CHAPTER 2

THE PROCESS OF ART

GROUP 1
• The term process art refers to where the process of its making art is not
hidden but remains a prominent aspect of the completed work, so that a part
or even the whole of its subject is the making of the work.
 The Artistic Process
• The Artistic Processes are the cognitive and physical actions by which arts
learning and making are realized.
• Museums contain collections that can reflect a particular culture or that of many, giving
all of us the chance to see some of the great art humanity has to offer.
• Critics offer insight into art’s meaning and make judgments determining ‘good’ or ‘bad’
art based on the intellectual, aesthetic and cultural standards they reflect
 The Individual Artist
• Inasmuch as we have seen art as a community or collaborative effort, many artists
work alone in studios, dedicated to the singular idea of creating art through their own
expressive means and vision. In the creative process itself there are usually many steps
between an initial idea and the finished work of art.
• Artists will use sketches and preliminary drawings to get a more accurate image of
what they want the finished work to look like. Even then they’ll create more complex trial
pieces before they ultimately decide on how it will look. Artists many times will make
different versions of an artwork, each time giving it a slightly different look.
• Some artists employ assistants or staff to run the everyday administration of the
studio; maintaining supplies, helping with set up and lighting, managing the calendar and
all the things that can keep an artist away from the creative time they need in order to
work.
 Artistic Training Methods and Cultural Considerations

• For centuries craftsmen have formed associations that preserve and teach the ‘secrets’ of their trade
to apprentices in order to perpetuate the knowledge and skill of their craft. In general, the training
of artists has historically meant working as an apprentice with an established artist. In general, the
training of artists has historically meant working as an apprentice with an established artist. The
Middle Ages in Europe saw the formation of guilds that included goldsmiths, glassmakers,
stonemasons, medical practitioners and artists, and were generally supported by a king or the state,
with local representatives overseeing the quality of their production. In many traditional cultures,
apprenticeship is still how the artist learns their craft, skills and expressions specific to that culture.
Some nations actually choose which artists have learned their skill to such a degree that they are
allowed and encouraged to teach others. An example would be artists considered National
Treasures in Japan. In the developed nations, where education is more available and considered
more important that experience, art schools have developed.
• The model for these schools is the French Royal Academy founded by Louis XIV in the 17th
century. In the 19th century, the Victorians first introduced art to the grade schools, thinking that
teaching the work of the masters would increase morality and that teaching hand-eye coordination
would make better employees for the Industrial Revolution. These ideas still resonate, and are one
of the reasons art is considered important to children’s education. A recent New York Times article
by Steve Lohr explains how this notion has carried into the realm of high technology and the
digital arts. A woman quoted in the article says that a proficiency in digital animation is an asset
less for technical skills than for what she learned about analytic thinking.
• Like most skilled professions and trades, artists spend many years learning and applying their
knowledge, techniques and creativity. Art schools are found in most colleges and universities, with
degree programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. There are independent art schools
offering two and four year programs in traditional studio arts, graphic arts and design. The degree
earned by students usually ends with a culminating exhibition and directs them towards becoming
exhibiting artists, graphic designers or teachers. Such degrees also consider the marketing and sales
practices of art in contemporary culture.
• Many artists learn their craft on their own through practice, study and
experimentation. Whether they come from art schools or not, it takes a strong
desire to practice and become an artist today. There are no longer the
historical opportunities to work under church, state or cultural sponsorships.
Instead the artist is driven to sell their work in some other venue, from a craft
fair to a big New York City gallery (New York City is the official center of art
and culture in the United States). There are very few communities that can
support the selling of art on a large scale, as it is generally considered a luxury
item often linked to wealth and power. This is a modern reflection of the
original role of the art gallery.
 ART AS SOCIAL ACTIVITY
• Some of the grandest works of art are made not by a single person but by many
people. Pyramids in Egypt and Mexico are massive structures, built by hundreds of laborers
under the direction of designers and engineers. Egyptian pyramids are tombs for individual
royalty, while those in Mexico function as spiritual altars dedicated to gods or celestial
objects. They are typically placed at a prominent site and give definition to the surrounding
landscape. Their construction is the cumulative effort of many people, and they become
spectacular works of art without the signature of a single artist.
• A more contemporary example of art making as a community effort is the AIDS
Memorial Quilt Project. Begun in 1987, the project memorializes the thousands of lives lost
to the disease through the creation of quilts by families and friends. Blocks of individual
quilts are sewn together to form larger sections, virtually joining people together to share
their grief and celebrate the lives of those lost. The project is evidence of the beauty and
visual spectacle of a huge community artwork. Today there are over 40,000 individual
blocks. The quilt project is ongoing, growing in size, and exhibited throughout the world.
 • Many artists collaborate with non-artists in arrangements designed to
produce work for a specific place. Public art is a good example of this.
The process usually begins with a select panel of the public and private
figures involved in the project who call for submissions of creative ideas
surrounding a particular topic or theme, then a review of the ideas
submitted and the artist’s selection. Funding sources for these projects
vary from private donations to the use of public tax dollars or a
combination of the two. Many states have “1% for Art” laws on the books
which stipulate that one percent of the cost of any public construction
project be used for artwork to be placed on the site.
• Public art projects can be subject to controversy. It’s not easy for
everyone to agree on what constitutes ‘good’ or ‘bad’ art, or at least what
is appropriate for a public space. The issue takes on a more complex
perspective when public money is involved in its funding. One example
involves Richard Serra’s sculpture Tilted Arc from 1981.
 Example of an Public ART

Arne Quinze, The Sequence (2008), wood; installed at the