Art Theory Text with Diagrams c. 1932

Curator: Here we have Stuart Davis’s "Art Theory Text with Diagrams" from the Harvard Art Museums. It's a handwritten page filled with text and simple geometric shapes. Editor: My first thought? This looks like the visual equivalent of someone trying to explain a joke that's already hilarious on its own. Curator: Well, Davis was deeply invested in abstracting the American experience, the kind of brash modernity you found in jazz and advertising. He believed art could be broken down to its fundamental components. Editor: So, these squares, these relationships… they’re the building blocks? But doesn't deconstructing something sometimes flatten its original magic? Curator: Perhaps, but Davis saw it as empowerment. He wanted everyone to understand the underlying structure, to see that art isn't some mystical thing, but a series of choices. Editor: I get that. But I still prefer to feel my way through a painting, to let it wash over me. This feels like homework. Curator: And maybe that's the point, to engage the mind as much as the eye. Davis wasn’t just creating, he was teaching us how to see. Editor: A noble goal. I’m just not sure I’m ready for the lecture today.