--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Action painting has to do with…" description: "\"Action painting has to do with self-creation or self-definition or self-transcendence; but this dissociates it from self-expression, which assumes the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71f/hannah-arendt-610_acceptance_action-painting-has-to-do-with-self-crea_2971930.jpg" --- # Action painting has to do with self-creation or… ![“Action painting has to do with self-creation or self-definition or self-transcendence; but this dissociates it from self-expression, which assumes the acceptance of the ego as it is, with its wound and its magic.” quote by Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71f/hannah-arendt-610_acceptance_action-painting-has-to-do-with-self-crea_2971930.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71f/hannah-arendt-610_acceptance_action-painting-has-to-do-with-self-crea_2971930.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71f/hannah-arendt-610_acceptance_action-painting-has-to-do-with-self-crea_2971930.jpg) > “Action painting has to do with self-creation or self-definition or self-transcendence; but this dissociates it from self-expression, which assumes the acceptance of the ego as it is, with its wound and its magic.” [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art can be a means of redefining oneself beyond ego, but this separates it from expressing the ego’s wounds and magic. **In simple terms:** Self‑creation vs self‑expression Key Takeaway Explore art beyond ego Themes self‑creation identity expression Mood reflective introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - artist workshops - therapy sessions - personal branding Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does art transform identity? - Can ego be both expressed and transcended? A Different Perspective Self‑expression still involves ego acceptance ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acceptance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acceptance/) [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Action Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action-painting-3176585/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Assuming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assuming/) [Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) [Definitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/definitions/) [Dissociates Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissociates-self-4579740/) [Ego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ego/) [Ego Wound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ego-wound-4579741/) [Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) [Magic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magic/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Painting Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting-self-2230162/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-creation-332424/) [Self expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-expression/) [Transcendence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transcendence/) [Wounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wounds/) ## Related quotes > [It's helpful for me to get ideas - the physical action of painting. Sometimes it frees up your writer brain. It's nice for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/it-s-helpful-for-me-to-get-ideas-the-physical-action-of-painting/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [If a work of art is to explore new environments, it is not to be regarded as a blueprint but rather as a form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/if-a-work-of-art-is-to-explore-new-environments-it-is-not-to-be/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [I like to treat paint as material - to daub it, drop it, let it slide. There was Action Painting, but I also compare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-like-to-treat-paint-as-material-to-daub-it-drop-it-let-it-slide/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [Painting and art cannot be taught. You can save time if someone tells you to put blue and yellow together to make green, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romare-bearden/painting-and-art-cannot-be-taught-you-can-save-time-if-someone-tells/) [Romare Bearden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romare-bearden/) > [“As he went about to the other workrooms he realised that every painting was a self-portrait even when it was a still life or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-stone/as-he-went-about-to-the-other-workrooms-he-realised-that-every/) [Irving Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-stone/) > [Painting is self-discovery. Every good artist paints what he is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/painting-is-self-discovery-every-good-artist-paints-what-he-is/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [Something in me knows where I’m going, and - well, painting is a state of being. ... Painting is self-discovery. Every good artist paints…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/something-in-me-knows-where-i-m-going-and-well-painting-is-a-state-of/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [The most difficult thing about painting is the self-discipline. When I finish a job, I give myself a few days, but then I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hurt/the-most-difficult-thing-about-painting-is-the-self-discipline-when-i/) [John Hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hurt/) > [“Making a decision based on fear is like painting a self-portrait of someone else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-f-glassman/making-a-decision-based-on-fear-is-like-painting-a-self-portrait-of/) [Charles F. Glassman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-f-glassman/) > [Painting is a self-disciplined activity that you have to learn by yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romare-bearden/painting-is-a-self-disciplined-activity-that-you-have-to-learn-by/) [Romare Bearden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romare-bearden/) > [Painting is self-discovery. You arrive at the image through the act of painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolph-gottlieb/painting-is-self-discovery-you-arrive-at-the-image-through-the-act-of/) [Adolph Gottlieb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolph-gottlieb/) > [Painting self-portraits without clothes on has also given me some publicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cleo-moore/painting-self-portraits-without-clothes-on-has-also-given-me-some/) [Cleo Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cleo-moore/) > [“You are a self and an other. Your 'others' are in part your own creation. This in turn affects and shapes your experiences of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-dowrick/you-are-a-self-and-an-other-your-others-are-in-part-your-own-creation/) [Stephanie Dowrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-dowrick/) > [The True Self is not our creation, but God's. It is the self we are in our depths. It is our capacity for divinity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/the-true-self-is-not-our-creation-but-god-s-it-is-the-self-we-are-in/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [In the quiet moments of your day, what do you think and do? When you are with your Self and no one else, how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/in-the-quiet-moments-of-your-day-what-do-you-think-and-do-when-you/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) ## More by Hannah Arendt > [“It means, first, that everything that appears in public can be seen and heard by everybody and has the widest possible publicity. For us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/it-means-first-that-everything-that-appears-in-public-can-be-seen-and/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [Without being forgiven, released from the consequences of what we have done, our capacity to act would, as it were, be confined to one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/without-being-forgiven-released-from-the-consequences-of-what-we-have/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [What really distinguishes this generation in all countries from earlier generations ... is its determination to act, its joy in action, the assurance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/what-really-distinguishes-this-generation-in-all-countries-from/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [The practice of violence, like all action, changes the world, but the most probable change is a more violent world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/the-practice-of-violence-like-all-action-changes-the-world-but-the/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [“Nationalism always preserved this initial intimate loyalty to the government and never quite lost its function of preserving a precarious balance between nation and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/nationalism-always-preserved-this-initial-intimate-loyalty-to-the/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [There is all the difference in the world between the criminal's avoiding the public eye and the civil disobedience's taking the law into his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/there-is-all-the-difference-in-the-world-between-the-criminal-s/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [“What imperialists actually wanted was expansion of political power without the foundation of the body politic. Imperialist expansion had been touched off by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/what-imperialists-actually-wanted-was-expansion-of-political-power/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [the greater the bureaucratization of public life, the greater will be the attraction of violence. In a fully developed bureaucracy there is nobody left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/the-greater-the-bureaucratization-of-public-life-the-greater-will-be/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [Forgiveness is the key to action and freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/forgiveness-is-the-key-to-action-and-freedom/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [Death not merely ends life, it also bestows upon it a silent completeness, snatched from the hazardous flux to which all things human are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/death-not-merely-ends-life-it-also-bestows-upon-it-a-silent/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [Only crime and the criminal, it is true, confront us with the perplexity of radical evil; but only the hypocrite is really rotten to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/only-crime-and-the-criminal-it-is-true-confront-us-with-the/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [We have almost succeeded in leveling all human activities to the common denominator of securing the necessities of life and providing for their abundance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/we-have-almost-succeeded-in-leveling-all-human-activities-to-the/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [“Totalitarian politics—far from being simply antisemitic or racist or imperialist or communist—use and abuse their own ideological and political elements until the basis of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/totalitarian-politics-far-from-being-simply-antisemitic-or-racist-or/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [“It is like the distinction between war and peace: just as war takes place for the sake of peace, thus every kind of activity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/it-is-like-the-distinction-between-war-and-peace-just-as-war-takes/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [Every end in history necessarily contains a new beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/every-end-in-history-necessarily-contains-a-new-beginning/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) [Explore all 405 Hannah Arendt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) ## More Acceptance quotes > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [You dont choose your life; it chooses you. Theres no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-dont-choose-your-life-it-chooses-you-theres-no-point-asking-why/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Losing someone is easy, but accepting it is hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/losing-someone-is-easy-but-accepting-it-is-hard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When one fib becomes due as it were, you must forge another to take up the old acceptance; and so the stock of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/when-one-fib-becomes-due-as-it-were-you-must-forge-another-to-take-up/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Acceptance of death when it arrives is one thing, but to allow it to upstage the joys of living is ingratitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-blythe/acceptance-of-death-when-it-arrives-is-one-thing-but-to-allow-it-to/) [Ronald Blythe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-blythe/) > [“Loving someone who does not love you back hurts, alot, i know. It is liking seeing these pair of shoes at the retail store…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nomthandazo-tsembeni/loving-someone-who-does-not-love-you-back-hurts-alot-i-know-it-is/) [Nomthandazo Tsembeni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nomthandazo-tsembeni/) > [Take responsibily for your past, the bad memories of poor decisions you took were your choices once, and you liked them for the moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aruho-marvin/take-responsibily-for-your-past-the-bad-memories-of-poor-decisions/) [Aruho Marvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aruho-marvin/) > [Let us learn to accept and appreciate things now, and we'll find more happiness in every moment we live. Happiness comes when we stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/let-us-learn-to-accept-and-appreciate-things-now-and-we-ll-find-more/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) > [“Love first; ask questions later.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-courtney/love-first-ask-questions-later/) [Jeremy Courtney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-courtney/) > [“There was beauty in chaos, she'd just never known it before.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-linsmeier/there-was-beauty-in-chaos-she-d-just-never-known-it-before/) [Amanda Linsmeier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-linsmeier/) > [Accepting the challenges in life makes it interesting and overcoming them makes it eloquent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/accepting-the-challenges-in-life-makes-it-interesting-and-overcoming/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Acceptance is the only thing you should teach. Be it Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Dalit, you must inculcate acceptance, not tolerance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamal-haasan/acceptance-is-the-only-thing-you-should-teach-be-it-christian-muslim/) [Kamal Haasan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamal-haasan/) > [There just seems to be more acceptance now of other kinds of British films, than the picture-postcard ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-roth/there-just-seems-to-be-more-acceptance-now-of-other-kinds-of-british/) [Tim Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-roth/) > [You should never hate anyone, even your worst enemies. Everyone has something good about them. You have to find the redeeming quality and love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/you-should-never-hate-anyone-even-your-worst-enemies-everyone-has/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [The sense that in this universe we are treated as strangers, the longing to be acknowledged, to meet with some response, to bridge some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-sense-that-in-this-universe-we-are-treated-as-strangers-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 3,960 Acceptance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acceptance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Action painting has to do with self-creation or self-definition or self-transcendence; but this dissociates it from self-expression, which assumes the acceptance of the ego as it is, with its wound and its magic.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hannah Arendt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/action-painting-has-to-do-with-self-creation-or-self-definition-or/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Acceptance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/action-painting-has-to-do-with-self-creation-or-self-definition-or/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71f/hannah-arendt-610_acceptance_action-painting-has-to-do-with-self-crea_2971930.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71f/hannah-arendt-610_acceptance_action-painting-has-to-do-with-self-crea_2971930.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71f/hannah-arendt-610_acceptance_action-painting-has-to-do-with-self-crea_2971930.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Action painting has to do with self-creation or self-definition or self-transcendence; but this dissociates…” — Hannah Arendt", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Hannah Arendt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Action painting has to do with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/action-painting-has-to-do-with-self-creation-or-self-definition-or/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/action-painting-has-to-do-with-self-creation-or-self-definition-or/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```