Six partially filled black buckets sat scattered on the stained wood floor.
Unlike the rest of the dimly lit room, they were not there on display, but to serve the purpose of collecting the dripping rainwater coming from several holes in the badly insulated roof.
This is the current scene in the Big Orbit Gallery, located at 30D Essex St. on Buffalo's Westside. On display are a half dozen pieces by Insoon Ha, a teaching assistant in sculpture at UB. Entitled "Breeding Season," Ha's collection of original artwork centers on the themes of man and nature, and entwines them as a sort of breeding season itself.
At the entrance of the makeshift gallery, a piece named "What's Funny" demands attention. Dozens of inch-thick, clear plastic tubes connected to a mythical centaur-like sculpture hang from the ceiling. The sculpture is reminiscent of a baby's body being birthed from a horse's back. The tubes coming from the figurine, shaped like an enlarged sphere, are like the ventricles of a human heart, carrying a clear liquid to and from the half-horse, half-human baby statuette as it hangs steadily from the warehouse ceiling above.
Further adding to the character of the piece is Ha's use of shadows against the pearl white backdrop of the gallery's interior walls. Highlighting the frontal portion of the centaur's torso and contrasting it against the rest of the figure, the artist signifies this struggle between man and nature, which can be found in virtually all her pieces.
"After It," situated adjacent to "What's Funny," seemed to be a continuation of the previous display. Positioned adjacent to two black buckets, "After It" shows a naked woman crouching on the ground, as if praying towards Mecca. What stands out in this sculpture was the baby's foot arising from the small of the woman's back. It seems to be a continuation of the previous piece by sticking to the feuding man versus nature theme.
Connecting this first room and the other two is a blinding white hallway lined with giant, foot-long tongues entitled "Legion." Glazed in a passionate red hue, the tongues provide a path to follow down the startlingly white hallway. They each sit nearly a foot apart on both sides, providing an illusory effect akin to a hallucinatory nightmare. Steven King's "It" comes to mind.
In two small rooms are a few more single-themed pieces. "Supply" portrayed exactly what its title infers; a work locker is filled with an endless supply of women's breast molds. Across the room is a piece named "Sanitary," a white plaster sculpture that looks like an elephant's tusk emerging from the room's wall.
Down the hall, "Numb" once again showcases Ha's interest in the effects of shadows on a piece. A rectangular white table sits diagonally in the middle of room lit by a small light placed in one corner. The light shines at an angle so that a silver, metallic horn and sink drain on one side of the table are lit.
On the whole, Insoon Ha's exhibit is rather drab. Using minimal color and contrast, the pieces fail to excite interest and lack flavor. Though "What's Funny" is original and captivating, the rest of the exhibit is unmoving and boring.
"Breeding Season" is on display Thursday through Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. at the Big Orbit Gallery at 30D Essex St.
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
