Brian Harrell: Nietzsche's Art as Redemption

Nietzsche: Art as Redemption

 German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche described art as being a form of redemption. Instead of focusing on the question of "what is art?", Nietzsche put more concern on the question of "why art?" He answers this question alluding to Schopenhauer's idea of the human life being inherently awful; arguing that art is the human response to the horrors of our existence and that art itself is capable of making life bearable. Next, Nietzsche states that there are two distinct types of art: The Apollonian and The Dyonisian. 

 He defines Apollonian art as being a created, unrealistic dream world where the truth of reality is shrouded (example: Statue of David and its illustration of human bodily perfection). Dyonisian art for Nietzsche is defined as art which intoxicates/ dissolves individuality (example: 1960's Woodstock music festival, where most people were completely taken over by the music). As terms of Redemption, I believe that what Nietzsche sees in art is its ability to cause individuals to reject individuality so that we can become one with the forces governing the universe as a whole 

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