Monument: John Lautner: infinite space, diamonds, espionage and a dash of The Dude

July 9, 2010

John Lautner: infinite space, diamonds, espionage and a dash of The Dude

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts never fails to surprise me with their wonderfully curated shows. This time, their screening room will host Something From Nothing: Films on Design & Architecture, a film supplement to their upcoming TechnoCRAFT gallery exhibition. Featured films will cover design, architecture, motion graphics, and craft.

The film that really caught my eye was INFINITE SPACE: The Architecture of John Lautner. Sometimes a name cannot be put to a face --or in this case a house-- but in regards to John Lautner, his design has certainly become a part of pop culture --particularly in film & video. You're probably already familiar with his work, even if his name doesn't ring a bell. Lautner's homes have provided the backdrop to a myriad of films, from blockbuster franchises, to comedic cult-flicks. I even like that his Sheats-Goldstein house creeps into hip-hop music in Snoop Dogg's "Let's Get Blown video (although all that pool thrashing makes me nervous!)

And lest we not forget the MCM-centric drama A Single Man, in which Lautner's Schaffer house sits quietly amongst the trees as the other main, yet silent, character.

INFINITE SPACE: The Architecture of John Lautner trailer

Screening: Sunday, August 15, 2010, 2 pm
info & tickets

The Elrod house vs. Bambi, Thumper & 007 in Diamonds Are Forever; followed by a more sobering house tour below.

The Sheats-Goldstein house featured in the Coen Brothers cult-classic The Big Lebowski --in this case Il Grande Lebowsky. This home conveys modern, California-cool in any language.