The Universal Symbol 1950

Editor: This is Stuart Davis's "The Universal Symbol," seemingly a sketch with ink on paper. The handwriting gives it an intimate feel, almost like a personal manifesto. What strikes you about it? Curator: Note how Davis uses language, the very material of communication, to deconstruct ideas of symbolic meaning. Consider the means of production, a simple pen, a common paper, yet the text challenges the commodification of symbols themselves. What is labor here, and what is consumption? Editor: So, the focus isn't just on the 'what' but the 'how' and 'why' it was made? Curator: Exactly. The means directly oppose the message. Is it anti-capitalist commentary? Editor: Fascinating, I hadn't considered the materials in that light.