Chance Operations

Ellsworth Kelly

I recently visited the Philadelphia Museum of Art and saw works by some of my favorite Modern artists. My thought process went something like this: Fortune cookie, lucky numbers, lottery, chance, Elsworth Kelley, John Cage, chance operations, fortune cookie, lucky numbers, lottery, chance, my work, chance operations?.......

Chance as it occurs in life has always intrigued me. Things that occur by chance, beyond my control and that have an effect on my life; things that occur by chance and that demand a response or that change the course of my experience. These things have always made me wonder about the origin of the energy behind what could be considered 'chance events'. Does the universe randomly generate things according to the laws of chance or on purpose? Is that what life is, a series of chance events and our response to them?

I remember the first time I experienced Deja Vu. I was five or six, standing beside a tree next to a honeysuckle bush watching a trail of ants go under the root of the tree when I happened to look up at the sky and the clouds and I had this overwhelming feeling that I had been there before. Not as in yesterday or even in my lifetime but in some other time, long ago and far away. I remember running into the house and describing the feeling to my mom and she said, quite matter-of-factly, "Oh, that's Deja Vu." I think this is when my fascination began.

Chance has always played a part in my work. Chance meetings of subject matter and materials, each informs the other as I work. I work fluidly allowing chance to dictate certain things in my work, while my vision dictates other things. Perhaps I work alongside chance.

Still under investigation: while researching chance operations, I came upon this little tidbit of 'food for thought':

Chance Operations (from http://www.toddholoubek.com/classes/livingart/?page_id=26)

What is a chance operation and what is it’s place in the creative process?


First let’s begin with a definition of random:


Random is the occurrence of events in a manner of such complexity that human cognition cannot find either a cause or a pattern between the events.



Does chance = random?



Consider chance as an attempt to achieve something natural.
Consider chance operations as a means of making a decision and how relinquishing control changes the outcome.