In traditional art, a great diversity of materials were formed and manipulated. Marble, canvas, pigments and other materials were the point of departure for every creation of form. They helped the artist's imagination take on tangible shape. In activist art, sociopolitical relationships have taken the place of these material substances. Like the old materials that were given formal shape, they are the substance that is manipulated. As with marble or the painting surface, this substance is not arbitrarily formable. In order to transform existing circumstances, the limits of variability must be recognized, just as they must be in traditional art. This means that the hurdle - the envisioned transformation - must not be set too high. It must be high enough that one can speak of a noticeable change while still being low enough to be jumped over. The art is in aiming for a recognizable and sensible change and then bringing it about. For example, an artist could take it upon herself to get a one-way traffic regulation for her street repealed because she had recognized the senselessness of the regulation. She would then make an effort and do everything possible to realize her plan, just as the Baroque master made an effort to realize his plan for a ceiling fresco in a cathedral, regardless of whether he personally put his hand to the task or not.