Background
John-Steiner, Vera was born on June 13, 1930 in Budapest, Hungary. Daughter of Francis and Sophie (Fonagy) Polgar.
(Rodin's sculpture "The Thinker" dominates our collective ...)
Rodin'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.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195307704/?tag=2022091-20
(How do creative people think? Do great works of the imagi...)
How do creative people think? Do great works of the imagination originate in words or in images? Is there a rational explanation for the sudden appearance of geniuses like Mozart or Einstein? Such questions have fascinated people for centuries; only in recent years, however, has cognitive psychology been able to provide some clues to the mysterious process of creativity. In this revised edition of Notebooks of the Mind, Vera John-Steiner combines imaginative insight with scientific precision to produce a startling account of the human mind working at its highest potential. To approach her subject John-Steiner goes directly to the source, assembling the thoughts of "experienced thinkers"--artists, philosophers, writers, and scientists able to reflect on their own imaginative patterns. More than fifty interviews (with figures ranging from Jessica Mitford to Aaron Copland), along with excerpts from the diaries, letters, and autobiographies of such gifted giants as Leo Tolstoy, Marie Curie, and Diego Rivera, among others, provide illuminating insights into creative activity. We read, for example, of Darwin's preoccupation with the image of nature as a branched tree while working on his concept of evolution. Mozart testifies to the vital influence on his mature art of the wondrous "bag of memories" he retained from childhood. Anais Nin describes her sense of words as oppressive, explaining how imagistic free association freed her as a writer. Adding these personal accounts to laboratory studies of thought process, John-Steiner takes a refreshingly holistic approach to the question of creativity. What emerges is an intriguing demonstration of how specific sociocultural circumstances interact with certain personality traits to encourage the creative mind. Among the topics examined here are the importance of childhood mentor figures; the lengthy apprenticeship of the talented person; and the development of self- expression through highly individualistic languages, whether in images, movement or inner speech. Now, with a new introduction, this award-winning book provides an uniquely broad-based study of the origins, development and fruits of human inspiration.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195108965/?tag=2022091-20
John-Steiner, Vera was born on June 13, 1930 in Budapest, Hungary. Daughter of Francis and Sophie (Fonagy) Polgar.
Bachelor, Barnard College, 1950; Doctor of Philosophy, University of Chicago, 1956.
Assistant professor, U. Rochester, New York, 1961-1963; associate professor, Yeshiva U., New York City, 1963-1972; associate professor, U. New Mexico, Albuquerque, 1972-1974; professor, U. New Mexico, Albuquerque, since 1974; presidential professor, U. New Mexico, Albuquerque, 1985-1990; director Santa Fe Graduate Center, U. New Mexico, 1980-1986. Visiting professor University of California, Berkeley, 1988, CUNY Graduate School, New York City, 1992-1993. Consultant U.s. Office Education, Washington, 1965-1968, Children's Museum Indianapolis, since 1991, Santa Fe Children's Museum, since 1993.
(How do creative people think? Do great works of the imagi...)
(How do creative people think? Do great works of the imagi...)
(Rodin's sculpture "The Thinker" dominates our collective ...)
Fellow American Psychological Association. Member American Anthropol. Association, American Educational Research Association (cultural-history special interest group).
Married E.R. John, November 13, 1951 (divorced). Children: Steven S., M. Suki. Married Stan Steiner, May 29, 1966 (deceased 1987).