The Jester and I have been bandying about in regards to the definition of The Artist for some time. In his most recent post he had a quote from Nietzsche concerning what an artist is (or in this case isn’t).

Whoever is completely and wholly an artist is to all eternity separated from the “real,” the actual
- Nietzsche

Now, don’t get me wrong. I truly believe that Nietzsche was a sharp cat. But I have to say he got it backwards. Or at least I will endeavor to make it seem that way with the wonder of semantics.

Adjective

real (comparative more real, superlative most real)

1. That can be characterized as a confirmation of truth.
2. That has physical existence.
3. That is a version of a fact or statistic (especially in economics) that is intended to reflect key fundamental trends, generally generated by the removal or nullification of irrelevant or “noisy” data from the input.
4. (mathematics) Relating to numbers with a one-to-one correspondence to the points on a line.
5. (law) Relating to immovable tangible property.
6. That is an exemplary or pungent instance of a class or type.
7. Genuine, not faked.
8. Genuine, not artificial.
9. (slang) Signifying meritorious qualities or actions especially in regards to enjoying life, prowess at sports and success wooing potential partners.

From the Wiktionary.

So it would seem from this that Nietzsche didn’t value art very highly. Saying that an artist is eternally separated from the real would imply they are separated from truth (def #1). Also they would be faking it or creating something artificial (7,8).

I would posit that the artist is immured within a personal truth (and what other kind is there really?). What an artist creates is a window into that truth which is left to everyone else to intemperate. It isn’t some fantasy land, it is the world in which they exist which naturally includes the artist themself.

Art is style, it’s a feeling. Art is the ability to find interest in things for the sake of the things themselves, not for whatever potential they have (although that is part of it also).

Personally, I would die without art. But then again I have always said that at its very root, life IS art.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 13th, 2006 at 8:18 pm and is filed under indiscriminate, philosophy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.