Art Theory Text with Advancing and Retiring Colors Diagrams 1942

Editor: Here we have Stuart Davis's "Art Theory Text with Advancing and Retiring Colors Diagrams." It looks like a page from a sketchbook, maybe a study for a larger work. What do you make of its theoretical approach? Curator: It reveals the artist's desire to legitimize abstract art through a quasi-scientific approach. Davis appropriates the language of scientific inquiry to dissect and rationalize his artistic choices, contributing to a broader cultural effort to elevate abstract art's status. What does this page suggest to you about the public perception of art at the time? Editor: It seems like he's trying to make art more accessible, like he wants to break it down into understandable parts. Curator: Exactly! He is responding to a need to make art more "logical" for a public often suspicious of abstraction. Artists and institutions both played a role in shaping that acceptance. I wonder, did this change your interpretation? Editor: Definitely. Seeing it as part of a larger conversation about art's role makes it more meaningful.