Constellation According to the Laws of Chance 1930

Curator: Welcome to Tate Modern. We’re standing before Jean Arp's "Constellation According to the Laws of Chance," created in 1930. It's a painted wood relief, currently held right here in our collection. Editor: It's deceptively simple, isn't it? These stark black and white forms… almost like scattered puzzle pieces or some minimalist take on an organic landscape. The relief gives it this subtle physicality. Curator: Arp, a key figure in Dada and Surrealism, deeply questioned traditional artistic methods. This work is a powerful rejection of intention; his "laws of chance" meant allowing randomness to dictate the composition. Editor: Chance, as in dropping pieces and fixing them where they landed? Fascinating. The tension between that apparent arbitrariness and the formal harmony he achieves is remarkable. I'm struck by the interplay of positive and negative space. How do the shapes relate to each other, rhythmically? Curator: Exactly. This aligns with broader social anxieties following World War I. The war shook the sense of order; chance, as a creative method, questioned established power structures and control. We might also look at its relation to ideas about biomorphism. These aren't quite recognizable forms. What kind of associations do these floating, organic shapes conjure, even in the absence of the artist's intent? Editor: Associations with nature, definitely. The shapes do suggest simplified organic forms – seeds, perhaps, or amoebas under a microscope. But I keep returning to that formal simplicity. There’s such economy in the forms and materials. Arp pares down his visual vocabulary to nearly nothing – shape, color, relief. Curator: Arp’s work reflects a radical shift in thinking about agency and creativity, questioning traditional notions of the artist as the sole author. The work also provides a glimpse of some gender dynamics during this artistic revolution, questioning the expectations for male control through chance procedures. Editor: And those procedures lead to… well, *this.* “Constellation…” It’s provocative how the title imposes this system when what our eyes discern might seem utterly random! For me, the visual balance is unexpectedly serene given its origin in supposed chaos. It offers much food for thought. Curator: A perfect example of how a seemingly abstract artwork can reflect deep social, political, and theoretical concerns. I wonder how "chance" would play out today given how loaded and directed algorithms have become!