The Inkblots (Paperback)

Damion Searls

ISBN 10: 0804136564 / ISBN 13: 9780804136563

Published by Crown Publishing Group (NY), 2018

About this Item

Paperback. The captivating, untold story of Hermann Rorschach and his famous inkblot testNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR New York Post Sunday Times (UK) Irish IndependentIn 1917, working alone in a remote Swiss asylum, psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach devised an experiment to probe the human mind: a set of ten carefully designed inkblots. For years he had grappled with the theories of Freud and Jung while also absorbing the aesthetic movements of the day, from Futurism to Dadaism. A visual artist himself, Rorschach had come to believe that who we are is less a matter of what we say, as Freud thought, than what we see.After Rorschachs early death, his test quickly made its way to America, where it took on a life of its own. Co-opted by the military after Pearl Harbor, it was a fixture at the Nuremberg trials and in the jungles of Vietnam. It became an advertising staple, a cliche in Hollywood and journalism, and an inspiration to everyone from Andy Warhol to Jay Z. The test was also given to millions of defendants, job applicants, parents in custody battles, and people suffering from mental illness or simply trying to understand themselves better. And it is still used today.In this first-ever biography of Rorschach, Damion Searls draws on unpublished letters and diaries and a cache of previously unknown interviews with Rorschachs family, friends, and colleagues to tell the unlikely story of the tests creation, its controversial reinvention, and its remarkable enduranceand what it all reveals about the power of perception. Elegant and original, The Inkblots shines a light on the twentieth centurys most visionary synthesis of art and science.Praise for The InkblotsImpressively thorough . . . part biography of Herman Rorschach, psychoanalytic super sleuth, and part chronicle of the tests afterlife in clinical practice and the popular imagination . . . Searls is a nuanced and scholarly writer . . . genuinely fascinating.The New York Times Book ReviewA marvelous book about how one man and his enigmatic test came to shape our collective imagination. The Rorschach test is a great subject and The Inkblots is worthy of it: beguiling, fascinating, and full of new discoveries every time you look. David Grann, author of The Lost City of Z "In this first-ever biography of Rorschach, Damion Searls draws on unpublished letters and diaries and a cache of previously unknown interviews with Rorschach's family, friends, and colleagues to tell the unlikely story of the [inkblot] test's creation, its controversial reinvention, and its . endurance--and what it all reveals about the power of perception"-- Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780804136563

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Inkblots (Paperback)
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
• Publication Date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0804136564
• ISBN 13: 9780804136563
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

The captivating, untold story of Hermann Rorschach and his famous inkblot test

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR - New York Post - Sunday Times (UK) - Irish Independent

In 1917, working alone in a remote Swiss asylum, psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach devised an experiment to probe the human mind: a set of ten carefully designed inkblots. For years he had grappled with the theories of Freud and Jung while also absorbing the aesthetic movements of the day, from Futurism to Dadaism. A visual artist himself, Rorschach had come to believe that who we are is less a matter of what we say, as Freud thought, than what we see.

After Rorschach's early death, his test quickly made its way to America, where it took on a life of its own. Co-opted by the military after Pearl Harbor, it was a fixture at the Nuremberg trials and in the jungles of Vietnam. It became an advertising staple, a cliché in Hollywood and journalism, and an inspiration to everyone from Andy Warhol to Jay Z. The test was also given to millions of defendants, job applicants, parents in custody battles, and people suffering from mental illness or simply trying to understand themselves better. And it is still used today.

In this first-ever biography of Rorschach, Damion Searls draws on unpublished letters and diaries and a cache of previously unknown interviews with Rorschach's family, friends, and colleagues to tell the unlikely story of the test's creation, its controversial reinvention, and its remarkable endurance--and what it all reveals about the power of perception. Elegant and original, The Inkblots shines a light on the twentieth century's most visionary synthesis of art and science.

Praise for The Inkblots

"Impressively thorough . . . part biography of Herman Rorschach, psychoanalytic super sleuth, and part chronicle of the test's afterlife in clinical practice and the popular imagination . . . Searls is a nuanced and scholarly writer . . . genuinely fascinating."--The New York Times Book Review

"A marvelous book about how one man and his enigmatic test came to shape our collective imagination. The Rorschach test is a great subject and The Inkblots is worthy of it: beguiling, fascinating, and full of new discoveries every time you look." --David Grann, author of The Lost City of Z

About the Author

Damion Searls has written for Harper's, n+1, and The Paris Review, and has translated the work of authors including Rainer Maria Rilke, Marcel Proust, and five Nobel Prize winners. He has been the recipient of Guggenheim, NEA, and Cullman Center fellowships.