The Art of the Process

The term process art describes the sentiment that an art object is less important than the process of its creation. The final artwork might be seen only as a remnant of the act from which it manifested. This point of view gained strength after World War II, when artists increasingly scrutinized the traditional logic of western civilization. An iconic example of Process Art is “Challenge to the Mud” (1955) by Japanese artist Kazuo Shiraga, a member of the Gutai Group. Kazuo made a mud patch then hurled himself to the ground and wrestled with it. His movements were recorded in the earth, raising questions of whether the artwork was the performance or the resultant visual phenomena. Abstract Expressionist painter Elaine de Kooning summed up process art with her observation that, “A painting to me is primarily a verb, not a noun.”