ARCHETYPAL ARCHITECTURE HAMMER EXHIBIT REVEALS DESIGN GENIUS OF JOHN LAUTNER.

Byline: Jim Farber, Staff Writer

Architecture, at its best, has been described as "frozen music."

It's a description that certainly applies to the innovative designs of John Lautner (1911-1994), a man who openly derided the architectural hodgepodge of Los Angeles but who went on to design some of the city's iconic structures, including his flying saucer of a house perched atop the Hollywood Hills, the "Chemosphere."

Lautner, however, would have hated that Space Age allusion to his space-saving design.

An iconoclast who marched to his own drummer, Lautner was constantly annoyed by critics whom, he felt, misunderstood and misinterpreted his work, either as flights of fantasy or as trophy homes for multimillionaires and Hollywood glitterati.

Which is one reason, perhaps, why creations such as his Elrod House in Palm Springs have provided star-power backgrounds in films such as "Diamonds Are Forever." (Remember 007's encounter with Bambi and Thumper?)

"Between Earth and Heaven: The Architecture of John Lautner," on display at the Hammer Museum in Westwood through Oct. 12, makes a concerted effort to give Lautner's work the recognition it deserves by demonstrating the real thoughts and concepts behind the designs.

"John Lautner's fascination with new shapes and structures had nothing to do with Space Age futurism or movieland glamour, or virtuoso engineering," writes co-curator Nicholas Olsberg in the exhibit's elegant and exceedingly informative catalog.

Lautner's remarkable designs, renowned for their sweeping curves of cast concrete, vast vistas viewed through endless walls of windows, and the shimmering reflections off self-contained bodies of water, Olsberg contends, were "grounded in his belief that carefully considered spaces can awaken a transcendental sense of environment."

The analogy of architecture to frozen music also seems apt for the design of the exhibit, which presents a chronology of models, floor plans, elevations and site renderings interspersed with films of several houses.

The effect, however, is a little bit like handing someone the score to Beethoven's "Eroica" symphony and saying, "Isn't it magnificent." Elegant though the installation may be, a rendering, a floor plan, even a piece of film, cannot give you the sensation produced by a visit to the real thing.

So, to provide a taste of the real thing, the museum has organized a series of tours of Lautner homes.

Two of these (featuring visits to three Los Angeles residences), are available only to Hammer Museum members at the contributor level or higher, plus a cost of $145. Nonmembers are invited to visit the Sheats/Goldman residence (built in 1963) for $55, with tours arranged for Aug. 24 and Oct. 12.

There's also a really exclusive tour (for premium members only) that will offer a chance to visit several of Lautner's spectacular Palm Springs creations, including the Elrod House.

Less famous by far than his mentor, Frank Lloyd Wright, or the man who certainly followed in his footsteps, Frank Gehry, Lautner created designs that personify the free spirit of American architectural innovation.

"It's been said," writes Olsberg, "that the great subject of American culture -- from James Fenimore Cooper to Clifford Still, from Ralph Waldo Emerson to John Coltrane, from Terrence Malick to James Turrell -- is the contemplation of space, and that the archetypal American artist is the rebellious idealist from the wilderness who works with stunning but unselfconscious originality."

In the words of Hammer Museum director Ann Philbin, "Lautner's moment has come."

Jim Farber [phone], Ext. 416; [e-mail]

BETWEEN EARTH AND HEAVEN: THE ARCHITECTURE OF JOHN LAUTNER

>When: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Through Oct. 12.

>Where: Hammer Museum,

10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood.

>Admission: $7, $5 seniors,

free for students.

>Information: [phone], www.hammer.ulca.edu.

LAUTNER HOME TOURS

(Note: Tours 1 and 2 are for Hammer Museum members at the contributor level or higher; tours 3 and 4 are for the general public.)

>Tour 1: July 27, Harpel residence, Harvey residence and Reiner residence. Tickets: $145.

>Tour 2: Sept. 14, Jacobsen residence, Harvey residence and Reiner residence. Tickets: $145.

>Tour 3: Aug. 24, Sheats/Goldstein residence. Tickets: $55.

>Tour 4: Oct. 12, Sheats/Goldstein residence. Tickets: $55.

>Information and reservations: www.hammer.ucla.edu.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) John Lautner's innovative designs reflect a fascination with shapes and the environment.

(2 -- color) The space-saving "Chemosphere" also offers vistas of Los Angeles.

(3 -- color) John Lautner designed this iconic home perched in the Hollywood Hills. It has become known as "Chemosphere."