ST.

ANTHONY’S COLLEGE
San Jose de Buenavista, 5700 Antique
Tel. No. (036) 5409238; 5409237 Fax No. (036) 5409971; 5409196
Website: www.sac.edu.ph In SAC, we care!

CHAPTER
Artist and artisan,

5 production process and

technique and medium
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
This chapter is divided into three section; artist and artisan, production process, and technique and
medium. Each section provides an overview to the art world, process of manufacturing and distribution of
art as well as method and medium used by the artist. Highlights of the chapter include

• Artist and Artisan

• Production Process
• Technique and Medium

Artist and Artisan

The terrain in which the artist traverses is becoming increasingly complex. In the last century, some
of the roles that have been existent since the beginning of art history have been properly dealt with –
ascribed with a name – and legitimized into a sophisticated network of relationship and exchanges. This
network is known as the art world.
All artistic work, like all human activity, involves the joint activity of a number, often a large number,
of people. Through their cooperation, the artwork we eventually see or hear comes to be and continues to
be. The work always shows signs of that cooperation. The forms of cooperation may be ephemeral, but
often more or less routine; producing patterns of collective activity we can call world art. The terrain where
art is distributed is a global network comprised of individuals, groups, and institutions such as schools,
museums, galleries, art spaces auction houses, and other commercial market platform, and professions.
It is important to note that with the complexity of the art world, players are no longer limited to those
who undertook formal instruction in either (or both) production and/or study of art. Take for instance
administrative or managerial role, both of which can exist in either institutional or non-institutional
scenarios. These roles may be broken down to working boards (board of trustees); directors and assistant
directors; managing curators; and other posts whose interest is the management and operations of museums,
galleries and other art spaces. For independent artists, those outside the wing of a gallery as a stable artist,
 ST. ANTHONY’S COLLEGE
San Jose de Buenavista, 5700 Antique
Tel. No. (036) 5409238; 5409237 Fax No. (036) 5409971; 5409196
Website: www.sac.edu.ph In SAC, we care!

sometimes require the assistance of an artist manager in order to manage their career and sometimes to help
them in promoting themselves to the art world as well.
A curator, on the other hand, is one of the most elusive of roles to pin down. Institutional curators
are typically with museums and galleries, while independent or freelance curators have the leeway to move
around various projects, platform, and art spaces in a multiplicity of terms. Generally, the role of the curator
is more of the interpretation and development of the artwork(s) or the collection(s) through establishing the
significance, relationship, and relevance of these materials – in isolation and/or as part of a wider narrative.
Some of the roles expected of curators are the ability to research and write, as an arbiter and layout, and
deciding for the display and hanging of materials for exhibition.
The buyers and collectors who are probably the easiest to qualify. Often, they are construed as one
and the same, but separately take, buyers are those who initially assess and survey the artwork that collectors
interested in. It is their role to oversee the sale of the artwork, on behalf of the collector who may either be
too busy or who would rather keep his identity hidden. Formerly ascribed with the term patron, buyers and
collectors are those who acquire and purchase artwork for a variety of reasons: for the appreciation and
enjoyment of art; for the scholarship and educational opportunity it may provide (donors of study
collections); for safeguarding and preventing of their prosperity; for investment; for communicating a way
of life/lifestyle; among others. These days, collectors are becoming more involved well beyond extending
their wallets. They have found another voice as an arbiter of taste. A collector who has established himself
as someone who not only appreciates art but knows art, understands its behaviors and patterns, becoming a
key player in making or breaking an artist’s career or shaping the curse of a museum’s collection (through
pledges of support and donation).
In addition, art dealers are those direct hand is in the distribution and circulation of the artwork
through a variety of means, such as direct sales, through galleries, and more recent in the Philippines,
auction houses. The knowledge and insight that art dealer’s art expected to have include a specialization in
art form, style, medium, or period; market trends; and even the relationships of other key players in the art
world who will benefit from the circulation and distribution of the artwork (or artist) he promotes.

Production Process

The process is essentially tripartite (1) preproduction, (2) production and (3) postproduction. The
artist always begins with the idea that he wants to express or communicate with his audience. It may not
necessarily be fully formulated, and so some form of exposure, research, and other approaches may be
explored to get the idea long before actually making the artwork. This process is of course the preproduction
stage. The idea may take a while to form, or may come as swift as a bolt of lightning.
Some artist, however, birth their ideas when materials manipulation is already underway. This is
when preproduction sometimes seep into the production stage. The execution of the art may take a variety
of forms such as painting, sculpture, tapestry, photograph, film a routine (dance), or a track or composition
(music). Even tricky art forms such as conceptual art, which purports to be solely concerned with the ideas,
 ST. ANTHONY’S COLLEGE
San Jose de Buenavista, 5700 Antique
Tel. No. (036) 5409238; 5409237 Fax No. (036) 5409971; 5409196
Website: www.sac.edu.ph In SAC, we care!

takes a variety of formats, and may even be harder to pull off. Some artworks rely on precise and skilled
execution, while others need only intuition and a kind of judiciousness in the manipulation of materials.
Gathering and sourcing the materials needed for the creation of the artwork is either subsumed under
preproduction or the production stage. Either way, materials form one of the most crucial aspects that inform
the direction, quality, and the final output itself
The last stage is the most drawn-out, the postproduction. Once an artwork is finished, it will then be
decided on how it will be circulated not only in the artworld, but the many publics. If the artist decides that
he alone should see the work, then so be it. But most of the time, if not always, the creation of the subject
requires that it be seen, heard, touched, and/or experienced in a variety of ways. Often, it enters into a new
sphere, inside the domain of museums, galleries, performance halls, theaters, and other art spaces where
interaction take place. Take note, however, that approval, enjoyment, or pleasure are not the sole reactions
that an artist intends for his work. Sometimes, it is repulsion, contempt, or even grief, which the artist hopes
for. Either way, it is intellectual and emotional reaction that is often the impetus for creating an artwork. A
message is almost always embedded in the artwork it is the hope of the artist that his audience comes across
it, or take from to something that is his and his alone.
There are many aspects that go into postproduction. These may include allowing the artwork for
transport and display, and even the promotion and inclusion of the artwork in publication or discussion

Medium and Technique

Medium is one of the aspects of art that directly correlates with its composition and presumed finality
of the artwork. Medium is the mode of expression in which the concept, idea, or message is conveyed. It
may be concrete or tangible, such as painting, sculptures, monuments, and structures; or it may be
ephemeral or something transient, such as track (recording of sound), a film, or a performance. The
appreciation or engagement with the artwork is also affected by the medium spatiotemporally. For concrete
works, the objects physically manifest themselves for a prolonged or lasting period. For ephemeral work,
on the other hand, it is duration.
A chosen medium must not be expected to yield the same result. Giving two different artists the same
exact materials and the general qualifier of painting, the end product will still vary minimally or in an
exponential scale. This is where technique comes in, as it is the reason why art history is described by
seemingly limitless example of works of art. The technique of the artwork shows the level of familiarity
with the medium being manipulated. It alludes to the necessity of additional tools or implements (e.g.,
hammer and chisel may come in handy for sculptors), or consideration of time (e.g., behavior of different
kinds of paint especially in drying time requirement) and the specificity of the site of creation (e.g., indoor
or outdoor production requirement).