the earth is hard, the heavens far

Cherchez la femme: A Few Words About Mardi Love

Despite her obvious grace, there is the subtle element of surprise to her dancing; a slight hip twist there, a rib cage lock on the up like a sudden hiccup or pebble dropped into water. What I love about Mz. Love is that she is pure woman, all curves and smooth contours, lacking in the rigid angles that make up the body types associated with “beauty.” She is the feminine archtype, the sacred tintype, an India-ink love letter to a bygone era where women were likened to wisps of smoke and a stray tendril of hair caught at the nape of the neck.