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A01=John Kapusta
artistic expression
authenticity
Author_John Kapusta
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Category=ATY
Category=JBCC1
Category=NHK
Category=VS
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cultural studies
cultural transformation
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eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
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eq_non-fiction
eq_self-help
eq_society-politics
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Product details
- ISBN 9780520427297
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 19 May 2026
- Publisher: University of California Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
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The story of an unexpected group of performing artists who led one of the most influential artistic movements in contemporary American history.
After World War II, personal fulfillment emerged as a defining American cultural ideal. Self-realization—the quest to become our authentic selves—remains a powerful part of American culture and arts today.
In Self-Realization Nation, John Kapusta provides a lively cultural history of how an overlooked movement of musicians, dancers, and actors championed the ideal of self-realization. These performers, who spanned many backgrounds, identities, genres, and artistic styles, became what he calls the creative counterculture. Artists as varied as Sonny Rollins, John Cage, Anna Halprin, Alice and John Coltrane, and Pauline Oliveros shared an approach to creativity focused on letting go of limiting beliefs and subverting oppressive social norms. Through colorful vignettes, Kapusta reveals how these artists made their art and how their approach spread beyond the performing arts to influence such fields as psychology, education, and wellness. Ultimately, these creative counterculturists came to define a new vision of an America where everyone was free to be themselves, together.
After World War II, personal fulfillment emerged as a defining American cultural ideal. Self-realization—the quest to become our authentic selves—remains a powerful part of American culture and arts today.
In Self-Realization Nation, John Kapusta provides a lively cultural history of how an overlooked movement of musicians, dancers, and actors championed the ideal of self-realization. These performers, who spanned many backgrounds, identities, genres, and artistic styles, became what he calls the creative counterculture. Artists as varied as Sonny Rollins, John Cage, Anna Halprin, Alice and John Coltrane, and Pauline Oliveros shared an approach to creativity focused on letting go of limiting beliefs and subverting oppressive social norms. Through colorful vignettes, Kapusta reveals how these artists made their art and how their approach spread beyond the performing arts to influence such fields as psychology, education, and wellness. Ultimately, these creative counterculturists came to define a new vision of an America where everyone was free to be themselves, together.
John Kapusta is Assistant Professor of Musicology at the Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester.
