Process art

Process art is an artistic movement where the end product of art and craft, the objet d’art (work of art/found object), is not the principal focus; the process of its making is one of the most relevant aspects if not the most important one: the gathering, sorting, collating, associating, patterning, and moreover the initiation of actions and proceedings. Process artists saw art as humans partnering with intrinsic material expression. Process art is primarily interested in demonstrating forces on matter and defends the idea that the process of creating the work of art can be an art piece itself. Artist Robert Morris refers to the artistic approach as “anti-form”, meaning there is no inherent relation to the physical object.

History & Movement

Process art has been marked as a creative movement in the United States and Europe in the mid-1960s, formed in response to Minimalist art. In general, process artists rejected the idea of a simple, finished piece, and focused more on the artistic process itself. One of its primary influences was Jackson Pollock’s drip painting technique, which involved flinging paint onto a horizontal surface, covering the entire canvas and using the full force of his body to paint. Privileging such instances of indeterminacy in pursuit of change and transience, Process artists also draw influence from performance art and the Dada movement. In 1968, Robert Morris had a groundbreaking exhibition in the Guggenheim Museum, which accompanied an essay defining process art. The Museum website states:

Process Artists were involved in issues attendant to the body, random occurrences, improvisation, and the liberating qualities of nontraditional materials such as wax, felt, and latex.