Trivet c. 1939

Here we have Salvatore Borrazzo’s drawing of a trivet made with graphite on paper. Borrazzo was active during the first half of the 20th century when there was a renewed interest in early American crafts and design. What does it mean to consider this metal object through the medium of graphite on paper? While the trivet has a clear functional identity, the drawing of it renders it something else entirely. There is the identity of the object itself, a common household item, but also of those who would have used it. Borrazzo himself was part of the Index of American Design, a program of the Works Progress Administration, which employed artists to record examples of American material culture. The drawing asks us to consider the object and its place within a broader narrative of American identity, labor, and economic hardship. The simple beauty and careful craftmanship asks us to consider the labor necessary for its creation.