Creators: From Chaucer and Durer to Picasso and Disney

by Paul Johnson

Book Overview

"Johnson emphasizes the rarity of truly visionary artists . . . his approach is unfailingly generous. . . . Genuinely revealing." --Publishers Weekly

From celebrated journalist and historian Paul Johnson, an enlightening look at the imagination and drive of visionaries who have changed our world.

Paul Johnson believes that creation is a mysterious business which cannot be satisfactorily analyzed. But...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060191430
• ISBN13: 9780060191436
• Release Date: March 2006
• Publisher: Harper
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.28 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A paean to the life of creation

If in a previous work 'Intellectuals' Johnson was all acid in criticizing those who in his phrase ' put ideas before people'.In this work he is all sweetness in praising great creators who as he sees it ' people before ideas'. Johnson's praise of creation however is not confined to those we normally think of creators. Like the great American pragmatist thinkers he sees ' creation' as an inherent part of human everyday life. Furthermore he gives this concept a religious grounding, by speaking of the idea that God the Creator wishes human beings to be creators also. This idea is Biblically derived, and is a reflection of Johnson's own religious view. In the opening chapter Johnson commends creators for their courage in overcoming adversities, for their persistence against rejection of many kinds. He writes, " What strikes me, surveying the history of creativity, is how little fertile and productive people often received in the way of honors, money or anything else." He gives the example of Vermeer whose great dedication and hard work did succeed in lifting his family from poverty. He says that Bach and Mozart too never really had full financial security despite their enormous productive efforts. Johnson is an especial chamption of prolific, hard- working creators. His opening chapter is on Chaucer who virtually invents the modern English language and literature. He then writes of Durer one of those artists who was always learning, expanding and developing his powers in new areas. His third chapter is devoted to Shakespeare who Johnson calls " the most creative personality in human history" Johnson makes studies of two great Shakespeare characters Falstaff and Hamlet. Johnson focuses on the new phrases and words Shakespeare has given to the language. He emphasizes the speed and variety of Shakespeare's creation, the tremendous insight into human life and character. He sees Hamlet as a kind of deep thinker whose reflections throw light on every important aspect of human existence. If Johnson points to Shakespeare as proof that the great creator can come from anywhere is in no way dependent on high origins- then he in his next chapter on Bach focuses on the opposite aspect, the genetic component. He writes of the Bach family which for three hundred years from the age of Luther to the age of Bismarck were at the heart of German music. Bach is praised not only for his hardworking dedication, but for his enormous originality- his creating in every music form known at the time ( except Opera) and expanding the dimensions and scope of each form. In the chapter on Turner and Hokusai Johnson writes of creators who did not go outside their own form of creation- who were wholly dedicated to it. "Turner transformed landscape , during his lifetime into the greatest of visual arts,and left the world of painting permanently changed- indeed artists all over the world are still learning from him ..... Hokusai in effect created Japanese landscape painting from n

A creative description of creative people

Jane Austen produced novels in lieu of children, because she was not pretty enough to attract a potential father. T. S. Eliot produced poems, because his hernias sidelined him from physical things and thus gave him the vast amount of time and energy required to develop his intellect. "Shakespeare is the most creative personality in human history."? Pablo Picasso was a women-beating communist (that never seems to be brought out by the popular press). Now if I run across a Picasso, in addition to cubes, I will see red. Paul Johnson also gave me a new appreciation for the accomplishments of Mark Twain and Walt Disney.

What makes creative talent flourish

The author of "Creators", the historian-cum-journalist Paul Johnson, identifies the reasons why people such as Shakespeare, Bach, Turner, Pugin, Balenciaga ,Walt Disney and a few others, have been so outstanding and prolific in their respective arts and crafts. Talent of course is a necessary requisite but is not enough. All those people were hardworking and loved their work. This love for their craft in turn led them not to be content with anything less than perfection. Besides, they were all innovators in their own manner: always searching for new ideas and novel ways of achieving the highest standards in their work. The author devotes a chapter to each of these creators. There are all sorts of anecdotes illustrating their mastery. For example, Bach reached such heights at composing music for organ that the best organ makers asked him for advice as to how to build organs so that they could produce more beautiful sounds. Pugin died young at 41 but by then he had built several cathedrals and the Houses of Parliament -he made such good use of his time. Balenciaga not only made women look gorgeous in the dresses he designed and produced for them, but also made them feel comfortable in those dresses. T. S. Eliot was so shy that he needed a stimulating alcoholic drink to be able to start writing poetry. Picasso led modern art on a path away from nature while Disney sought his inspiration in nature, which he "surrealized" (to use a word coined by Johnson) in his films: the author guesses at the tendency that will have the last word. The book is written with an elegant prose which is suffused with Johnson's incomparable knowledge of history and a flair for the revealing anecdote which only a seasoned journalist could have possibly recorded. "Creators" is thus well worth reading.

Erudition with Attitude

This is a companion volume to Intellectuals (first published in 1988) in which Johnson focuses on a number of prominent as well as diverse intellectuals who include Rousseau, Shelley, Ibsen, Brecht, and Sartre. He proceeds in the same manner in Creators with his focus on an equally diverse group whose members include Chaucer, Bach, Austen, Eliot, and in Chapter 14, Picasso and Disney. Most of those who have already read one or more of Johnson's other works probably disagree with several of his opinions but no one can (or at least should) question the scope and depth of his erudition. Of course, the appeal and value of this book will depend almost entirely on each reader's own interests but I presume to suggest that this book be read in its entirety because several lesser known people (A.W.N. Pugin and Viollet-le-Duc, for example) are far more interesting than I (at least) anticipated. The title of the first chapter (i.e. "The Anatomy of Creative Courage") could well have served as the book's subtitle. Each of the 17 whom Johnson rigorously examines demonstrated throughout their lives and careers extraordinary courage when pursuing their visions despite all manner of barriers. "What can be said is that creation is always difficult. If it is worth doing at all, we can be sure it is hard to do. I cannot think of any instance in which it is accurate, let along fair, to use the word `facile.'" Johnson also suggests that "courage and creativity are linked, for all creation requires intellectual courage." Also when overcoming physical disabilities, as well as severe poverty, alienation, voluntary or involuntary isolation (often resulting in severe loneliness), and constant awareness of hardships which one's loved ones have been forced to share and endure. "All the same," Johnson concludes, "creation is a marvelous business, and people who create at the highest level lead a privileged life, however arduous and difficult it may be. An interesting life, too, full of peculiar aspects and strange satisfactions. That is the message of this book." Please keep in mind that this volume does not consist of 17 mini-biographies, although there is a wealth of biographical information provided. Nor is it a definitive critical analysis of what each of the subjects created, although their major achievements are acknowledged. Nor is it a cultural history, although Johnson briefly but deftly correlates a number of cross-generational themes. Granted, he could well have devoted an additional chapter to each of several others such as Vermeer, Mozart, Richard Wagner, Caravaggio, Mary Cassatt, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Emily Dickinson. (He does briefly discuss them in the first chapter.) I think it is important to realize what this book is not so that it can be properly understood and appreciated for what it is: what an uncommonly intelligent, eloquent, and erudite historian has found most interesting and informative in the lives and careers of 17 creators. "Creativity,

An interesting tour of creators in various art forms and what their work required of them

There is a long line of books of lives and this is a quite interesting contribution to the genre. These kinds of books are not meant to be biographies as we know them today. This book has some points to make about the creative personality in its various manifestations over several centuries in many of the arts in the West. Yes, if you read a few dozen biographies you could get more in depth on each of the figures discussed here, but that would be a different project than Paul Johnson is after here. The author wants us to see that the creative personality has certain tendencies, needs, and that society gains from this kind of individual even if there are also costs to those around him or her. There is also a vast range of personality. Some are healthy and vastly productive, others have a more restricted output, but still their contribution is large. Others have a toxic personality and then there is a full range in between. The real point here is to use these brief examinations of these creative artists to illustrate rather than to explain or provide some undergirding theory. The chapters are arranged in a largely chronological order. This has some advantages in discussing artistic trends over time. Johnson includes authors and poets such as Chaucer, Shakespeare, Austen, Hugo, Twain, and Eliot, but Dickens, the Br?ntes, and many other writers are discussed along the way as well. There are visual artists and architects beginning with D?rer, Turner, Hokusai, Pugin, le Duc, Tiffany, Picasso, and Disney. He also includes fashion designers Balenciaga and Dior with quite convincing observations for their inclusion. Bach is the only musician given a chapter heading, but many other musicians are discussed along with Bach in his chapter. That is really the way each chapter is constructed. Each artist is discussed in a larger context, which requires discussion of other artists. For example, in discussing Jane Austen, many other women who managed to become artists in the face of huge social pressure are discussed to provide a richer context for Austen. The book opens with a discussion of the anatomy of creative courage. This theme of courage to create and the way that courage is manifested in the lives of each of these artists is the unifying theme of the book, but there are other threads that we follow as well. We learn about the role of families in the lives of these artists (variously important), their access to professional training (not as important as you might expect), what a sympathetic or hostile social environment does to creativity (might make producing more difficult, but does not stop the most determined), what social change does (destroyed most of Tiffany's work and makes us poorer, and forced Balenciaga into a lonely retirement), and the differences between fine and fashion art and how that change occurred. The last chapter discusses creativity in science and the use of metaphor in creation. I think this is a very inte