{"id":86385,"date":"2015-06-04T16:58:30","date_gmt":"2015-06-04T20:58:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/?p=86385"},"modified":"2015-09-09T10:19:47","modified_gmt":"2015-09-09T14:19:47","slug":"big-bent-ears-part-5-alien-observers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2015\/06\/04\/big-bent-ears-part-5-alien-observers\/","title":{"rendered":"Big, Bent Ears, Chapter 5: Alien Observers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Liz Harris of Grouper. Photo: Richard Rothman<\/p><\/div>\n

The fifth chapter of \u201cBig, Bent Ears<\/a>,\u201d Sam Stephenson and Ivan Weiss\u2019s \u201cSerial in Documentary Uncertainty,\u201d features the work of Richard Rothman, a photographer whose work demonstrates \u201cdepth, dedication, and skill in evoking the enigmatic relationship between natural and built environments.\u201d Around the time of the Big Ears Festival, Rothman spent weeks\u00a0exploring Knoxville and the surrounding Smoky Mountains for twelve to fifteen hours a day; the results are astonishing. He also went to the festival itself, where he photographed Liz Harris, who performs as Grouper. He says of her performance:<\/p>\n

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It was as though she had placed a veil between herself and the audience, but one that only served to draw them in and give her a heightened level of attention. The lyrics she offered up were as illegible as tombstones polished by time and the elements. The words, or what could be made of them, seemed to be shrouded in shadows\u2014just as she was\u2014while filmy guitar loops decayed into richly modulated, shifting patterns that oscillated between the technological and the human.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Read the latest chapter here<\/a>, and catch up on the rest of the series:<\/p>\n