Process-oriented art is focused on the actual doing: the wrapping, the nailing, the biting, the unraveling, the gluing, the ripping, the stacking, and the splattering. It is focused on the verbs, the actions, and the journey of the artist. Just as verbs form the main part of the predicate of the sentence, process forms the main part of the presentation of the art. Process artists create using the body, improvisation, random happenings, and the natural properties of their materials. They create irregular forms and unique arrangements that are often ephemeral in nature. Therefore, process-oriented art refers to the formation of the art, not the end result. The creation is presented as the subject.
Art that does not focus on process, however, often relies on the aesthetic value or metaphorical meaning of the final piece. While all sculptures, paintings, photographs, and drawings are created by a certain method, non-process oriented artists are less concerned with how, but rather why. Since the act of making becomes the focus of process-oriented art, the final piece no longer requires the aesthetic value or metaphorical meaning. By revealing how a piece of work is made, the artist creates an image that serves as a concrete action, not an allusion or illusion. In doing so, they reveal the background and the work becomes more about creation.
Michelangelo was definitely not considered a process artist. His masterpiece, The David, was perfected to such a degree that the artist’s tool marks are no longer visible. He wanted to convey the biblical story of power, not the laborious process of carving into stone. Process-oriented artists, however, explore the properties of their materials and would want their personal marks to remain in the stone. Tara Donovan, for example, explores the physical properties of mundane objects in mass quantities, such as pencils, straws and Styrofoam cups. In doing so her installations become an exploration of repetitive labor and material quality. Similarly, Jackie Winsor’s process-oriented art reflects primitive, repetitive labor over time. The final works of these artists are not metaphorical or focused on the end result, but rather a visual display of the art of making.