and the Sculpture's pent up energy, it concretizes (and beautifully I might add) Nietzsche's philosophy that the essence of life itself is Will to Power. He is about to discharge his strength with every ounce of passion he possesses... in fact he gives us the impression that his very life depends on it.

Stephen Boydstun's current threads "Nietzsche v. Rand" (1, 2 and 3) go into this notion in more detail... though I'm yet to hear a convincing case against this efficacy being our most primary drive.

Self-expression without a self seems to be the dominant thread among most artists. Many of them truly offer nothing original because they don't have it in them to stop and think about what makes them them and to proceed from there. Instead, it's always about expression, expression, expression. Of what? Anything and everything and so nothing.
Thanks again for the words, Michael, they mean a lot.

http://fawstin.blogspot.com/

It does suggest a defiant will. I agree with what you write here Michael. It also to me is a display of an individual’s pride. Which of course all religions oppose. “Foremost among the seven "deadly sins," each of the seven equally as deadly, but none quite as notorious as this "sin of the devil."”

The meek shall inherit the earth? The meek shall inherit the dirt.

It is far too easy to succumb to the 'lower' form of individualism exemplified in the 'postmodern' art world, and similarly the philosophically-political anarchist world, in the absence of people like yourself and other SOLO-ists who champion the 'higher' individualism. Thank you.

Thanks Bosch,

It is important for me to know that people like you are out there, I mean you are putting everything on the line to create, that takes a huge amount of guts and fortitude.

The guy I reviewed for the July issue, said that he started out as a follower. Then he thought that artists that did their own thing "were full of it and pompous." It took him many years, to develop his own confidence and id, now he can't see following others, but takes pride and satisfaction in doing his own thing. That was a good thing to see and reminder not to wait to go your own way, but to really go for it, as you are doing--great things will come about for doing that.

Michael

www.michaelnewberry.com

Thanks Tim!

You wrote: "Isn’t that the point of post-modernism? Post-moderns have no
values and can only survive by being able to tear down the values of
others. Short-term cool over bourgeoisie self-betterment."

Exactly so, you got it in a nutshell. I hoped in my statement you quoted to get the focus shifted to what values an individual is for, rather than to connect individuality with uniqueness for its own sake.

Michael

www.michaelnewberry.com

Michael, I want to applaud you for finding the words, a difficult thing to do well, and for bringing your insight to works such as this. Your contribution to TNI has made a great magazine even greater.

http://fawstin.blogspot.com/

Michael

Great article.

You wrote: “Thus Spoke Zarathustra is the moment of coming to a resolution. Here we have a man who is forever springing up. He conveys what the Nike commercial recommends: Just Do It.”

Fabulous! Inspirational.

You wrote: “One puzzle about contemporary individualism is that it seems to have no cultural identity. Postmodernism and its art could be a symbol of freedom to go your own way, including the freedom to shock and the right to do almost anything. But is that really what individualism is for?

Isn’t that the point of post-modernism? Post-moderns have no values and can only survive by being able to tear down the values of others. Short-term cool over bourgeoisie self-betterment.