August 2, 2005 Body Electric As far as L.A. art exhibits go, King Tut is big man on campus these days. But don't let that ten-story poster of the famous death mask (you know — the one that's not actually included the Tut exhibit) distract you from the real treasure currently at LACMA. L.A. artist Tim Hawkinson never had a pyramid in ancient Egypt, but he does have a solo exhibition in the museum. You'll find no hieroglyphs to decipher, just fascinating, engaging works of art. Hawkinson's obsession with the body — mostly his own — is everywhere. In a mechanized portrait whose expressions are controlled by light emitted from a TV set. In a miniscule bird skeleton made from the artist's own nail clippings. Far from the silent halls of a portrait gallery, the pieces in this space move. They billow. They make noise. Some serve as mechanized beat-makers. If you love art, you might appreciate some of the larger themes: physicality, spirituality, the self. If you think art is bunk, you'll still get a kick out of the artist's sheer inventiveness. And you don't have to be Indiana Jones to find it. Just look in the shadow of the Egyptian king. Tim Hawkinson exhibition. Through August 28 at the L.A. County Museum of Art. Admission: $9.