A Fool's Journey

Lucien Shapiro’s A Fools Journey: Fear Collection Ritual is a series of photographs and writings documenting a ten-month project across the United States, France, and Germany. The goal of the fear collection ritual was to challenge participants to confront themselves, to face their fears and encourage new avenues of understanding and growth. A fear would be objectified and collected in a vessel, which was then toured from city to city, until the fear objects were burned in a final ceremony in Johnson Valley. Shapiro opened each performance with this quote: “I am not acting as your Guru, because first of all I am not giving you any gratification. I am not telling you what you should do from moment to moment, or from day to day, but I’m pointing out something to you, you can take it or leave it. Depending on you, neither your worship, nor your flattery, nor your insults, nor your gods. I say this is a fact, take it or leave it, and most of you will leave it for the obvious reason that you do not find gratification in it.” —Krishnamurti