Aging, Creativity and Art

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xvii

   PDF

2. The Case is Made

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

      PDF

   2. Late-Life Creativity

      • Martin S. Lindauer

      Pages 3-22

   3. Old Age and Old Artists

      • Martin S. Lindauer

      Pages 23-41

3. Competing Views of Late-Life Creativity

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 43-43

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   2. The Youthful Rise,Early Fall, and Short Span of Creativity

      • Martin S. Lindauer

      Pages 45-57

   3. Does Creativity Decline with Age?

      • Martin S. Lindauer

      Pages 59-70

   4. Late-Life Creativity

      • Martin S. Lindauer

      Pages 71-86

4. Late-Life Creativity

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 87-87

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   2. A Reconsideration of Lehman’s Findings

      • Martin S. Lindauer

      Pages 89-102

   3. The Course of Creativity among Historical Artists of Renown

      • Martin S. Lindauer

      Pages 103-113

   4. Creative Productivity, Gender, and Individual Differences for Long-Lived Artists of Renown

      • Martin S. Lindauer

      Pages 115-124

   5. Contemporary Old Artists on Their Late-Life Creativity

      • Martin S. Lindauer

      Pages 125-133

   6. New Ideas and Approaches by Aging Artists

      • Martin S. Lindauer

      Pages 135-147

5. The Old-Age Style

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 149-149

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   2. The Old-Age Style Introduced: The Issues

      • Martin S. Lindauer

      Pages 151-172

   3. Identifying Artists with an Old-Age Style: Contributions from Experts, Laypersons, and Artists

      • Martin S. Lindauer

      Pages 173-192

   4. Describing Paintings in the Old-Age Style

      • Martin S. Lindauer

      Pages 193-210

   5. Beyond the Old-Age Style, Old Art, and Aging Artists

      • Martin S. Lindauer

      Pages 211-222

6. Art and the Elderly

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 223-223

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Aging, Creativity and Art: A Positive Perspective on Late-Life Development explores the strengths and opportunities of old age as these are manifested by the accomplishments of aging artists, late artistic works, and elderly arts audiences. The book draws on scholarship in the humanities, primarily in art history; examines mainly paintings and painters, both historical and contemporary; reviews empirical research on creativity and cognition, predominantly from psychology and gerontology; and presents the author's original studies, including surveys of art historians, questionnaires completed by aging artists and arts audiences, and experiments involving judgments of art by laypersons. The research presented in Aging, Creativity and Art: A Positive Perspective on Late-Life Development suggests that creativity continues into the later years; higher-order mental abilities related to creativity, like imagination and problem-solving, persist until late in life; and the elderly's physical, sensory, mental, and interpersonal competencies may be enhanced by engagement with the arts. This work interrelates the disciplines of science, the humanities, and the arts to form a synthesis that builds on the strengths of the methods of quantification of science; the emphasis on the individual in the humanities; and the expressive and intuitive modes of communication in the arts. Aging, Creativity and Art: A Positive Perspective on Late-Life Development critically examines the psychology of creativity, cognitive development, and gerontology, and will be of interest to a wide range of professionals and students in these fields.

• Action
• Creativity
• cognition
• development
• psychology

From the reviews:

"In a brave attempt, Martin Lindauer explores the relationship between aging and creativity among artists … . Readers will be impressed by the varied and rich sources of information that Lindauer used in writing this book. … his book may be one example of a unique artistic output in terms of quality and style. … Martin Lindauer has made this book a beautiful work of art." (Sing Lau, American Journal of Psychology, Spring, 2007)

• College at Brockport, State University of New York, Brockport, USA

  Martin S. Lindauer

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