Nietzche's Dream
1995
oil on canvas
10" x 14"
25.4cm x 35.6cm
Status & ownership
Whereabouts unknown
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About the work
A statue of two stacked figures — red above, green below — stands on a cliffside plateau overlooking the Pacific, the upper figure pointing out past the edge beneath a Turner-like burning sky. Nietzche's Dream depicts an invented monument of two stacked figures on a pedestal, set on a plateau above a sea cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The upper figure, rendered in red and orange, points outward past the cliff edge toward a dramatic sunset sky in the manner of Turner; the green figure beneath it is crouched, load-bearing. A purple-toned shadow, cast by the statue, extends across the plateau in alignment with the pointing gesture. Painted near the end of the artist's OG Oil Paintings period while reading Nietzsche and, via Henry Miller, Rimbaud, the work stages the Übermensch as a decision already made rather than a destination — the artist has described his own state at the time as having mentally committed to leaving San Francisco for Europe, delayed only by finances. The cliff draws on Fort Funston, a childhood site associated with hang gliders launching from its edge, giving the painting's central gesture a literal, remembered referent alongside its philosophical one.
Intent
Made near the end of the OG Oil Paintings period, in the SF backyard, while reading Nietzsche (Birth of Tragedy, Beyond Good and Evil, Thus Spoke Zarathustra) and, via Henry Miller's The Time of the Assassins, Rimbaud. The two-figure statue was worked through in dialogue as touching on the Übermensch — read at the time not as dominance but as self-created evolution/ascent, the leap already mentally decided, delayed only by finances (the artist was mid-cycle leaving SF and returning to save money before Europe, not on one clean departure). The cliff draws on Fort Funston, San Francisco — a childhood site visited repeatedly (family, camps, skater friends at the old battery, and alone), known for hang gliders launching from the cliff edge, giving the painting's 'leap of faith' a literal, remembered referent rather than a purely borrowed metaphor. The ocean is specifically the Pacific, tied to a personal sense at the time that San Francisco was 'the end of Western culture' — later understood by the artist not to hold up structurally, but strongly felt then; the statue's pointing gesture carries an irony in that light, aimed past the edge of the only cultural map the artist had, not toward Europe as a center. The artist also named a more melancholy reading: the gesture as fulfilling a leap Nietzsche himself (frail, unable to live the adventure he wrote about) never got to take, contrasted against Henry Miller, who did live it. The artist is explicit that the painting reflects his period understanding of both writers, not how either is read or has been read since (Nietzsche's Nazi co-option via his sister's editing; Miller's more complicated current reputation).
Making
Made fairly quickly, on and off over a couple of days in the SF backyard; the artist has no specific memory of any part of the painting 'fighting back' or requiring rework. The title is believed to have arrived after the image was substantially finished — the artist recalls not having the name settled until the piece told him what it was, an order of operations (image first, name after) consistent with the wordplay-driven naming the artist has also described for Altar of Ignorance. The artist felt the technique was 'coming into form' in this piece specifically — happy with the outcome, and arriving through increased control rather than the loosening seen in The Sunset, marking it as a distinct node on the technical arc rather than a continuation of that loosening thread. The purple used in the cast shadow was a deliberate colour choice, made with the Goethe colour-theory framework already active in the artist's practice by this point (unlike Altar of Ignorance two years earlier, where similar purple/green tones were chosen purely intuitively, before that reading).
Context of making
A painting from a time before somethings got interpreted differently — made near the end of the reading-and-theorizing stretch that also produced Altar of Ignorance, before the ideas it draws on (Nietzsche's Übermensch, Henry Miller) carried the cultural baggage they carry now.
What this isn't
The artist recalls considering having the statue's cast shadow diverge from the statue's own pointing direction — a deliberate absurdist note, prompted by seeing the statue's 'leap beyond civilization' gesture itself as a bit absurd — but decided against it, keeping the shadow aligned with the statue's gesture for a more unified, committed effect. The artist held this memory with explicit uncertainty ('as far as I can remember') rather than as a settled fact.
J.M.W. Turner — Sky handled as a Turner-style sunset/storm sky, amplifying the drama of the statue figures below; same reference running through After Turner and the artist's vantage work. Auguste Rodin — General exposure/influence during this period, most directly present in The Thinker (title and subject taken from Rodin); not a confirmed direct compositional source for this statue specifically. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (colour theory) — Red (active, dignifying, 'plus' register) above green (repose, balance) in the statue; purple in the cast shadow read via Goethe's 'minus'/unsettled register. Same year as Color Theory (1995), so the framework was active by this point — contrast with Altar of Ignorance (1993), whose purple/green sky predates the Goethe reading and was purely intuitive. Friedrich Nietzsche — Title and conceptual core; Birth of Tragedy, Beyond Good and Evil, Thus Spoke Zarathustra read at the time. Übermensch discussed at length in session; artist notes the term's meaning and cultural loading have shifted substantially since 1995 (including its Nazi-era co-option via editing by Nietzsche's sister) and the painting reflects his period understanding, not current readings. Henry Miller — The Time of the Assassins was the artist's actual route into Rimbaud, not Rimbaud read cold. Miller held up in session as the writer who lived the adventure Nietzsche only theorized. Artist notes Miller's reputation has also become more complicated since, particularly regarding his writing about women. Arthur Rimbaud — Read via Miller; romantic mythology of departure and sacrifice-for-art, echoing the same Rimbaud thread already confirmed in Altar of Ignorance (1993). Marc Chagall — Surfaced by the artist as a loose color/mood association — dreamlike displacement, saturated color — not a compositional or thematic source.
J.M.W. Turner · J.M.W. Turner
Artist cites a longstanding preference for expansive, dramatic skies in the tradition of Turner and Constable, independent of and predating engagement with Goethe's color theory.
Auguste Rodin · Auguste Rodin
General exposure/influence during this period, most directly present in The Thinker (title and subject taken from Rodin); not a confirmed direct compositional source for this statue specifically.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (colour theory) · Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (colour theory)
Red (active, dignifying, 'plus' register) above green (repose, balance) in the statue; purple in the cast shadow read via Goethe's 'minus'/unsettled register. Same year as Color Theory (1995), so the framework was active by this point — contrast with Altar of Ignorance (1993), whose purple/green sky predates the Goethe reading and was purely intuitive.
Friedrich Nietzsche, The Birth of Tragedy · Friedrich Nietzsche, The Birth of Tragedy
Apollonian/Dionysian split read by the artist around the time of painting; direct influence, later recurring explicitly in the work Nietzsche's Dream.
Henry Miller · Henry Miller
The Time of the Assassins was the artist's actual route into Rimbaud, not Rimbaud read cold. Miller held up in session as the writer who lived the adventure Nietzsche only theorized. Artist notes Miller's reputation has also become more complicated since, particularly regarding his writing about women.
Arthur Rimbaud · Arthur Rimbaud
Read via Miller; romantic mythology of departure and sacrifice-for-art, echoing the same Rimbaud thread already confirmed in Altar of Ignorance (1993).
Marc Chagall · Marc Chagall
Surfaced by the artist as a loose color/mood association — dreamlike displacement, saturated color — not a compositional or thematic source.
Visual Similarity
Works with similar visual structure, found by comparing image embeddings across the archive.
Vision Analysis
A small vertical oil-on-canvas composition dominated by an intense Turner-inflected sunset sky — bands of burning orange and red cloud radiating against deep blue, occupying roughly the upper half of the canvas. Below, a green inclined plateau extends from a two-figure statue toward a dramatic sea cliff, subtly fisheye-bent in perspective, dropping to the Pacific Ocean and a curved beach cove. The statue: a red/orange robed figure standing atop a green crouched figure, both raised on a grey stone pedestal, the upper figure's arm extended, pointing out over the cliff toward the horizon. A dark, elongated purple-brown shadow trails from the pedestal across the plateau, aligned with the statue's pointing gesture. Composition holds a hybrid downward-and-outward vantage — surveying the cliff and cove from an elevated position while the sky and pointing gesture pull the eye outward toward the horizon.
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