I hadn’t ever considered composing a portfolio before taking this class; prior to this blog I wasn’t really sure what a portfolio even was. In my opinion, portfolio keeping seems like such a formal analysis of worth in contrast to works of art, but I know there’s a point to it. I see art as a thoughtful form of self expression rather than any sort of competition or measurable metric where one can be ‘better’ than another at making art. However, I’m not in a position to be able to judge portfolios as a concept, mostly because I’ve never composed one myself, so I’ll stick to writing about what I could possibly gain out of making one.

I’m not much of a writer, so I don’t have an extensive bank of content with which to make a writing portfolio, but I can see myself making a portfolio as a musician. I’d be more inclined to put together a presentation portfolio rather than a process portfolio because I tend to look down on my older works and favor ones I’ve made having had more experience. Although, reflecting on my production workflow is something I’ve seldom considered and may do me some good, since my creative process can be described as inspiration-fueled bursts of chaotic energy. This isn’t to say that any form of workflow is objectively more correct, but some yield more content than others (heuristics over perfectionism, for example).

I was at first opposed to the idea of a portfolio because I want art forms (namely music) to be a creative outlet, not something that can be intruded upon by optimization and performance maximization. For this same reason, I didn’t want to transform my hobby of music into a career in which I would have to cater to the wants of the majority in order to make a living. Despite all this, I still believe some good can come out of making a portfolio, albeit less professionally and more so to self-analyze.