Collective Creativity offers an analysis of the explosion of artistic creativity currently taking place on the South Pacific island of Rarotonga. By exploring the construction of this art-world through the ways in which creativity and innovation are linked to social structures and social networks; this book investigates the social aspects of making fine art in order to present a lsquo;collectiversquo; theory of creativity. With a close examination of tourism; galleries and; of course; the artists themselves; Katherine Giuffre presents a detailed picture of a complex and multi-faceted community through the words of the art-world participants themselves.Theoretically sophisticated; yet grounded with rich empirical data; this book will appeal not only to anthropologists with an interest in the South Pacific; but also to scholars concerned with questions of ethnicity; creativity; globalization and network analysis.
#1095842 in eBooks 2012-11-27 2012-11-27File Name: B00AFGCOW6
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. A History for general reading; though more than coffee table fareBy A.E.M. BaumannThere are two ways to approach something of the nature of the subject of Modernism: from the outside; which lends to a text that is more a factual history; and from the inside; which makes for a more ideational history. While the subtitle of the book; "The Lure of Heresy;" might give the idea that it is the latter; it is very much the former. For example; Gay opens up the section on Painting and Sculpture with a survey of self-portraiture by Modernist painters; which very much dwells in what I would say is Gays central idea: that Modernism was a turning in by artists toward an exploration of the self. But the ideational aspect never goes much deeper than demonstrating a general trend. If you are looking for something more toward an engagement with the aesthetics and theories of Modernists; or a more indepth exploration of that idea of turning toward the self; then this might not what you are looking for.This is not what I would consider a "scholarly" text. It is a history presented to a more general audience. (And one of the blurbs above speaks of Gay as a "superior popularizer.") If you are looking for the former; this might not be for you.In fact; the book very much has the feel (and there are moments in the first part that hint at this) that in writing this Gay was confronted with the option of either addressing his central ideas in depth using many pages to do so or more presenting a more cursory and more casually readable exploration; and he chose the latter. Which is not at all a criticism of the book. Nor are the two previous points. I am simply here describing the book for those who are thinking of purchasing it without looking within it first. While this is a very enjoyable book; personally while reading it I was wanting to close it and move to something like Bradbury and McFarlanes book of the same name -- which is much more of a scholarly presentation.Let me be clear; however; I do not mean to say this is a coffee table history. Gay is presenting his idea as to what was/is Modernism. And it is an interesting idea; one that finds its currents more in the psyche of the artists than in the characteristics of the their work; which to me is the correct path. (Though; I am very curious to know what a person who knows little about Modernism would take away from this book. I wonder if the limits of the text create false ideas -- like an undervaluing of the Symbolists.) If you are looking for a lighter introduction to or survey of Modernism; this might be worth the price of admission.If I have one negative; it is that the book seems very uneven in its use of illustrations. The opening section introducing the ideas of the book has many; and then; when the book gets to the meat of the matter; they disappear almost entirely. One would think it would be the other way around. (In fact; it hints to me that the book as published may not be the book for which Gay was aiming.)I give it four stars; though 3 1/2 would be more accurate.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy michael w. poormanI think this is an excellent history of modernism.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Four StarsBy Jane M. Shattucgood overview