Covering Ears Collection

German soldiers firing a heavy cannon (b / w photo)
STC406147 German soldiers firing a heavy cannon (b/w photo) by German Photographer (20th Century); Private Collection; (add.info)

In the stocks (colour litho)
3100219 In the stocks (colour litho) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: In the stocks.); © Look and Learn

The opera (chromolitho)
1094042 The opera (chromolitho) by French School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: The opera. French educational card, late 19th or early 20th century.); © Look and Learn; French

Seamus McGuiness better known as The Worst Piper in the World pictured entertaining children at the College of Piping in Muir of Ord, Inverness Scotland 2nd October 1966

Don Quixote, Sancho Panza covers his ears
Illustration from Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes, illustrated by Gustave Dore. Sancho Panza covers his ears

And left a round globe of blood, Trembling upon the Void
XYC256362 And left a round globe of blood, Trembling upon the Void... plate 11 from The First Book of Urizen, 1794 (colour-printed relief etching with ink and w/c) by Blake

Memory moths, conceptual artwork

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Amidst the deafening roar of German soldiers firing a heavy cannon in a black and white photograph, one can only imagine the desperate urge to cover one's ears. Similarly, in an old color lithograph, a man is seen in the stocks, shielding himself from the jeers and taunts of the crowd. At the opera, a chromolitho depicts a character covering his ears in delight or dismay at the crescendo of music. Seamus McGuiness, better known as The Worst Piper in the World, leaves his audience in splits as he fails to cover his ears during his disastrous performances. Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, in a famous painting, cover their ears to protect themselves from the harsh realities of the world. The Garden of Earthly Delights triptych, in its central panel, shows a figure leaving a round globe of blood, trembling upon the void, while memory moths flutter around, covering their ears in the conceptual artwork, symbolizing the human tendency to block out the past.