A Conversation with November Featured Artist Dorothy Alig
It’s been an interesting seven months. How has your work been affected by the coronavirus?
I started working late last year on paintings with the theme of invasive species and their impact on the landscape. As we all know, in mid-winter an invasive species in the form of a virus appeared and suddenly the subject felt way too alarming. At that point I decided to pivot to something closer to home, since that’s where I was spending all of my time (like everyone else). I am fortunate to spend summers in Northern Michigan on the Lake surrounded by orchards, rolling hills and that incredible body of water. These are always central to my work and this year I took additional comfort and pleasure in the beauty of the natural world around me. On the edge of Lake Michigan I have a very modest studio—more like a shed—but the soothing rhythm of the lake nearby provided inspiration and solace. So the variety of images in this current work reflects these different phases of life in the past nine months. Whew!
Your work tends to revolve around a central theme. What is the theme for this year’s exhibit and how did it inspire you?
Travel is often my inspiration. Since travel was severely limited in 2020 I chose to take a closer look at the world in my immediate line of sight, thus “Postcards from my Backyard”, the title of this body of work, was born.
The desire to connect with friends and family members was ever present but difficult under the circumstances which reminded me of the days, not so long ago, when communication was much different. Back then instead of Instagram images from far-off destinations, we sent postcards to people as a way of communicating and documenting our adventures. I’m thinking of these paintings as postcards or greetings that reveal what I am seeing or thinking about this period when we are all staying closer to home.
It’s been fun to watch your work evolve over time. In your current exhibit, most of the pieces seem to share a background of trees overlaid with pattern. Can you talk about this development?
Trees are endlessly fascinating. Like snow flakes, no two are alike and they provide the primary architectural element in the landscape.
There is a lot of recent research about how they “communicate” with one another to avoid overlapping at their crowns and how essential they are to the health of people and the planet.
Your color palette and your shapes appear to be getting bolder. Is this something you’re doing consciously or is it just a natural progression?
I love to play with color and I suppose I get more confident with it over time. Or maybe I just bought some new paints!
One of your trademark patterns is dots and your nickname is “Dot.” Is there a connection?
Fair question but I actually have a different reason for seeing things in dotted patterns. When I was a graduate student studying organic chemistry I began to understand that everything around us—all matter—is made of particles that make atoms. By breaking down some of the forms in my images into patterns I can evoke this energy. Isn’t it amazing that what we see around us can be understood as a solid mass like a tree trunk or as a quivering array of microscopic particles at the same time? I guess I am trying to find a way to make this mysterious duality visible.
