Creative Collaboration (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "The varied ways in which we share and realize our intentions are powerfully embodied in collaborative endeavors..." (more)
Key Phrases: partnered endeavors, artistic interdependence, double singleness, Group Theater, Women's Ways of Knowing, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this carefully researched psychological study of creative collaboration, John-Steiner (Notebooks of the Mind) challenges the concept of the primacy of the individual championed by developmental theorists such as Piaget, and urges readers to consider cooperative effort as a new paradigm for human creative activity. In seven lucid chapters, this linguistics and education professor delineates three broad categories: developing "theoretical... models for collaboration," identifying "collaborative dynamics" in creative ventures and documenting "experienced thinkers" engaged "in joint efforts." John-Steiner considers an array of primary sources and historical examples, such as the creative partnerships between Henry Miller and Anais Nin and painters Picasso and Braque, as well as collaborations between scientists and social scientists. She includes numerous interviews with well-known artists and scientists like Arnold Steinhardt of the Guarneri String Quartet and psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Though she addresses some very abstract notionsDfrom the basis of gender identity to essential differences between modes of expressionDJohn-Steiner's writing remains clear and delightfully plain. One intriguing area of her research that she might have developed further is the role sexuality and fantasy can play in creative collaboration. In any case, this book will appeal strongly to artists, musicians and intellectual collaborators who are serious students of the creative process.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"As studies of creative collaborations go, Vera John-Steiner's is a model of scholarship and deep understanding of the human psyche.Her book is a must for creativity studies." American Scientist
"Draws on a wide range of examples from the arts and sciences and includes a valuable bibliography that covers both popular and scholarly works on many aspects of partnership and common-cause endeavors."--"The Futurist
"A reader cannot but fail to be impressed by the scope of John-Steiner's literary palette as she describes with alacrity famous collaborators in fields as diverse as science, music, and art....Offers vivid alternative narratives that respond to her criticism that most of the literature on collaboration focuses on cognition while overlooking the power of relational dynamics."--Education Review
"John-Steiner challenges the concept of the primacy of the individual championed by developmental theorists such as Piaget, and urges readers to consider cooperative effort as a new paradigm for human creative activity....[The] writing [is] clear and delightfully plain.... [Creative Collaboration] will appeal strongly to artists, musicians and intellectual collaborators who are serious students of the creative process."--Publishers Weekly
"One of the first studies available of adult collaboration and group interaction from the perspective of cognitive developmental psychology....John-Steiner [disputes] the traditional psychological view that creativity is an individual accomplishment, demonstrat[ing] the importance of shared vision to individual achievement....[She] has laid the groundwork for further exploration of creative collaboration. Essential."--Library Journal.
"Vera John-Steiner contributes to this intellectual effort in Creative Collaboration . Her research attempts to deepen our understanding of creative achievement by exploring the relational contexts of individual and joint work. . . . This book lays the groundwork for the continuing exploration of the nature and nurturing of collaboration. John-Steiner has made a start describing the variety of ways that collaborators who are also experienced thinkers jointly work. She has begun to answer the question of what motivates extended collaboration and has given us some new language that captures the coupling of the affective and cognitive dimensions that are at the heart of these creative 'ensembles.'" -- Human Development

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; illustrated edition edition (November 9, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195067940
• ISBN-13: 978-0195067941
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: No customer reviews yet. Be the first.
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,115,345 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)