Art Theory Text with Sketch 1948

Editor: This is Stuart Davis’s "Art Theory Text with Sketch," a drawing of some kind. The shapes remind me of architectural forms. What do you see in this piece? Curator: The handwritten text positions the sketch as a “concrete proof” of a concept. The sketch itself employs symbols reminiscent of architectural motifs. But do these symbols derive their meaning solely from art theory? Editor: So, you think it's not only about architectural signs and symbols? Curator: Consider Davis's broader interest in American modernism. This era looked to construct new social and cultural meanings. Might this sketch, then, be a symbolic blueprint for a new kind of art? Editor: That makes me think about the relationship between writing and drawing, the verbal and the visual. Curator: Precisely. And how those interplay to create new forms of expression, like a cultural memory we’re only beginning to decode.