Henry Miller: The Artist's Task is to Overthrow Existing Values

By: Erik Rittenberry

To be a creator, one must possess the capacity to rebel.

Rebellion stems from a strong sense of self and shouldn’t be confused with adolescent defiance. True rebellion is an expression of inner freedom that challenges the complacency of those willingly confined. It is the assertion of autonomy, the foundation of independence, and the protector of the human spirit.

It preserves the core of life—the self, fully aware of its own existence. As Camus once said, "Every act of rebellion expresses a nostalgia for innocence and an appeal to the essence of being."

In the realm of creativity, rebellion takes on a more subtle, profound guise. As Picasso once noted, every act of creation is born of destruction—a shedding of the old to make way for the new.