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We have a special treat for readers today. The following article was written by Erik Rittenberry, the man and the mind behind the publication Poetic Outlaws.
Poetic Outlaws seeks to revive the Promethean fire of the dead poets and artists in an attempt, however futile, to elevate the modern soul out of the sludge of the status quo.
In the words of the greatest writer of the 20th century, Henry Miller: “Who but the artist has the power to open man up, to set free the imagination? The others - priest, teacher, saint, statesman, warrior - hold us to the path of history. They keep us chained to the rock, that the vultures may eat out our hearts. It is the artist who has the courage to go against the crowd; he is the unrecognized ‘hero of our time’ - and of all time.”
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This article originally appeared on Poetic Outlawshere. I’m sharing it with The BoldBrush Letter because in it, Erik has explored an important topic, perhaps the most important topic for creative people.
Editor’s Note: In two days, this post will be locked and is available only to paid members because we don’t want this duplicate content on the open web in a way that might draw traffic away from Erik’s original post. If you are not a BoldBrush paid subscriber, you can still read the entire post here.
Art is the Proper Task of Life
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Photo: Erik Rittenberry
We have art in order not to die of the truth.
—Friedrich Nietzsche
Nietzsche once said, “Art is the proper task of life,” which speaks to the very soul of our living, breathing lives.
Art is an essential part of life. Without art's depth and enrichment, our lives would dry up like the desert dew at the break of dawn. Art enhances the human experience by offering beauty, inspiration, and a means to navigate and interpret the complexities of existence, the magic, the mayhem, and the throbbing mysteries surrounding us.
In the words of Jean-Luc Godard: Art attracts us only by what it reveals of our most secret self.
The creative act is an activity of our inner life — the dominion of spirit over the material world. It serves as a metaphysical lens, enabling us to perceive life with greater depth and nuance.
The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.
— Picasso
Art is the true calling of life, for what we call reality is but a reflection of our inner world, a creation of our own making. Anaïs Nin once observed, “We don’t see things as they are; we see them as we are.”
Indeed, we shape reality with every thought, word, and breath, crafting it unconsciously or with deliberate care. With his bold clarity, Nietzsche reminds us of a truth we often shy away from: we are all far greater artists than we dare to believe.
Yet, only the fully conscious—the ones who walk with eyes open and hearts attuned—take full responsibility for their creation and align it with the depths of their will.
'The voice of beauty speaks softly; it creeps only into the most fully awakened souls.'
This is Nietzsche’s distant call to us: to awaken, to take hold of this sacred duty, and to embrace the power and burden of shaping our own world. To engage with art is to engage with life itself, not as a passive wanderer but as a bold creator, shaping the raw substance of existence into beauty and meaning.
As he once wrote: “In this state one enriches everything out of one's own fullness: whatever one sees, whatever wills is seen swelled, taut, strong, overloaded with strength. A man in this state transforms things until they mirror his power—until they are reflections of his perfection. This having to transform into perfection is—art.”
In this act of creation, one transcends the mundane and the illusions of the three-dimensional world, awakening to the depths of one’s own creativity and the boundless richness of expression—the highest and most meaningful pursuits a person can embrace.
In pursuing your creative passions, you’ll discover life as something new, yourself included. That’s when LIFE, in its truest sense, becomes a work of art.
Art is essentially the affirmation, the blessing, and the deification of existence.
—Friedrich Nietzsche
Subscribe to Poetic Outlaws
By Erik Rittenberry
A place for the outlaws of poetry and the written word. One of the aims of Poetic Outlaws is to revive the Promethean fire of the dead poets and artists in an attempt, however futile, to elevate the modern soul out of the sludge of the status quo.
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