Art Theory Text with Color-Space Diagram 1941

Curator: Here we have Stuart Davis's "Art Theory Text with Color-Space Diagram." Editor: It looks like a sketch, almost a diagram. It has a kind of earnest, hopeful quality. Curator: Indeed. Davis’s note situates the diagram as an illustration. It's a fascinating glimpse into how he conceptualized color relationships. Editor: And how those relationships inform his art. I see a spectrum radiating from 'black' to 'white,' visualized as a shape—a color-space universe. How radical. Curator: Consider the historical context. Early 20th-century artists were seeking systems, searching for ways to codify and understand the visual world beyond representation. Editor: It makes me think about accessibility. Did Davis mean to offer some tool to help non-artists learn about color theory? Curator: Possibly. It demonstrates that even abstract expression was rooted in a search for order. Editor: It reminds me that art-making is also a process of meaning-making and power. Curator: Precisely. That is a good point to emphasize.