Untitled (toaster) c. 1950

Robert Burian captured this photograph of a toaster, currently held at the Harvard Art Museums. The seemingly simple image invites us to reflect on the cultural and historical contexts that shape our everyday lives. Consider the role of domestic objects, like this toaster, in shaping gender roles and societal expectations. Who was expected to use this object, and what kind of lifestyle did it represent? The toaster becomes more than just a kitchen appliance. It’s an emblem of postwar domesticity and consumer culture, with all its attendant aspirations and anxieties. The choice of a common household appliance as the subject of art asks what is worth looking at, and who decides? In elevating the mundane, the photograph invites us to reconsider the power dynamics inherent in artistic representation. What stories do everyday objects tell about our lives?