Product vs.
Process
There are two (2) types of approaches to art: the
Product-Oriented Approach and the Process-Oriented Approach. The
Product-Oriented Approach centers on the end result itself—the drawing, the
novel, the song, the photograph. According to the Product Model, the entire
point of art is to create something, and the value of art is based on the thing
that is created. Conversely, the Process-Oriented Approach to art takes focus
off of the end result and places it on the joy of creating. It does not take
much intelligence to see that under the Process Model, there is little or no
need for talent or ability, since all value is taken off of the object that is
created and placed instead on the artist’s personal feelings. This is why the
Process-Oriented Approach is heavily promoted by teachers, poets, and other
incompetents¹.
First
the Internet in general and now the proliferation of Weblogs on the Internet
have led to a dramatic increase in the amount of Process-Oriented writing
available to the public. Such material, the "product" of Process-Oriented
art, is intrinsically a contradiction. While the process of creating this
material may have had benefits for the writer, it does not correlate that the
end result has any benefits for the reader. In fact, when something is created
with no effort or care given to its ultimate form, one can rest assured that
the end result will be a useless disaster.
As
a Weblog, The Product rejects the
notion that Process-Driven materials should be published on the Internet, and
will not proliferate, support, or reference such material. The Product believes in the sacrifice of the artist's joy and
well-being for the creation of a well-formed end result whose goal is to
communicate something of value (or non-value) to the ultimate user. The Product believes in the suffering of
innocents, and readers should be aware that in the making of this Weblog, small
birds and animals will be harmed or even killed.
The Product will not reproduce images
from other Websites, and will use only original images created by the Author
himself. The Author will, however, use photo-editing equipment to manipulate
any and all images of himself to give the appearance of outrageous genital
endowment. He will also use magic markers to manipulate any and all images on
his telephone directory to give the appearance of devil horns, blackened teeth,
and Van Dyke beards.
In
addition to text and photographs, The
Product will contain other forms of media including but not limited to
video files and cartoons. Most of these will be of a humorous nature, and any
readers who do not see the humor in them will be encouraged to forcibly insert
their opinions into their most delicate orifice, and may borrow any item from
the Author’s tool-shed that might help that reader facilitate—and
appreciate—this "process."
Barrett Chase
Dot Com
The Weblog known as Barrett Chase Dot Com began on
On
All archives and materials have been removed from
the server and are being stored on the Author’s hard drive as well as on a
Compact Flash card inside a wooden puzzle box. If you can find them elsewhere,
so be it. But they are no longer officially available.
The domain name will remain the same, and saying so
aloud creates a rhyme that is both pleasing and complex.
Barrett Chase
vs. The Product
By now, many readers are probably wondering what the
difference is between Barrett Chase Dot
Com and The Product. The answer
is simple. Barrett Chase Dot Com was
a primarily text-based journal of sorts that sometimes incorporated other
media. The Product is a media-driven
blog, combining text, photography, comics, and video. Its goal is to please its
audience, not just its creator. It has all the elements of Barrett Chase Dot Com that the audience has come to know and love,
but with much, much more.
Footnotes
¹ Don’t write nasty e-mails about this. I am being
facetious. Recognizing the extremely thin line between reality and
facetiousness has always been integral to this website, a fact which will never
change.