Art Theory Text with Diagrams c. 1932

Curator: This "Art Theory Text with Diagrams" by Stuart Davis feels like a peek into the artist's mind, a playful wrestling with form and space. It's like he's thinking aloud on paper, isn't it? Editor: It is! I’m struck by how raw and immediate it feels. Like a page ripped straight from his notebook! What exactly was Davis trying to figure out here? Curator: Ah, the million-dollar question! Davis was obsessed with the language of abstraction. He's exploring how simple shapes, even identical ones, can create entirely different effects based on their relationships – position, contour, you name it! It's a bit like poetry, wouldn't you say? Editor: Poetry? I hadn't thought of it that way, but I see it. There’s a kind of visual rhythm. Curator: Exactly! And it makes you wonder, doesn't it, how much we read into the simplest arrangements? Editor: Definitely gives you a new appreciation for the power of placement. Thanks! Curator: My pleasure. Now go make some art!