Process art, in Tate's definition, is work in which the process of making is not hidden but remains a prominent aspect of the completed work, so that part, or even the whole, of its subject is the making itself. If the making is part of the subject, a later viewer should be able, in Tate's words, to reconstruct the actions to some extent. This is a museum-term page, not a classroom activity, and not an empty-journal post.
Tate, Art Term "Process art." "The term process art refers to where the process of its making art is not hidden but remains a prominent aspect of the completed work, so that a part or even the whole of its subject is the making of the work." "Process became a widespread preoccupation of artists in the late 1960s and the 1970s, but like so much else can be tracked back to the abstract expressionist paintings of Jackson Pollock. In these the successive layers of dripped and poured paint can be identified and the actions of the artist in making the work can be to some extent reconstructed."
Tate illustrates the term with works on the same page, including John Hilliard's Camera Recording its Own Condition (7 Apertures, 10 Speeds, 2 Mirrors) (1971). Hilliard is named only as Tate names him. This page is not a catalogue essay.
Tate's "Generative art" term, already opened for the plotter brief, associates generative work with process art. That is neighbourhood context only. A predetermined system is not the same sentence as a visible making, and the two terms are not collapsed here.
What Tate actually says
The making stays visible. It is a prominent aspect of the completed work, and can be the subject. The late 1960s and 1970s are Tate's dating for a widespread preoccupation, tracked back to dripped and poured layers that can still be identified. Historical figures appear only as Tate names them.
A process sale still needs a contemporaneous record of what was done, on which date, with which tools. The journal as provenance is the sibling for that record. What plotter art is and how it's made is the companion when the visible making is a machine that drew the line. What is glitch art is the sibling for a break that was kept on purpose.
This page does not name homepage artists or lots, and it does not close on an empty journal.
A situation like this
This is a worked example, not a lot and not a customer. A listing is titled "process art" and offers no record of what was done, on which date, or with which tools, only a finished image. Tate's sentence about reconstructing the actions is already the reason that listing is thin.
Sources
- Tate, Art Term "Process art." https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/process-art
- Tate, Art Term "Generative art," for neighbourhood context only. https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/generative-art
Also in this section
- The journal as provenance — a contemporaneous record of what was done.
- What plotter art is and how it's made — name the machine that drew the line.
- What is glitch art — the break kept on purpose.
Applications to show unfinished work are open at Apply. First lots have not opened.
The useful next step is to keep a contemporaneous record of the making, or to read the mediums index. If something on this page is wrong, write to us.
Author: Escherbridge. Last reviewed: 2026-11-10, America/Denver.