THE PROCESS OF PEACE


LINDSY BROOKE HALLECKSON

When Keenly Observed, the Land Comes Alive
Acrylic on Canvas
2010

A Pursuit of Silence in a Noisy, Noisy World
Acrylic on Canvas
2010

It is early on a Sunday morning, and I seem to always wake up early when it’s snowing. Though they make no sound, something inside of me awakens when the fluffy flakes fall to the ground. Like it’s some sort of beautiful miracle that I can’t stand to miss. I love to watch the falling snow in its silent, elegant dance. Something about it is very meditative. 

I have always lived in Minnesota. About three years ago I started falling in love with the land. Previously, I considered myself a city girl. I didn’t go outside; it was dirty, unpredictable, and not conducive to wearing heels. But one day I went hiking with a friend in Afton State Park, and I began to realize that the silence of nature is not frightening, but instead there is an interior dimension to the silence. It’s an incredibly rich space. This sense of this richness is addictive, and I am trying to further explore the positive power of this experience. For me, this silence is complete peace. 

Among the many relationships that define the human condition, an individual’s connection to the environment is primary. We have reached a point in history when the degrading state of every global ecological cycle requires that we make permanent life-style changes. More than ever before, we need to fall back in love with the land. We worship and scar it, study and destroy it. Jacob Bronowski said in The Ascent of Man in 1973, “Man is a singular creature. He has a set of gifts which make him unique among the animals: so that, unlike them, he is not a figure in the landscape – he is a shaper of the landscape. In body and in mind he is the explorer of nature, the ubiquitous animal who did not find but has made his home in every continent.” We aspire to leave our mark, inscribing our observations, gestures, and technologies within the landscape, attempting to translate and transcend the space we call ours. Natural spaces free from human noise and interruption are becoming extinct. 

I convey natural silence and peace with my work. Their quiet form and color speaks to nature’s fulfilling silence. Like river, lake, sea, or canyon, these places are not blank or empty. Rather, their intricacies and subtleties come alive with quiet contemplation. Reconnection with the land is the key to peace within our selves and our environment.