Color Theory Diagram 1951

Curator: This Stuart Davis diagram, lacking a specific date, lays bare the material thought process. We see his hand, the paper's texture, the very ink used to map “Normal Common Sense Color Positions.” How does that inform your understanding? Editor: It feels like a peek into the artist's studio, a glimpse of his raw, unpolished experimentation with color. What strikes me is how he seems to be deconstructing color theory. What do you make of it? Curator: Exactly. Consider the labor involved, the deliberate act of charting color relationships. It challenges the traditional idea of the artist as solely an aesthetic visionary, revealing the work as... well, work. Editor: So, it's not just about the colors themselves, but the act of mapping and understanding them. Thank you! Curator: Precisely. It's about making the invisible visible, the process tangible. A reminder of the material foundations of even the most abstract art.