Art as a personal philosophy

Art as a personal philosophy

According to Nietzsche artistic creation depends on the tensions between two opposite forces, “Apollonian” and “Dionysian.”. Nietzsche identifies Apollonian, Apollo is the Greek god of light and reason, as the life and form giving force of measured restraint and detachment, which reinforces a strong sense of self. Nietzsche then identifies the Dionysian, Dionysus is the Greek god of wine and music, as a frenzy of self-forgetting in which the self gives way to a primal unity where individuals are at one with others and with nature. In the creation of art, both the Apollonian and the Dionysian are necessary. Without the Apollonian, the Dionysian lacks the form and structure to make a coherent piece of art, and without the Dionysian, the Apollonian lacks the necessary vitality and passion. Although they are opposed, they are also intertwined.

After much research, I relate Nietzsche’s outlook on viewing art as more of a philosophy than as a practical approach to viewing art. The idea of balance is similar to the eastern philosophy of yin and yang, which describes two primal opposing but complementary forces found in all things in the universe. No one thing is totally Yin or totally Yang, each contains the seed of its opposite. For example, winter turns into summer, and day turns into nite.

The aspect, which I relate to, is a personal philosophy that I as an individual take when looking at art, and less of a methodical approach. The reaction that I get from art is personal, as in, it relates to my likes and dislikes, experiences, and knowledge. In this work, I intend to show four different ways of viewing art, not so much as an approach but as a personal outlook on things that I see as art and not necessarily the norm in viewing art. I believe a few of my ideas many not be what is considered, by many experts, to be the proper way to view art, but it makes sense to me and I think that I can reasonable explain why.
Aesthetics and functionality is one way of...