What is "action painting"

n. (context arts English) A genre of modern art in which the paint is dribbled, splashed or poured onto the canvas to obtain a spontaneous and totally abstract image

n. a New York school of painting characterized by freely created abstractions; the first important school of American painting to develop independently of European styles [syn: Abstract Expressionism]

Action painting, sometimes called "gestural abstraction", is a style of painting in which paint is spontaneously dribbled, splashed or smeared onto the canvas, rather than being carefully applied. The resulting work often emphasizes the physical act of painting itself as an essential aspect of the finished work or concern of its artist.