Perspectives on Artistic Creativity: A Review of ‘The Artful Mind’ (Mark Turner, Ed.)

This book is not actually about the artful mind, i.e. the mind of one who uses devious means to achieve certain ends, but the artistic mind, i.e. the mind of one who creates art. It consists of fourteen chapters by prominent scholars from a variety of disciplines ranging from art history to cognitive science to modern languages and literature. The book is the result of these scholars meeting for periods ranging from a few months to a year at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in 2001-2002. It is a provocative and eclectic compilation of perspectives on what goes through the mind of the artist, how the creative process works, and how human creativity came about. This review will say a few words about each chapter, and end with a comment on some recurring themes