using chance as an artistic medium

i have been reading about the dadaist artistic movement. marcel duchamp, it seems, was the first to play with chance as an artistic medium. in his 3 Standard Stoppages (1913-1914) marcel duchamp dropped three one-meter-long threads from the height of one meter onto three canvas strips. the threads were then adhered to the canvases, preserving the random curves they had assumed. i was surprised to learn that chance as an element of design was not used until the 20th century. i use it all the time in my compositions. i especially like combining chance with a hint of intentionality, as i did here. a spilled pile of beach rocks, tweaked just enough to add and element of intentionality. what do you think? does the combination work for you? is my intentional lining up of the central rocks too heavy handed? should i have bumped the composition just enough to suggest the curving line of stripes, but break it up a little so it wasn’t so pronounced i wonder. the composition still sits on my kitchen floor, where i photographed it this afternoon. perhaps tomorrow i will give it a gentle nudge and see what, by chance, results.

pile of striped beach rocks