Being subjected to continual noise has an adverse effect on our health. It can affect blood pressure, heart rate and glucose and cholesterol levels. It can impede learning. The mixed media paintings in Alex Lago’s “Liquid Forest” series are a reaction to the constant din of everyday life. They attempt to carve out stillness and presence amid this turbulence by probing unseen connections to nature and the universe. In addition to pleasing aesthetics, they remind viewers not just of the sound of silence, but its physical and psychological benefits.
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“Liquid Forest," by Alexis Lago, is on view in the main gallery of the Alliance for the Arts through Nov. 29.
The exhibition is a riff on the importance of silence in a world filled with constant demands for our attention.
A study conducted in 2014 out of the University of Michigan found that more than 100 million Americans are exposed continuously to an average of 70dB, up from an average of 55 dB in 1972. That is the equivalent of a washing machine or gas-powered lawnmower or leaf blower, except the noise persists without abatement.
For most Americans, the chief culprits are traffic from nearby highways, airports and elevated trains.
The drone of cars, trucks, planes and trains triggers our “fight or flight” instinct and “watchman function.” That, in turn, results in heightened pulse rates and blood pressure levels, sleep interruptions and, for children, reduced reading rates. Several studies have shown that frequent awakenings raise levels of glucocorticoids, which inhibit insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity. Reducing these two factors leads to diabetes.
Noise pollution hits lower income earners harder since they are more likely to live in housing complexes near interstate highways or in the flight paths of airports.
“My series is a meditation on the chaotic fluidity of contemporary life, where everything is transient and noisy,” states Lago in his artist statement.
As expected, the paintings in this series depict quiet environs such as forests (“Protector”), gardens (“The Illusionist”) and riverbanks (“Fishing Moments”). But to underscore the exhibition’s theme, “My Garden Demon” shows someone shattering the silence of a bucolic garden setting with a gas-powered lawnmower.
“Rooted in my experience of living on a peninsula, the series also evokes a sense of insularity, introspection and timeless exploration,” Lago’s artist statement continues. “Nature is a constant presence for me, not only in its physical form but as a metaphor for the inner landscapes shaped by reflection, aspiration and mystery. Through this lens, spirituality – with its moments of illumination and difficulty – manifests as a guiding force in my visual language.”
The paintings included in “Liquid Forest” are mixed media. For Lago, mixed media means a blend of materials and methods, including oils, acrylics, pencil, printmaking, watercolor and ink.
“A deep interest in artisanal processes and self-made supports further anchors my work in a tactile, handcrafted tradition,” the artist statement goes on to read.
His influences span Far Eastern painting – particularly the spatial sensitivity and restraint found in Japanese and Chinese art – as well as Persian miniatures, medieval manuscript illumination and select modern and contemporary masters.
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.
