Exactly two years ago, we published our first article on this blog, The Enduringly Contested Friedrich Nietzsche, a report by Paul Stephan about the annual meeting of the Nietzsche Society in 2023. Time to pause for a moment and think about what we've done on this blog so far and what the future could look like. Our editor-in-chief draws an interim conclusion and gives an insight into our plans.

We are combining this anniversary with two special appeals to you. On the one hand, we created a small quiz (link; in German). Answer four questions correctly, the answers to which are derived from our previous articles, and you could win one of thirteen prizes — and if you want, you can also give us valuable feedback about our work.

We would also like to draw you attention to our crowdfunding call. By July 10, we would like to invite you to help us raise €6,000 to finance further professional translations of our articles. In return, we offer you some fantastic rewards, including in particular the option of translating an article of your choice or giving us an article topic that you've always wanted to read about on this blog. Or you can get to know some of our authors at an exclusive Zoom workshop for our supporters. Become a bridge builder!

Barbara Straka's newly published book Nietzsche Forever? explores the question of how Nietzsche is received in 20th century art, in particular that after 1945. But the reception of Nietzsche's reception raises the question of whether the philosopher's monumentality is lost sight of. Does this reveal a fundamental problem of our age with monumentality? In any case, starting from Nietzsche, Michael Meyer-Albert argues against Straka for a “post-monumental monumentality” as an alternative to aesthetic postmodernism. In the first part of the two-part series, he dedicated himself to her book, and now he is accentuating his opposite position.

The fact that Nietzsche is a philosopher who speaks particularly to artists, even an “artist-philosopher,” is almost commonplace. In Barbara Straka's newly published book Nietzsche Forever?, the question is explored how exactly Nietzsche has been received in 20th century art, in particular that after 1945. The author has created a standard work that clearly and competently conveys the topic in plausible overviews. In this first part of this two-part article, Michael Meyer-Albert dedicates himself to her book and will then accentuate his own position in the upcoming second part.