So here I sit, back at SFO. 9 months ago I was literally sitting in the same part fo the same terminal getting ready to embark on my amazing trip to Japan.The photo above is from "Bright on Time" with my buddy Kyok Chan. It is now 8:24 PST and I will be flying into JFK at 7:50 EST should everything go according to plan. I just ate some sushi, forwent the fries and burger, no soda but instead green tea, and here I sit not wasting my time staring off into space nor blankly looking at instagram. And to think all of this was in no way possible less than three years ago. Why?
Three years ago I couldn't even get to the airport without being loaded on any number of alcoholic beverages and an array drugs. I couldn't sit in the airport, nor on the plane without ingesting a continuos flow of booze to numb the inherent fear that I lived in and keep the detox in all of its demonic glory far far away. I never honestly knew that there was a different "way to fly" back then, and more importantly didn't understand that this was not a way to live but rather a way to die.
This is from Twist's Mid Career Survey at BAM.
So now here I sit, typing to you the reader, thinking about my first steps when I arrive in the city that raised me. Mike's Coffee Shop or John's Donut? How will I react to the cold? Where will I stay tomorrow night, Pete's house or Mikey's? The issues needing solutions that arise today are in no way even close to ones I once faced, and amazingly enough every single decision I make now brings me further along in a life that I could have never imagined. The life I live today is truly beyond my wildest dreams and I sometimes have to stop and breath it in to make sure I am not dreaming.
That's my dog Sammie Doodle in North Carolina at the homestead
Tonight D Young V, Hugh Leeman, and Eddie Colla have a spectacular group show at 111 Minna. A triumph in its own right because 111 Minna does not play when it comes to their art shows. They are fortunate to be there and 111 Minna is fortunate to have them. Chris Burch just had his show in St. Louis open a couple weeks ago and big ups to him and all of the Screwed Arts Crew. Also Mike Giant is having a spectacular opening tonight at Fecal Face Gallery, and I wish I could be there to meet him and hang with John and Rachel and everyone there. Lots of amazing things happening, but I am so blessed and so grateful to go home and show Brooklyn that I am ready and willing to give back something great to its history of art and culture. BRIC here I come, Eric Araujo and I are going to make a truly memorable installation piece. This year is really off with a bang and I hope to see everyone I know doing like a Raekwon and "Striving for Perfection".
Over and Out! -John Felix Arnold III 02/07/2014
It's insane that this picture is from REAL LIFE!!!! This is the in the 2KM long Okuno-in graveyard on Koyasan Mountain in Japan. These are statues that pray for the sould of dead children. This place is magic. Life is amazing.