Art Theory Text with Table 1949

Editor: Here we have Stuart Davis's "Art Theory Text with Table." It looks like a page torn from a sketchbook, a jumble of abstract shapes floating above a handwritten passage. How do we interpret this combination of text and image? Curator: As a materialist, I see Davis grappling with the physical act of painting. The text discusses the "paint-medium mixture" and "character of the brushes," highlighting the labor involved. The table of shapes could be read as deconstructing the tools or even the finished product. What do you think of its placement within his broader artistic practice? Editor: I hadn't thought of it that way, but it makes sense. Maybe the shapes above are a visual inventory of forms that he uses to make other works. It’s interesting to consider them in relation to his text. Curator: Exactly. The materiality, the process, and the very act of creation are all laid bare here.