the art of falling
CREATIVE DIRECTOR & MODEL
The dance of descent pays homage to ascent. The Art of Falling is an ode to standing.
PHOTOS BY: EMERY BARNES
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AUGUST 23, 2021
@Cafe Erzulie
AUGUST 23, 2021 @Cafe Erzulie
- with love from my notebook
Inspired by the works of Erich Fromm, this photo series is meant to encourage intentionality and celebrate the autonomy of choice. If the basis of true love is present — care, responsibility, respect, and knowledge — then past experiences of "falling" in love shall no longer be associated with the ideas of stumbling, spiraling, or tripping. It is an active skill to be developed and honored and a part of my story that deserves grace.
CARE
“God explains to Jonah that the essence of love is to “labor” for something and “to make something grow,” that love and labor are inseparable. One loves that for which one labors, and one labors for that which one loves.”
“But responsibility, in its true sense, is an entirely voluntary act; it is my response to the needs, expressed or unexpressed, of another human being. To be “responsible” means to be able and ready to “respond.”
RESPONSIBILITY
RESPECT
“Respect is not fear and awe; it denotes, in accordance with the root of the word (respicere = to look at), the ability to see a person as he is, to be aware of his unique individuality. Respect means the concern that the other person should grow and unfold as he is. Respect, thus, implies the absence of exploitation.”
KNOWLEDGE
“Knowledge would be empty if it were not motivated by concern [care]. There are many layers of knowledge; the knowledge which is an aspect of love is one which does not stay at the periphery, but penetrates to the core. It is possible only when I can transcend the concern for myself and see the other person in his own terms.”
