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Creative Mind: Conditions for Creative Work

April 1, 1958
Rudolf Arnheim psychologist
Margaret Mead anthropologist
Milton Nahm philosopher
Lyman Bryson host, commentator

Lyman Bryson moderates a discussion with psychologist Rudolf Arnheim, anthropologist Margaret Mead, and philosopher Milton Nahm about how we can discover the conditions that make creative work more likely.

Twenty-two prominent men and women in many fields contributed to this thought-provoking series, which sought to provide insights useful in the development of an educational and cultural setting in which this nation's creative potential could be fully realized. Originally given during radio interviews in the 1950's, their timeless comments have been remastered to live online for your enjoyment.

Frank Lloyd Wright, Aaron Copland, Leopold Stokowski, Robert Penn Warren, Allen Tate, Norman Cousins, Reinhold Niehbuhr, Margaret Mead, Agnes de Mille, and many other authorities express their individual views on the creative process in reference to their own work and to society. Each interview attempted to answer several critical questions relative to nontechnical values that challenge the attention of thoughtful individuals in an industrial society:

Do the human and cultural aspects of civilization receive the necessary encouragement to insure a balanced development? Do the young potential artists in our midst have a favorable opportunity to express their talents? Consideration of these and related issues suggests numerous questions as to the nature of art, artists, creativeness in both the arts and sciences, and the conditions requisite for creative effort.

WGBH
Image of Art and Visual Perception: A Psychology of the Creative Eye
Author: Rudolf Arnheim
Publisher: University of California Press (2004)
Binding: Paperback, 518 pages
Image of Visual Thinking
Author: Rudolf Arnheim
Publisher: University of California Press (2004)
Binding: Paperback, 352 pages
Image of Film as Art
Author: Rudolf Arnheim
Publisher: University of California Press (2006)
Binding: Paperback, 230 pages
Image of The Power of the Center : A Study of Composition in the Visual Arts : The New Version
Author: Rudolf Arnheim
Publisher: University of California Press (1988)
Binding: Paperback, 256 pages
Image of Coming of Age in Samoa: A Psychological Study of Primitive Youth for Western Civilisation (Perennial Classics)
Author: Margaret Mead
Publisher: Harper Perennial Modern Classics (2001)
Binding: Paperback, 256 pages
Image of Sex and Temperament: In Three Primitive Societies
Author: Margaret Mead
Publisher: Harper Perennial (2001)
Binding: Paperback, 352 pages
Image of Male and Female
Author: Margaret Mead
Publisher: Harper Perennial (2001)
Binding: Paperback, 496 pages