Street Scenes 1948

Editor: Here we have Stuart Davis' "Street Scenes," a drawing of simple lines on paper. It almost looks like architectural blueprints. How do you interpret this work? Curator: Consider the production: a simple sketch, likely quickly rendered. What does this say about the perceived value of the ‘finished’ artwork versus the labor involved? Editor: I see what you mean. The bareness forces us to consider the labor of the artist. Curator: Indeed, and how that labor intersects with the eventual commodification of the image. It exposes the means of production. Editor: So, it's not just about the street scenes themselves, but also about the process of creating art about them. Fascinating. Curator: Precisely! And perhaps a challenge to the traditional art market itself. Editor: I never considered that before, thank you.