Surprising art collection at L.A.'s Music Center … you can tour it

Sunset, March, 1990

There's more to the Music Center than music. In its 25 years, the Music Center of Los Angeles County has assembled an impressive, often overlooked collection of art for its Bunker Hill site. You see some pieces when you attend performances in the center's three theaters, but you'll see many more on free hour-long tours. And you'll hear about the Music Center's biggest work of art in progress: the Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall, opening in 1994.

On the tours, docents lead you through theater interiors, where you'll likely see sets and props from current productions. You can see the eclectic art and sculpture collections in each theater's foyer and outdoors on the plaza. Pieces range from a bronze sculpture of Rudolph Nureyev by Enzo Plazzotta to Assemblage of Instruments by Tony Duquette. David Hockney's The Pavilion & Music on Canvas is near a portrait of Zubin Mehta by Marion Pike.

Two highlights are Sandi Fox's quilt, featuring signatures of more than a hundred artists who have performed here, and Frank Stella's Ossippee III, a tribute to abstract expressionism.

Stroll around the plaza to view Dance Door from all angles and see how Jacques Lipchitz' Peace on Earth, a 30-foot-tall bronze, rises out of the central fountain. Tours begin every half-hour from 10 to noon on Saturdays, year-round. November through April, tours also begin between 10 and 1:30 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays (days change May through October). Call (213) 972-7483 to confirm availability or arrange for groups of 12 or more.

A stop at one of the center's three restaurants or at the performing arts-oriented gift shop can round out a visit.