Sculpture Studio Spring 2012

Project 1: Process
ANALYSIS

When we look at art, we usually focus on the finished product, what it means. In process art, we are moved to look into how the artwork was made, how the materials were used, and the thought involved in the creation. Though process is in all art forms, when it becomes the obvious concept, we are moved to look beyond the finished piece into the ideas behind the how- the actions themselves.

"Lick and Lather" (1993), New York

Process-oriented art can manifest in a number of ways, such as through the exploration of material properties, as seen in Tara Donovan’s grid of hundreds of Styrofoam cups glued together to create an undulating form, or Cai Guo-Qiang’s designs of lit gunpowder on pieces of paper. Or it can be demonstrated as a ritualized action, which is illustrated by Janine Antoni’s busts casted out of chocolate and soap that are worn down as they are either eaten or used for bathing.Or even the work of Jackie Winsor, who wraps a split rope around the corner of a square frame of wood over, and over, and over, and over… It is the act of wrapping that is the focus of this art, not its final shape.

Whether it is through the exploration of a new medium or an artist’s interpretation into a metaphor, process art is how it is made, not what is made.