The
Creative Experience
Edited
by: Stanley Rosner Ph.D and Lawrence Edwin Abt,
Ph.D.,
Grossman
Publishers, New York, N.Y., 1970
Comment
by Publishers Weekly
“What
emerges from this stimulating collection of interviews
with 23 distinguished scientists and artists is the idea
that the ‘creative experience’ is rooted in certain
human drives shared by intelligent and motivated men no
matter what their discipline or field. The
editors, both psychologists, interviewed many creative
figures.”
“Each was asked how he came to be creative, what his
motivations and drives were, what aspects of his family
life and educational background were most beneficial,
etc. Each replied in his own way, and the result
is a collection of free-flowing interviews, taken
verbatim from edited tape, that do indeed throw a good
deal of light on the creative process. Even more
important to the general reader, the interviews provide
a thoroughly enjoyable look into the personal lives and
idiosyncrasies of a fascinating group of people.
Highly recommended” |
Overview
What
makes The Creative Experience unique is its editors’
refusal to limit themselves to the arts. Coming to
grips with creativity is a difficult matter, easier,
perhaps, for those accustomed to thinking of themselves
as creative people. Psychologists Lawrence E. Abt
and Stanley Rosner met with twenty-three people, each
distinguished in such different fields as fashion design
astronomy and poetry. They recorded what are not
so much interviews as clear and often brilliant
conversations, in which these outstanding men and women
recall their experiences prior to and during their
creative pursuits. They discuss the significant
influences on their work – their backgrounds,
training, and drives, their private goals and
professional disciplines. Skillfully guided by Abt
and Rosner, they approach and often grasp one of the
great, perpetually intriguing questions of human nature
– why and how do men create?
William
Faulkner once told an interviewer that he would rob his
mother for the sake of his art – “the ‘Ode on a
Grecian Urn’ is worth any number of old ladies.”
While the contributors to this volume seem not to have
been so ruthless, they do, as they grope and reminisce
and discuss, tell us a great deal about the creative
experience, and about themselves. The editors, at
the end of the book, ferret out similarities and
differences in the contributors’ approaches to
creativity. Moreover, they have compiled the most
complete and extensive guide to the literature of
creativity yet to appear, making The Creative Experience
with its remarkable interviews, analysis, and reference
materials – a major contribution to a fascinating
study.
Interviews
The
Scientists |
|
|
Archaeology
and Anthropology |
Froelich
G.
Rainey |
Astronomy
and Physics |
Harlow
Shapley |
Biology
and Genetics |
H.
Bentley Glass |
Behavioral
Sciences |
David
Krech |
Linguistics |
Noam
Chomsk
y |
Mathematics |
Morris
Kline |
Medical
Sciences |
Wilder
Penfield |
Molecular
Chemistry |
Paul
Saltman |
Social
Sciences |
Arthur
Koestler |
|
|
|
The
Artists |
|
|
Architecture |
Ulrich
Franzen |
Choreography
and the Dance |
Merce
Cunnigham |
Cinema |
Sidney
Lumet |
Crafts |
Oppi
A. J. Untracht |
Fiction |
Isaac
Beshevis Singer |
Fashion
Design |
Bonnie
Cashin |
Industrial
Design |
George
Nelson |
Music |
Aaron
Copland |
Painting |
Raphael
Soyer |
Philosophy |
Sidney
Hook |
Photography |
Edward
Steichen |
Poetry |
Sheldon
Rodman |
Sculpture |
Robert
Engman |
Theatre |
Neil
Simon |
|
Preface
There
is an ever-widening interest and curiosity about the
creative process among persons in all walks of life, and,
accordingly, there is an ever-increasing amount of
research and publication on aspects of the subject.
Virtually everyone is fascinated about the possibilities
of developing talent in himself and others. Among
the questions being asked are whether there is a
disposition toward originality and whether there are
relationships between kinds of education and the
development and cultivation of creativity.
Traditionally,
there have been two general approaches to the study of
creativity, the sociological and psychological.
Ogburn and Thomas, for example, have presented information
on the simultaneity of invention; Kroeber on the
significance of cultural growth patterns; and others, like
Barnett, have placed emphasis on cultural value systems as
these relate to creative results. Usually,
psychologists have looked at personality factors, such as
intelligence, motivation, attitudes, and the like, as
being perhaps crucially related to the creative instinct
and the development of its expression.
Both
approaches to the study of the creative process have
yielded a substantial body of information that has
contributed to greater understanding of what creativity is
and what conditions, social and psychological, are both
necessary and sufficient for its occurrence and fullest
expression.
As
psychologists, the editors of this volume are naturally
most inclined toward inquiry regarding the psychological
factors involved in creative development, and this book is
an expression of that interest.
However,
our orientation is substantially sociological as well,
because we believe the individual can be studied and
understood best within the context of his environment,
considered in the widest sense.
Works
exploring creativity, even those most highly regarded at
present, tend to lay stress either upon the creative
product or outcome, such as Tuska, or on the creative
process itself, such as Ghiselin. We believe that
the present work is virtually the only one that places
emphasis on the creative experience itself as a basis for
approaching an understanding of creativity.
In
exploring this new dimension of creativity, the editors
have sought out the creative experiences of twenty-three
persons in the arts and sciences who are recognized by
their peers, and often by the informed public at large,
for their creative contributions in their respective areas
…
…
Wherever possible, we conducted our interview in the
person’s present working environment, and the interview
proceeded at a speed dictated largely by the interviewee
himself. Each interview was taped and upon
transcription given to the participating individual for
corrections, deletions, and additions. Our concern
was always that each interview reflect as fully as
possible, both in substance and style, what each person
wanted to communicate about his creative experiences and
the aspects of life which seemed to have a bearing upon
his creative process.
As
we review our material, we are strongly persuaded that
this is only a beginning to the exploration and
appreciation of the various factors, both subjective and
objective, that compose the creative experiences of
persons in the arts and sciences.
Abridged
Summary
…
Self-expression is one of the significant motives behind
creating. The German poet Heine wrote, “By creating I
could recover: by creating I became healthy.”
Repeatedly, during our interviews the theme emerges of
finding release in creative work. Cashin states
that, “Perhaps the creative person uses problems in a
constructive way.” Engman refers to his desire to
put in concrete form the answer to the question, “Who am
I?” Others speak of their work as being the best
of themselves. Work is also viewed as an escape from
boredom and despondency and as a soporific. All these
statements point clearly to the fact that to these
individuals, their work is essential to their psychic
economy. They feel that they lead a fuller life
through their work, and that work keeps life in balance.
Some say that it is easier to express themselves through
their art or science than to relate to the world outside.
The writers (Singer, Simon, Rodman) admitted readily that
fiction is generally autobiographical in one way or
another. In that sense, the expression of the self
is seen most directly.
The
desire to prove that one is making a significant
contribution to the world, that one’s work is
meaningful, is important to creative people. Our
contributors spoke in one way or another of longstanding
feelings and fantasies of greatness, Walter Mitty
fantasies, so to speak. They were able to speak of these
with tongue in cheek, at the same time believing in them.
The desire to leave a significant mark on the art or
science worlds is revealed in such statements as, “If I
don’t write it, no one else will,” and the “Only I
can write that particular story.” ….
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