We’re just over a week since my art show launch (really? only that long??) and it’s amazing how much getting over the hurdle of making my first show in five years visible in the world has energized me.

A lot of my energy has been directed towards deep cleaning, organizing, repairing old torn canvases and scuffed artworks, and in general just making the spaces I participate in nicer to exist in.

And on a more metaphysical note, throwing away all the judgmental and degrading opinions that have been clogging up my space.

When you’re real, there is no “buffer” between peoples’ rudeness and your actual self. Which is why a lot of artists protect themselves with a persona of some kind. Then when that persona gets judged, it’s a sort of armor that defends the real person.

I was ashamed of myself when I realized life was a costume party and I attended with my real face.

—Franz Kafka

People can costume up if they want. In my perspective that feels like treating peak “culture” like some kind of tween drama. It strikes me as both immature and cowardly.

For better or worse, that’s never been my style and I can confidently say it never will be.

Have I faced consequences for that? Oh you bet your butt I have.

But that doesn’t mean I have to get hurt all the time. Another way to deal with it is to develop the kind of self respect that more or less functions as a shop vac for peoples’ bullshit.

The only reason a lot of people are as full of shit as they are is that they’ve never actually stood in front of someone they knew could see all the way through it.

When you think everyone is too stupid to know you’re not being real, you’re going to treat everyone like they’re too stupid to help you take your stupid mask off.

Maybe people aren’t stupid; maybe they are too busy doing the hard work of being real to care about the costume party you think they should dress up for to buffer them from the consequence of authenticity.

And maybe curating a fake face doesn’t make you better than everyone who has the spine to be seen for who they are.

—Adrien

The posts are flowing at a steady clip right now and that’s because I have a huge amount of work that has long awaited finding a place in a context like this one.

So the mighty several of you who jumped in and subscribed to my brand new email updates are getting quite the blast of content.

I’m not about to apologize for that—presumably you’re here because you like what I’m about. If you didn’t I’d surely have repelled you a long time ago by now. As I mentioned to several folks over banter about my art at my show opening last week, a lot of what I’m saying and doing is “not exactly subtle.”

However I wouldn’t call it exotic or “out there” either.

Years ago I bought a shirt which I wore to shreds because I loved it so much. It was an album shirt for Thom Yorke’s Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes. If you’re unfamiliar Thom Yorke is the lead singer of Radiohead.

If you stood facing a mirror wearing that shirt, you’d see reflected back underneath the geometric design the phrase “THE TRUTH IS ORDINARY.”

Correct.

Getting more specific, the truth about me is ordinary.

I’ve had a lot of people frame me as some kind of rebel. The thing is, in order to be a rebel there would need to be some kind of authority I am supposedly rebelling from.

What authority am I actually under, which I am going against? Who am I going against by continuing to exist? If someone thinks I am against them due to the fact that I am continuing to exist, wouldn’t it seem that they perhaps need some support for their emotional and mental health?

Because my existence is not a political stance or an ideology. It is a purely neutral fact.

Me taking care of my basic needs so I can continue to create value in society and support the people I love is not some kind of extremist behavior.

Glad we cleared that up.

Peace,

Adrien