Between Earth and Heaven,
The Architecture of John Lautner
July 13 - October 12, 2008
The Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire
This week the Hammer Museum opened its exhibition of the modernist architecture of John Lautner, “Between Earth and Heaven.” The title of the show touches on the transcendental or otherworldly experience that Lautner intended with his architecture, which consists of unprecedented structures rooted in ideals of function and harmony with the surrounding environment. You might be thinking that you have no idea who Lautner is, in which case you are wrong. Any LA resident has probably caught at least one glimpse of one of Lautner’s stylized creations, from the Midtown School to the infamous Chemosphere in the Hollywood Hills.
This fact actually creates some complexity about what the show actually entails. Because of the accessibility of the pieces that comprise this exhibit, buildings that can at least be gazed at from a street view, how exactly does a museum go about showing Lautner’s architecture? What does the collection consist of, and how does one particular museum lay claim to it as being their collection to show? Conversely, how do you show privately owned residences that, while considered historical landmarks, are not exactly in the public domain? These are some basic problems that arise when the museum is showing architecture, though artful architecture, instead of relatively function-less (and room-sized) art.
The Hammer grappled with this predicament from a few different angles. To begin with, they are offering a few tours of said private residences for a nominal fee, a rather bizarre exhibition tactic that satisfies the bizarre nature of the exhibition of people’s homes. If you do not want to pay a fee to see a Lautner original from the inside however, you could always ring the doorbell at the endearingly named “tree house” in the college neighborhood adjacent UCLA, and they would probably be glad to show you around.
As for the issue of what to show in the gallery space itself, the Hammer filled a dimly lit few rooms with original blueprints and scale models of some of Lautner’s most significant innovations. The models are larger than what you usually think of when you envision the tiny replicas that are used for design pitches, and they are without texture or color, assumingly to underscore their shape and form, Lautner’s skilled use of line and space to create a balance between nature and artifice. While these models are a bit more noble and serious than exact color replicas, they are slightly less fun for any viewer who does not have a preexisting affinity for architecture.
While there is not much to the show besides this due to the obvious restrictions on the collection, it does give a simple though privileged view to the audience. By displaying architecture in the museum space, it offers it up for more acute artistic consideration, and begs one to forget the function of stairs and doors for a moment and appreciate their aesthetic offerings. It also privileges the audience by granting views from angles and distances that would otherwise be impossible. At the same time, the Hammer is careful not to deny the function of Lautner’s creations either, which would have been a grave mistake considering the architect’s close attention to new and efficient materials and designs. The show also never loses sight of the fact that the “works” on view are in fact homes, and always reminds the viewer by naming them as “residences.”
While this may sound a bit bland, and the Hammer does nothing to combat this fact by designing the whole show in the shade of cardboard, it should be commended for the LA pride it creates. Los Angeles is not one of the most organized or comprehensively designed cities, and our architecture is nothing if not eclectic. “Between Earth and Heaven” sifts through some of the clutter to focus on a few considerate and beautiful gems that were designed for the Los Angeles landscape and its accompanying lifestyle; stylish, eccentric, and unique.
Images courtesy of Podknox via Flickr
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