Bound by Creativity

Sociological research and theories on creativity assume that creativity is based on collective processes, social evaluations and judgments, and the result of social networks, interactions, and shared beliefs. Hannah Wohl's book Bound by Creativity: How Contemporary Art Is Created and Judged addresses this sociological assumption by providing in-depth insights that she has gathered from a long-term ethnography within the contemporary art world in New York. * American Journal of Sociology * Wohl's intriguing book explores the mystery of creativity, the whatever-it-is that informs artists' visions as they shape successful and moving works of art and finds its explanation in the shared and socially supported understanding of the idea of creative vision. An original and profound contribution to the sociology of art. -- Howard S. Becker Bound by Creativity escorts us into a world of radical uncertainty--the contemporary art market in New York City. Wohl brings us with her as she witnesses artists engaging with their publics, explaining their worth, and struggling against misinterpretations, or worse. What should count and why? And what to do when the counting goes wrong? These questions animate the creative process where genius emerges or fails to emerge. Artists, art critics, humanists, and social scientists will long debate this book and its findings. And those who care only about the creative process, no matter its field of application, will benefit from the clarity with which that process is described and acted upon. Powerful and evocative, this work shows how creative genius is generated and why it sometimes survives assaults on its worth. -- Frederick F. Wherry, Princeton University Ugo Corte presents an outstanding ethnographic account of big wave surfing. Not only because of the quality of the research but also because of the literary quality of the whole piece. The book achieves an excellent balance between scholar discussion and adventure chronicle that would appeal both to academics and surf aficionados. * Sociologica del Deporte * Corte. . . deftly explains big wave surfing's embodied practices, interpersonal relationships, and status hierarchies. The end result is a highly persuasive treatise on the role of emotions, risk-taking, and social collaboration in the pursuit of fun-an essential (if academically undervalued) aspect of human existence. * Social Forces *