action art

Form of painting that directly uses the body to create works. Popular in the late 1960s, it was the leading forerunner to body art. In action art the artist becomes an actor and the artwork a record of the ‘act’ of painting or creating. The ‘act’ variously expressed an artist's spiritual, social, or political concerns, including the tedium and violence of life. Artists used live events called ‘actions’ or happenings that were often designed to shock the audience. Examples include Joseph Beuys's self-mutilation, and Schilling's swinging of a skinned lamb, doused in blood, to spray the audience.

In 1960 Yves Klein began to use ‘live brushes’ – nude women covered in paint, who were then printed onto a canvas.

Artists who were influenced by the writings of the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud explored his themes of the dark, destructive side of the psyche, such as erotic violence and ritualistic performance.