Upon entering the new art exhibit on the first floor of the UB Art Gallery in the Center for the Arts, viewers might encounter two questionable scenarios: a janitor jokingly attempting to charge $5 for entrance and what looks like a sixth grade science experiment gone wrong.
Nonetheless, it was totally enticing - the exhibit, that is, not the janitor. It appeared to be a concoction of curious red powders, pepper seeds and strangely colored liquids among intertwined glass tubes and beakers. Flashbacks to high school chemistry assault the observer, though this exhibit is like no experiment any science class ever performed.
It is called "Let The Work Begin: Theatrum Chemicum." This installation is visual poetry that intertwines art, science and alchemy, brought to life by two UB art professors, Gary Nickard and Reinhard Reitzenstein.
Some of the more interesting exhibits include Reitzenstein's "Empathetic Nervous System." Illuminated dioramas feature textbook descriptions of the nerves that control human response to anger and fear. They also include larger replicas of the oddly shaped nerves and ganglia.
Nickard and Reitzenstein's "Collaborative Molecular Diagrams" cannot be overlooked either. Resembling an old witch's worktable, the ingredients include pinecones, nuts, seeds, leaves and more unusually colored liquid, proving that nothing without science is nature.
The exhibit is filled with old and complicated-looking thermometers, chemical smells, glass tubes, trees, and philosophical scriptures trying to explain "unexplainable phenomenae," like Siamese twins and the axis of the sun and moon. Blackboards decorate the walls of the exhibit with descriptions of formulas and images written in some kind of decodable language.
The final display is by far the most impressive. Upon entering, a 20-foot tree is visibly planted right in the middle of the floor. But like most art, things are not always what they seem. This tree is planted upside-down, suspended in the air by its many roots and impaled with five-foot long antique thermometers. On the ground, the tree is surrounded by flower petals and pinecones, and encircled with rulers.
It is an interesting blend of nature and science, the beautiful and strange. Nickard and Reitzenstein modeled it after the Yggdrasil, the life tree in Nordic mythology.
This display may certainly seem nothing but strange for those who venture within its scientific lair. But those with an appreciation for nature, chemistry, religion or art will find something worthwhile in this exhibit. It is small, with close to 20 pieces for observation, but all are extremely original and fascinating in their own respects.
In the most chaotic times in college life, it's easy to forget that connections with the natural and scientific world are what brought students to where they are now. But one encounter with a giant Nordic tree has a way of sending this message home.
"Let The Work Begin: Theatrum Chemicum" runs until Dec. 7. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and no matter what the janitor says, admission is free.
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
