This is Collage with Squares Arranged According to the Laws of Chance by Jean Arp. It was made way back in 1916.
I think it’s the first piece of art to which I felt some sort of personal connection. I think you can see how the aesthetic is inspiring. But, the story of its creation is just as important to me.
It’s torn paper placed on a plane by chance. It’s random. Stories say that Arp simply dropped the torn bits onto his work surface, then affixed them wherever they landed. But, you can definitely tell that there’s tweaking going on after.
And isn’t that just how it is? Chance, with just enough control to rein things in. It’s supposed to be spontaneous and seemingly irrational like the Dada movement Arp helped to found, but he (and I) can’t fully let go of the reins. “It could be better if I just…”
Arp was said to want to use chance as a way to let go of being in control. But he couldn’t completely let go and relinquish control. He couldn’t completely move into the avant garde and let go of these previously held dispositions. And that just seems so… human. It reminds me of the story of Lot, and how she couldn’t help but look back, and because of that she turned into a pillar of salt.
