On the Cover: Analog Arts

On the Cover: Analog Arts

Cover Photo by Paul Kieu

By Jordan LaHaye Fontenot

In Arts & Entertainment Editor Alexandra Kennon’s feature story on page 26, she asks photographer Paul Kieu why—in the digital age, the age of the iPhone’s amateur-friendly portrait mode—why film? “It counts a little bit more,” he said, describing the higher stakes of the process. “Everything, every little thing you do.”

Coming out of 2020 exhaustively burnt out on screens—many of us with a few new hands-on skills in our toolbox (anyone else got into the sourdough trend?)—we at Country Roads resolved to use 2021 as a chance to reunite sense to experience, to touch, see, smell the world in all its tangible glory. In our first ever “Analog Issue,” we celebrate the old-school art of film photography, we indulge in the nostalgic and simple luxury of scent, and explore the most recent studies in the field of neuroaesthetics—which suggest clear connections between our health and our engagement with art. With recipes to try, bookstores to visit, and lots of outdoor adventures to plan—we hope that you find plenty of ways to engage your senses inside this issue. Bonus points if you read it in print!