Part of the 2011 celebration of John Lautner’s 100th birthday, two new exhibits on John Lautner opened Friday, August 19, 2011, in Lautner’s home town, Marquette, Michigan. Both go by the same name: John Lautner: A Life in Architecture, but are otherwise very different.

The exhibit at the DeVos Art Museum features photographs, models, video, magazine articles, and books about Lautner’s work. Projects featured are the Chemosphere, Carling residence, Sheats-Goldstein residence, Marbrisa, Harpel 2 (Alaska), Hatherall residence, Concannon residence, and the Garcia residence. A new model of the Concannon residence (demolished several years ago) was created by a class at the Artez Academy of Architecture at Arnhem (the Netherlands).

The exhibit at the Marquette Regional History Center focuses on the influences on Lautner, particularly his parents and early adult life. This exhibit features a 12-minute film of John and Mary Lautner at Taliesin, many paintings by Lautner’s mother Vida, photographs and artifacts from Lautner’s early life.

Both exhibits will have opening receptions on September 2, following a lecture by Frank Escher. Additional events include a lecture by Dutch architects Jan-Richard Kikkert and Tycho Saariste on September 18 and the screening of The Spirit in Architecture, Visual Acoustics, and Infinite Space in September, October, and November. Visit the art museum’s website for more information on these events.

The DeVos exhibit will close on November 13, 2011. The History Center exhibit closes on January 7, 2012.

Photographs by D. Scott Stobbelaar