Creative drive for art & Nietzsche

[NJH]

I find it fascinating how frequently discussions around mastering mechanical techniques, evaluations of art in mechanical objective terms are always set in conflict to the flow of creativity, life and inspiration, often even set as the anti-thesis to the creation of art by which it is its tool. My hypothesis for today is that the manifold discussions and debates on this conflict effectively demonstrate that Nietzsche and his "The Birth of Tragedy" had it nailed more than a century ago.

Here is but one link that happens to draw together two greats that have impacted me:
https://philosophynow.org/issues/112/How_Nietzsche_Inspired_Dali

 

[jtk]

Thanks for that Philosophy Now link. This is a quote: "... it is difficult to precisely pin down what Dalí wanted to suggest in claiming a connection with Nietzsche. Did he really appropriate Nietzsche’s philosophy? Or rather, did the artist behaved abnormally because he wanted excitement and wide publicity? Did he make himself out to be a madman and weirdo only for financial reasons, rather than out of philosophical agreement over an innate Dionysian impulse?"

Dali wasn't either-or...throughout what seemed a deliberately marketing-oriented career, he positioned himself as both. Despite no particular need for big money, he planned and executed mass production (untold numbers of signed, unprinted sheets awaiting litho as "Dali orignials"...many printed by others after his death). He was like an actor, exceptionally conscious of his public image (books, films, magazine articles).

Dali's paintings were fairly skillful and the imagery appears very deliberate: he was like certain popular photographers, whose reputations exceed their artistry.

Contrast Dali with Picasso...which one was primarily an artist and which one was heavily into non-artistic mass production? Some photographers are primarily artists, and others, like Mappelthorpe, worked almost exclusively to appeal to taste of identifiable mass markets

 

[Craig75]

i always thought banging your head against a brick wall by banksy summed up the drive for production of art in a very succinct and witty way.