KAREN MCCOY: LISTENING TRUMPET | download pdf

Walking is, in itself, an act overlaid with many intentions. It is an inherently valuable as a tool for seeing and understanding since it slows our pace and allows for enhanced perception. By concentrating on one of the senses in a walk, one will naturally absorb in a different way. For example, on a listening walk, the sounds we encounter will be foregrounded. I am curious to know how different it is, for myself, and others, to walk simply with listening in mind from, say, walking with a small listening trumpet in hand.

The ear acts as the conduit between the outer world and the inner realm of each individual. Of central concern in this work is a recognition of the importance of retreat, of the human need to break from the oftentimes mechanical rhythm of contemporary life. The ear trumpets provide a way of “cupping our ears to the earth.”.