Art Theory Text with Sketch 1948

Editor: We’re looking at Stuart Davis’s “Art Theory Text with Sketch” from around 1918. It's a pen and ink drawing on paper, and I'm struck by the combination of text and abstract form. What aspects of its composition stand out to you? Curator: The formal arrangement is quite deliberate. Note how the text occupies the upper register, while the sketch anchors the bottom. Davis employs line not to depict, but to construct. Observe the interplay between the angular lines of the sketch and the curvilinear forms suggested within. Editor: So, you’re saying the visual elements themselves, rather than any representational content, are the key to understanding the work? Curator: Precisely. Davis appears to suggest through his written words that pure form is the heart of the matter. The question arises: Does the sketch visually embody this principle? Editor: It does seem to function independently, a composition of lines and shapes. I see what you mean. Curator: Indeed. It compels us to consider art’s self-referential nature.