David Smith, Visiting Artist Lecture 1954

Reading from prepared remarks, sculptor David Smith challenges his audience to refute the idea that art must derive from a tradition, most notably the Italian Renaissance tradition, contending instead that it comes from a more recent family heritage which is particular to the individual artist. He shows slides of his own work and that of other artists, points to other important artistic traditions (Gothic, Egyptian, Etruscan, etc.), talks about his art education, advocates for an art which exists in a space not shared by words, and answers questions from the audience.