Art Theory Text with Diagram 1957

Curator: Here we have Stuart Davis' "Art Theory Text with Diagram." Editor: It feels like a personal note, almost a visual haiku on artistic shortcomings. The materials – just paper and ink, it seems – give it a raw, immediate quality. Curator: Exactly. Davis is questioning the very essence of artmaking. The diagram, a rudimentary rectangle divided in two, is labeled "no good," despite possessing "balance and meaning." Editor: He craves something more, doesn't he? That "appetite" he mentions, it's about engaging the senses, pushing beyond mere technical skill. Curator: He’s pointing to a problem with artmaking that focuses too much on formal elements, lacking that indefinable quality that truly resonates. What about the wider context? Editor: You make a good point. Maybe his frustration is related to the commodification of art, the production-line mentality. Is the soul getting lost? Curator: I think Davis wanted art that challenged, questioned, and moved people on a visceral level. Editor: This little piece invites us to consider the same – to find that appetite in our own understanding of art.