Stuart Davis, Egg Beater No. 1

Narrator: In 1927, Stuart Davis began work on a series of five paintings based on a still life he had created by nailing an eggbeater, an electric fan, and a rubber glove to a table in his studio. In Egg Beater No. 1, Davis eliminated all recognizable traces of the still life objects—leaving only this complex composition of colors and overlapping geometric shapes. But as he later explained, he resisted the idea of abstraction. 

Stuart Davis: I have never regarded myself as an abstract artist. Personally I felt that talking about “abstract” art had many dangerous and misleading implications. That it cut off the real fact that what is interesting in any painting is its specific references, which however they may differ with different people that look at the painting, are nevertheless specific. And to call those specific things abstract always worked the wrong way with me. And as to the content of it, I regard the fact that I give importance to simple things that give me pleasure, I think that is the content that has validity with me.