Art Theory Text with Types A and B Configuration Diagrams 1943

Curator: Stuart Davis, best known for his modernist paintings, wrote extensively about art. This sheet, titled "Art Theory Text with Types A and B Configuration Diagrams," features his handwritten musings and some rudimentary diagrams. Editor: It feels like a glimpse into his thought process, a visual representation of how he was trying to break down and understand form. Almost like looking at notes from a mad scientist! Curator: Absolutely. Notice how he connects the emotional and intellectual forces that form a picture with the limitations of material and process. The diagrams seem to serve as a visual shorthand for these ideas. They represent these elemental forms. Editor: Yes, like a quest for the most basic building blocks of visual language, stripping everything down. His handwriting has a certain energy, doesn’t it? It adds to the feeling that he was really working through something complex. Curator: Davis sought to create a distinctly American form of modernism. He wanted to find a visual equivalent to the rhythms of jazz and the energy of urban life. This sheet offers a glimpse into that search. Editor: It's fascinating to consider his art theory, to ponder on the topography of a picture and the emotional forces behind it. It makes you appreciate the depth of thought that can go into even seemingly abstract compositions.