, 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90012-3013
Medium: Bronze
Date of Manufacture: 1978
Date of Installation: December 6, 1982
Foundry or Fabrication: Robert Graham Studio
Dimensions: H: 8'9" x W: 5'3" x D: 8 12". Weight: 2 tons
Plaque: No plaque was found
Inscriptions: Inscription on top side of base: "Dance Door" by Robert Graham/Gift of Frederick A. Weisman
Siting: The sculpture is located on a concrete plaza at the Music Center between the Mark Taper Forum and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in downtown Los Angeles. It is at the top of a flight of steps, facing east. A large fountain, approximately 50' away, sprays water into the air. This water spray occasionally hits the sculpture. Traffic passes by the sculpture at the bottom of the flight of stairs, approximately 70' away. The air quality in downtown Los Angeles is generally poor, with carbon soot from traffic and other acidic pollutants. The sculpture is directly accessible to the public, as testified by the graffiti on some surfaces. The plaza is lit at night. Birds tend to roost on the top surfaces of the sculpture, leaving deposits of bird guano.
Description: Dance Door consists of an ornamented life-size bronze door, hinged on a bronze frame and locked in an open position. The door itself is hollow centered and composed of approximately 7 welded case panels on each side. Abstracted figures of dancers are cast in low relief on the door panels. The door is mounted to the frame with three bronze hinges. The frame is constructed in three cast segments (2 jambs + lintel), with a solid core.
The two doorjambs are mounted on a bronze set into the concrete. The top surface of the base is incised with an inscription. The inscription appears to be filled with a coarse, dark gray cementicious (?) compound.
Two rows of dancing bronze figures, approximately 20" tall, are welded onto the top of the door. The figures are cast in silhouette, and approximately 1/8" thick. There are 7 on one side of the door, and 8 on the other.
The door is held in an open position with a vertical pin extending into the concrete plaza.
The surface of the door was given an even, golden brown chemical patina.