Action inc1.

Imagine being blindfolded and given a paintbrush then being told to find your way through a maze while running the paintbrush along the surface of the wall.

The resulting mark left on the wall would not be an aesthetic achievement so much as it would be a record of your journey. Such was the root of the observation: that the action painters were not making images; they were making outward recordings of their inward journeys.

When a painter sets out to make a painting of a specific image, the tools and techniques involved need to offer the painter as much control as possible.

But if the point of a painting is not to make a specific, pre-determined image, but is rather to create an abstract visual relic of a psycho-physical event, the painter can enjoy more flexibility in terms of tools and techniques.

Since action painting is about spontaneity and being able to seamlessly convey every subconscious intuition through a physical gesture, anything that hinders freedom and instinct must be abandoned.