Color Theory Diagrams 1951

Curator: Here we have Stuart Davis’s "Color Theory Diagrams," exact date unknown. It's a sketch measuring about 11 by 8 inches, currently held at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: Oh, this gives me the delightful feeling of rifling through a mad genius’s notebook—sort of playful, cryptic, and opinionated. Curator: It’s fascinating to see Davis wrestling with the relationship between art and science, a recurring theme in early 20th-century art. He saw color as a fundamental element, almost scientific in its visual impact. Editor: Right! "Only art is scientific," he scribbles. I love the conviction! It's like he's mapping out not just colors, but a whole philosophy of seeing. A visual fact as he says. Curator: Exactly. Davis, steeped in the debates of his time, positions art as a superior form of understanding, distinct from scientific objectivity. "Modern Art has become European Hillbilly," it seems he says. Editor: He really went all in there! This little diagram is a fiery manifesto in disguise, isn't it? It makes me want to grab my paintbrushes and question everything. Curator: I'm left pondering the role of subjectivity in a world obsessed with objective measurement. Editor: And I, for one, am inspired by his bold, unconventional artistic vision.