Ears

A few months ago, I was in California staying with a friend. He dozed off early, leaving me alone with a lump of clay.

He woke the next morning with this at his bedside:

I later gave the ear a cartilage piercing and made it into a necklace. He started to wear it, which led to more people wanting ear necklaces (???). I sculpted more ears for more people, feeling intrigued by them without any of us really knowing why.

A week later, Italo Calvino told me:

"It is not the voice that commands the story--it is the ear."

A few months out of the ear trade, the topic came up again with my friend, Alex, who was finishing editing a series of four films he had made over the past year, one of which we made together.

"I keep hesitating at titling the project. For me, the films have a connective thread, but I don't want to name that thread. That's for the viewer to create."

"You know, there's this quotation..."

Alex is unleashing the film project, "Shape of an Ear," online this month. The films are beautiful, each having that essential something which perks ears of all sorts. You can watch (/hear) it here.