Invented Worlds: The Psychology of the Arts

by Ellen Winner

Book Overview

Cave paintings of our prehistoric ancestors, elaborate ritual dances of preliterate tribesmen, long lines at the movies, earnest scribbles of the three-year-old next door--evidence of human preoccupation with art is everywhere, and it is overwhelming. But unlike other human universals--language, tool use, the family--art makes no material contribution to mankind's survival. What impels the artist to the lonely effort at self-expression? What moves...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0674463617
• ISBN13: 9780674463615
• Release Date: January 1985
• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 1.92 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.9" x 10.1"

Customer Reviews

Covers Painting, Writing, Music & Mental Illness & Creativity

From Front Jacket: "Cave paintings of our prehistoric ancestors, elaborate ritual dances of preliterate tribesmen, long lines at the movies, earnest scribbles of the 3-year-old next door - evidence of human preoccupation with art is everywhere, and it is overwhelming. But unlike other human universals - language, tool use, the family - art makes no material contribution to mankind's survival. What impels the artist to the lonely effort at self-expression? What moves the audience to resonate to the work of a master? What accounts for the child's inherent fascination with pictures and stories and songs? These questions are among the deepest we can ask about human nature. Freud deemed some of them forever unaswerable, but modern psychology has made new inroads into these old mysteries. 'Invented Worlds' provides a complete, authoritative account of this progress. Dealing with the three major art forms - painting, music, and literature - Ellen Winner shows how the artist fashions a symbolic world that transforms the experience of the observer. She probes the adult's ability to create and respond to works of art. In addition, she examines children's art for what it can reveal about the artistic impulse before adult convention becomes a shaping force. Finally, in order to reach a better understanding of the biological bases of artistry, Winner discusses the art of the mentally disturbed and the neurologically impared patient. The sum of these discussions is..nothing less than a new synthesis of our understanding of man's artistic nature. " Chapters include: Personality & Intellect *The Artist * The Audience Painting * What's in a Picture? * The Untutored Eye * The Development of Drawing Music * The Sounds of Music * The Innocent Ear * The Birth of Song Literature * The Literary Experience * Once Upon a Time * First Drafts Art and Abnormality * The Damaged Brain * Mental Illness