silence
-
Resonant Thoughts: Annie Dillard’s “Teaching a Stone to Talk” (1981)
“At a certain point you say to the woods, to the sea, to the mountains, the world, Now I am ready. Now I will stop and be wholly attentive. You empty yourself and wait, listening. After a time you hear it: there is nothing there. There is nothing but those things only, those created objects, Continue reading
-
Resonant Thoughts: Frédéric Gros’ “A Philosophy Of Walking” (2014)
“What is called ‘silence’ in walking is, in the first place, the abolishment of chatter, of that permanent noise that blanks and fogs everything, invading the vast prairies of our consciousness like couch-grass. Chatter deafens: it turns everything into nonsense, intoxicates you, makes you lose your head. It is always there on all sides, overflowing, Continue reading
-
Resonant Thoughts: Jane Brox’s “Silence” (2019)
“‘Silence…stands outside the world of profit and utility,’ wrote Max Picard. ‘It cannot be exploited for profit, you cannot get anything out of it.’ Its relationship to time is far more complex than the simple march of hours allows, and is perhaps, in the end, best likened to fruitfulness. ‘It is not so much the Continue reading
-
A Silent Palette Cleanser
Walking down Main Street without music in my headphones, I Iook up and see three balloons–one red, one yellow, one white–tethered to a string, hanging just above a store awning, moving. As I watch the balloons I wonder just who the string attaches to: Someone flying the balloons like they’re a kite? What celebration might Continue reading
-
On Motion, Repetition, and Transformation: Robin Harvie’s “The Lure Of Long Distances”
It is not down in any map; true places never are. – Herman Melville At the core of Robin Harvie’s The Lure Of Long Distances: Why We Run (2011) is a disturbing yet intoxicating idea: that you’re not really free in any endeavor until you no longer feel the gravitational pull of wanting to return Continue reading
-
On The Soundscapes Of Le Quattro Volte
Le Quattro Volte (2011) is a riveting, faux documentary-style meditation on death, (re)birth, the relationship between humans and the natural world, sound and time. Directed by Michelangelo Frammartino, the film follows the repetitive daily life of an elderly goat herder as he goes about his work in a small rural Italian town. The man doesn’t Continue reading
-
On The Affective Power Of Quiet
“Not muteness: absence of linguistic noise.” — Alexandra Horowitz, Inside Of A Dog We have a very, very quiet two-year old dog named Sadie. Sadie hardly ever makes a sound, except when she sees a life-size furry animal on the TV, whereupon she lets out a combined growl-bark. But otherwise, Sadie is a study in quietude. I spend a Continue reading
brettworks 
You must be logged in to post a comment.