Creative CollaborationRodin's sculpture "The Thinker" dominates our collective imagination as the purest representation of human inquiry--the lone, stoic thinker. But while the Western belief in individualism romanticizes this perception of the solitary creative process, the reality is that scientific and artistic forms emerge from the joint thinking, passionate conversations, emotional connections and shared struggles common in meaningful relationships. In Creative Collaboration, Vera John-Steiner offers rare and fascinating glimpses into the dynamic alliances from which some of our most important scholarly ideas, scientific theories and art forms are born. Within these pages we witness the creative process unfolding in the intimate relationships of Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, Henry Miller and Anais Nin, Marie and Pierre Curie, Martha Graham and Erick Hawkins, and Georgia O'Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz; the productive partnerships of Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, Albert Einstein and Marcel Grossmann, Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein, and Freeman Dyson and Richard Feynman; the familial collaborations of Thomas and Heinrich Mann, Hubert and Stuart Dreyfus, and Margaret Mead, Gregory Bateson and Mary Catherine Bateson; and the larger ensembles of The Guarneri String Quartet, Lee Strasburg, Harold Clurman and The Group Theater, and such feminist groups as The Stone Center and the authors of Women's Ways of Knowing. Many of these collaborators complemented each other, meshing different backgrounds and forms into fresh styles, while others completely transformed their fields. Here is a unique cultural and historical perspective on the creative process. Indeed, by delving into these complex collaborations, John-Steiner illustrates that the mind--rather than thriving on solitude--is clearly dependent upon the reflection, renewal and trust inherent in sustained human relationships. Here is a unique cultural and historical perspective on the creative process, and a compelling depiction of the associations that nurtured our most talented artists and thinkers. By delving into these complex, intimate collaborations, John-Steiner illustrates that the mind--rather than thriving on solitude--is clearly dependent upon the dialogue, renewal, and trust inherent in sustained human relationships. |
Contents
Introduction | 3 |
1 Joined Lives and Shared Work | 11 |
2 Partnerships in Science | 39 |
3 Patterns of Collaboration among Artists | 63 |
Women and Collaboration | 97 |
Emotional Dynamics of Collaboration | 123 |
6 Collaboration across Generations | 151 |
7 Thought Communities | 187 |
Collaboration QSort | 205 |
Notes | 209 |
229 | |
Credits | 239 |
241 | |
257 | |
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activities Anaïs Nin approach artistic Beauvoir Belenky Bohr Braque Cambridge Carol Gilligan challenge chapter Clinchy cognitive collaboration colleagues committed complementarity complex concepts connection construction contributed Copland creative critical Csikszentmihalyi Cubism cultural cultural-historical Curie described dynamics Einstein emotional endeavors Ervin-Tripp experience feminist Fifth Dimension gender Georgia O'Keeffe Gilligan Goldberger Group Theater Gruber helped Howard Gardner human Ibid ideas important individual intellectual interaction interdependence interest interview John-Steiner joint knowledge labor language learning lives mathematical ment mentor Michael Dorris Miller mind modes of thought mutual other's participants partners partnerships pattern Picasso Pierre Curie Plath psychologist Pycior Q-sort relationship rely Reuben Hersh Rogoff role Sartre scientific shared siblings Simone de Beauvoir social started sustained Sylvia Plath talk Tarule Ted Hughes theory thinking thought community tion University Press visual voice Vygotsky women writing wrote York young