Process or Product? The tension of art and a new series!
Is art process or product? This is a debate that I kind of love.
I find myself, like many gray area questions, directly in the middle of it, feeling a pull in both directions.
a budding new series in the studio
Art as a Product
What does someone mean when they refer to art as “product?” It is the idea that art is really just the end result: What does it look like? Does it fit on my wall? What is the piece a picture of, what colors does it use?
All of those things are defining the product itself. If you think of art primarily as product, you are not wrong! At the end of the day, most art does leave behind some evidence of existence. A product of sorts.
Art as a process, the act of making it matters just as much as the end result.
Art as Process
But what about the process of actually making it? What was happening between the artist and the canvas? What was happening throughout the passage of time it took to create it, how did the artist move, what influenced the marks themselves? (I think in terms of painting usually, but there are many many ways to make art).
What about art that disregards the final product entirely? Maybe the end result is destroyed or maybe it's hideous, does it still count as art? (See, this is a fun question to entertain!)
What if understanding or observing the artists act of making it was such a compelling experience that it moves you in a way that goes much further beyond the final product?
Finding the Balance
All artists fall somewhere in this spectrum. (Heck, even different kinds of work by the same artist can lean one way or another!)
I really enjoy this tension, and considering all of the things, I probably lean a little more towards process in my highest work.
I I like to put emphasis on the final product: I think a lot about what it will look like, what kind of surface a painting should be on, and other aesthetic choices. However, I also really enjoy the process.
As a painter, primarily, I love letting the work be a bit of dialogue: It is not something I am forcing into submission, instead, I bring my ideas to the table, make a few marks, and let the painting have its own conversation back to me. I kind of embrace the constantly changing things about me as a human as I paint. Am I having a high energy type of day? It usually shows. That’s process too!
(Does this sound woo woo? It may be a little ;)
It’s okay to love smushing paint around for the joy of it!
Recently, I have been finding myself pulled between a much more heady and academic way of making art as I work through my Masters in Fine Art, which has been so satisfying and so fun. But also, I'm finding just a strong desire to smush paint around and enjoy the qualities of paint itself.
So, in between semesters (my last semester starts in January, woohoo!) I have found I've just been relishing in some things that simply make me happy, which is oftentimes nature and beauty and whimsical movement with color and brush.
new work budding…
New Work Budding….
Most recently I've started exploring little bouquets of flowers. At the risk of sounding trite, they are happy and fun and diverse. In nature, I do love biodiversity, but really it as an extrapolation of diversity in humans.
I find it so fascinating to be in a group of people where everyone has a unique array of talents, perspectives, and passions. That is one thing a bouquet of flowers reminds me of. It's this interesting mix of individuals, where everyone is sharing in a lovely collaboration with each other and the presence of one another.
The presence of others shining bright makes each individual flower that much more beautiful.
So as I paint these, I move through these pieces (process!), my artist heart is simply just delighting in the beauty of these different species and also in the way color and paint just interacts. I'm not thinking too much about technicalities. It's more about feelings and emotions. I hope that it's capturing on canvas.
And I hope that your beautiful differences is something you have the courage to express with the same type of confident vigor that these gorgeous flowers do.
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