A painting style and method calling for vigorous physical activity, specifically asssociated with the New York School of Abstract Expressionism. Jackson Pollock often used this technique, which was an application of paint with fast, forceful, and impulsive (unplanned) motions. Process dictated the subject matter. The term was coined by Harold Rosenberg, art critic, in the early 1950s. Credit: Kimberley Reynolds, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms"