A New Chapter: Process over Result
Starting at a new place with new people and new ideas I am taking with me the message of ‘process over result’. I have started Art School as my next stage of education, and within that I am aware that I will probably be put out of my comfort zone and pushed to try new creative processes. For a long time I have focussed on the final outcome of my creative practice as this is simply what mattered at the time in order to get a good grade. Although the benefits behind this approach to art and creativity can be debated, it has allowed me a chance to actually consider my approach and thus alter my thinking and learn to find more value in the process of creating something. For me, the phrase ‘process over result’ is a short reminder I can use to concentrate on the process of creating it removes the pressure of having a perfect outcome because either way it will lead to something.
On the first day of art school, were we tasked to decorate a Corita Box with a message that meant something to us as individuals, on a political, existential or personal level (and so on). Onto my box I transferred my manifesto of ‘process over result’, filling each side with messages and cliches of the ‘process’.
On cliches, I included the phrase ‘trust the process’ on the top of my box. This acknowledges a phrase that is frequently used often as a way to comfort people and take the pressure off of us as humans, instead putting it onto ‘something’ else. However, I personally hate the phrase ‘trust the process’ and maybe this is because (admittedly) I am a bit of a control freak and the thought of putting my faith into something truly incontrollable is mildly terrifying. So although I included it, it doesn’t really resonate with me, hence the brackets. ‘Trust the process’, perhaps somewhat contradicts the fact that I want to experiment and ‘feel’ the process more over the next year, yet I still want to maintain control, professionalism, and precision over what I make, just without the pressure of it needing to be ‘perfect’.
Despite this, the result is still important to me, just not in the way that it has to look perfect and appeal to an audience (unlike it did before). I am trying to view the result as a lesson of the process and is a culmination on the decisions and skills I learnt along the way.
On one side of the box I used clippings from newspapers that, as a whole read ‘That’s such a good idea! Find more!’. This is an aggressive command that I’m often telling myself. I have the power to create so that’s all I should be doing, right? I often put a pressure on myself to make more or to try more processes and harness more skills but, honestly, it’s kind of exhausting! The space I am now in art Art School is incredibly inspiring and I know that being in that space will be motivating to keep creating. However, with ‘process over result’ in mind I want to experiment new ideas without getting myslef caught up with perfecting one thought.
Ultimately, I think the idea of the ‘process’ is valuable as it provides us with an opportunity to reflect on what we have done, why we have one that and the next steps we’re going to take with the project. Thus, I am taking the motto ‘process over result’ with me over the next year, and not just within the realm of my creative practice.
