action painting

In abstract art, a form of abstract expressionism that emphasized the importance of the physical act of painting. It became widespread in the 1950s and 1960s. Jackson Pollock, the leading exponent, threw, dripped, and dribbled paint onto canvases fastened to the floor. He was known to attack his canvas with knives and trowels and bicycle over it. Another principal action artist was Willem de Kooning.

The term ‘action painting’ was first used by US art critic Harold Rosenberg in 1952. Tachisme, another term for action painting, comes from the French tacher, meaning ‘to stain’ or ‘to spot’.