Coffee and _______ 1935

Editor: Here we have Jacob Burck’s 1935 print titled "Coffee and _______." It's a rather somber portrait, isn't it? The graphite rendering gives it a raw, almost journalistic feel. What do you see when you look at it? Curator: Well, first, I notice the title is incomplete. "Coffee and..." what? The implied consumption points us towards the economic realities of the 1930s. This print, presumably made cheaply and quickly, likely had a specific social function. Notice the visible grain of the paper, the way the graphite sits *on* the surface. The hand holding, presumably, the receipt all suggest precarious labor. Editor: I see that, a quick study printed, almost like propaganda, during a very precarious time in world history. Curator: Precisely. This isn't about aesthetic beauty in the traditional sense. It's about representing a social reality through accessible materials and techniques. We should also consider the mechanics of printmaking: how the artist disseminates an image, creating multiples. Editor: Do you think Burck chose printmaking to broaden accessibility? It looks like his intaglio-styled social-realist portraits were designed for mass consumption, sort of. Curator: Yes, absolutely. Graphite and printmaking are cost-effective media; available resources to an artist driven by communicating and responding to an audience struggling with tangible financial strains, or participating in the WPA. The material choices reflect that intention. Editor: So, looking at "Coffee and ____," it's less about the subject's inner life, and more about the economic and production processes that shaped the artwork itself, reflecting the social climate and reaching a wide audience, cheaply. That changes how I see the work. Curator: Exactly! Understanding the “how” helps illuminate the “why” and for "whom”. The artistic choice and labor of it.