Color Field Painting, which gained ascendancy in the 1960s, was another phase of Abstract Expressionism (AbEx). In the 50s, Jackson Pollock and the first AbEx painters of the New York School (The Herald, Artist’s Corner, 6/23/05) believed painting should be an intensely emotional and physical experience. In their “action” paintings, they poured, dripped and flung house paint from cans to canvas attached to the wall or floor using sticks, trowels and knives as they energetically emoted. AbEx was supposed to be a direct revelation of the unconscious moods of the artist and exalted individuality, improvisation and freedom of expression.