Kounellis, Pascali and Merz were inspired by the Grotowski's Poor Theater and Minimal art but weren't by the American New Dance. Although these artists and the American performers worked at same search: the perception of their body in real space.
The artists showed processes of the matter's transformation and presented their sculptural artwork as ""live actors"" communicating with the public. They wanted to created not only artistic object but also a "environment" in which the spectators can move.