Tarzan (Series I) 1969

Curator: Standing before us is "Tarzan (Series I)," a striking color field painting created by Gene Davis in 1969. Its composition immediately strikes me as… musical. Editor: Musical is a great way to put it. I get an almost visceral sense of rhythm just from the sheer density of the vertical stripes. Do you sense something similar? Curator: Indeed. Considering its era, and Davis's engagements with contemporary art and culture, I find it easy to imagine the influence of free jazz and the broader Civil Rights movement on this work. There's an energy, a sense of forward momentum, maybe even a visual manifestation of collective empowerment. Editor: That's interesting. While I'm intrigued by the social readings, I find the individual stripes and their harmonic relationships to be compelling. There is such controlled chromatic modulation and yet… freedom from form? Curator: Absolutely, and that tension is crucial, isn’t it? It pushes against the conventional art narratives while still asserting artistic agency. Davis deliberately challenges expectations, much like activists disrupting societal norms, demanding visibility. The sheer scale of the work creates a physical presence, making its statement unmissable. Editor: The visual impact comes as much from its use of hard-edge painting to control relationships as from its size. This painting embodies the tenets of formalism with those stripes—shape, line, color all coalesce into something really spectacular to visually unpack. Curator: And I read those same interactions between the artwork's color relationships, visual impact and its overall intentionality as an artistic choice that reverberates within historical dialogues—demonstrating how visual language, whether intended or otherwise, speaks to broader social concerns, to both oppression and expressions of autonomy. Editor: Agreed. I'm left appreciating Davis’s mastery of color and line—and how that comes together in a period rife with social and political reckoning to mean so many things. Curator: It is that multilayered conversation that ultimately leaves a lasting impression.