SoFA Gallery takes modern approach to nature

For the next month, when you enter the School of Fine Arts gallery, you may be unsure if the room you are walking into is an art exhibition or a botanical garden. The buzzing of insects and a high-pitched humming noise resonate throughout the gallery. Viewers are greeted by a giant screen depicting the life cycle of a cicada, then a curtain of autumn leaves and a bronze statue of copulating deer.\n"Human Nature I: The Natural World," the first installment of the exhibition series, opened Friday as patrons filled the gallery, observing a marriage of art and science that was described in the exhibition program as incorporating "cultural ideas about nature and our place within it."\nFifteen artists displayed their diverse work. \nShawn Decker is an associate professor in the art department and technology and sound department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He suspended four metal buckets containing varying amounts of water by thin wire from the ceiling. He rigged a small, motorized bit of metal to flick each wire continuously to create an eerie musical performance. Gallery patrons took turns putting their ears up to the buckets Friday to better hear the emitted sounds.\nRoger Hangarter, an associate professor of biology at IU, video--recorded different stages of the cicada's life cycle, including its birth, reproduction and molting process. Graduate student Sarah McKinley said she remembered how loud the insects were a few years ago. Though she did not know much about them, she said that it was fascinating to watch the video. \nNew York artist Alexis Rockman displayed his six-panel painting that combined aspects of human life, animals, technology and architecture. The red and orange tinted mural spanned almost an entire wall in the gallery and captivated patrons. A group of 20 people always seemed to be standing before it, surveying the intricacies of the scene. Senior art student Hala Sweiss said the painting was her favorite piece in the exhibition. \n"Every detail is breathtaking," she said. \nAnother audience favorite was Wim Delvoye's "Trophy," a life--size bronze sculpture of two deer mating "missionary style" as senior Evan Miller put it. He snapped a picture of the statue with his camera phone and said: "I think it is hilarious. I like art that's entertaining, art that makes you smile."\nDelvoye aims to poke fun at human sexuality and other aspects of human life with his art. \n"People always love the deer," said gallery director Betsy Stirratt. \nShe explained that his art often depicts "the animal as it segues into the human world."\nThe exhibition will run until Nov. 18 and will be accompanied by a lecture by Sander Gilman at 6 p.m. Friday in the Fine Arts building, room 015. A public forum with the artists will be held 7 p.m. Nov. 16. The second installation of the exhibition, titled "Future Worlds" will open Feb. 9. \n"It is gratifying to see it all happen," Stirratt said. "A lot of these artists I have followed for years." \nGallery hours are noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and all events are free. For more information about this exhibit, visit www.indiana.edu/~sofa/human_nature/hn.php.