Fireplace Coffee Roaster c. 1936

Curator: I find myself drawn to the way light and shadow define the contours of this... contraption. Is it technical drawing, perhaps? Editor: Indeed. What we're seeing is Salvatore Borrazzo's "Fireplace Coffee Roaster," rendered in graphite around 1936. It’s striking how a seemingly mundane object, a tool for preparing coffee, receives such careful, almost loving attention. Curator: There’s a strong sense of geometry here—the cylinders, the meticulous lines. It's functional, yet there’s also an abstract quality, almost like a ritual object or architectural element detached from time. What does the hearth mean in this piece? The fire as source of energy? As potential danger? Editor: That geometric sensibility speaks to its historical moment. The machine-like aesthetic found resonance within both Art Deco and burgeoning modernist movements, reflecting a society rapidly reshaping its relationship with technology and labor. Notice, though, it's intended for a fireplace, tying a 'modern' process of coffee roasting back to something deeply traditional. Coffee itself has colonial roots; by '36 it has become fully intertwined with both US culture and economics. Borrazzo presents an item rooted in these complexities. Curator: Fascinating. The object itself becomes a cultural artifact, a silent witness to historical shifts in power and commerce. Even its very banality speaks volumes! Editor: Precisely! Borrazzo encourages us to reflect on what we see as ordinary, everyday, as also a site for social, political, and even ecological transformation. Curator: This work is really making me consider how deeply even simple drawings embed history! Editor: I agree completely. Objects like these remind us that culture is layered, each line or shadow capable of illuminating something essential.