Method of painting or drawing in which conscious control over the movement of the hand is suppressed so that the subconscious mind may take over. For some Abstract Expressionists, such as Jackson Pollock, the automatic process encompassed the entire process of composition. The Surrealists, having once achieved an interesting image or form by automatic or chance means, exploited the technique with fully conscious purpose. Seealso Abstract Expressionism, action painting, Surrealism.

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Automatism may refer to:

• Automatic behavior, spontaneous verbal or motor behavior; an act performed unconsciously. Defendants have been found innocent due to an automatism defense (e.g., homicide while sleepwalking).
• Automatism (law), a defence to liability. See also Automatism (case law)
• Automatism (toxicology), when an individual repeatedly takes a medication because the individual forgets previous doses, potentially leading to a drug overdose
• Automatic writing, the process, or product, of writing material that does not come from the conscious thoughts of the writer.
• Surrealist automatism, an art technique
• Automatisms (medicine), repetitive unconscious gestures such as lip smacking, chewing, or swallowing in certain types of epilepsy