Western Art - Process Art - The Story of the Journey, Not the Destination

Process Art - The History
The exact origin of Process Art is considered to be somewhere around mid-1960s. Considering the human inquisitive disposition, it can be said that it originated around the time when the world was trying to understand the reasons behind their acts during and post the world wars. Process Art began in the Americas and Europe, spreading soon to the rest of the world. The Drip Paintings of the American painter Jackson Pollock (1912-56) are often credited with its onset.

The Details
Process Art is a revolutionary movement where creativity is the focus, rather than the form of art, such as paintings, sculpture, and pottery. It is concerned with the process going into forming an artwork. It is more of a ritual, a realization of performance, and the sense of pride. Process Art treats creativity as a beautiful journey and not as a means of obtaining a product in the form of a work of art. The most sought after themes in Process Art are change and transience, which are a driving force of life. Process Art involves improvisation, adaptability, change, and liberation. Use of materials, like wax, felt, and latex are more common than paint and colors, which emphasizes its ephemeral nature. In fact, it aims to laude nature and not represent the various forms of nature, which are often subject of the other art forms.

The Artists
Process artists often prefer anonymity to popularity. But, the fame achieved by great artists is always when they expected it the least. American sculptor Lynda Benglis (born 1941), British-Sri Lankan artist Chris Drury (born 1948), German-American sculptor Eva Hesse (1936-70), and American artist Bruce Nauman (born 1941) are often considered as the leaders of this art form. However, artists like Robert Morris (American - born 1931), Christopher Le Tyrell, and Alan Scarritt have also made a mark for themselves in the genre. Their masterly use of cutting, hanging, dropping, and other organic processes used to bring out the essence of Process Art.

The Art Works
Process artists accomplish their artwork by the use of perishable and transitory materials, such as dead rabbits, steam, fat, ice, cereal, sawdust, and grass. Its forms of shamanic and religious rituals, sand painting, sun dance, and other cultural forms are well known. However, the most famous Process artwork is the construction of a Vajrayana Buddhist Sand Mandala of the Medicine Buddha by the monks of Namgyal Monastery in Ithaca (2001), New York.

Source : Ezinearticles