Under a Mushroom

I've been pondering the relationship between art & everyday household objects. Those cherished possessions, or even less treasured items we have scattered around our homes. Things we sometimes take for granted because of their familiarity, and therefore not always seeing the beauty in what's right in front of our faces on a daily basis. So what the heck is art anyway? Any definition given to what constitutes "art" can never be conclusive & will remain to be debatable due to art being so subjective. If we believe aesthetics to be the dominant branch of philosophy with regards to art, then art can be perceived in any old thing that takes our fancy. Yes, I truly believe art can be found in anything. And everything. I've found it in my beloved Atomic stove-top coffee machine. It's an old, yet still very functional kitchen appliance that I've had for years, but it also transcends beyond the seemingly ordinary role for which it was designed, into a beautiful object of art. I'm now beginning to think that all of this waffling is an attempt of sorts to rationalise why I've chosen to post a photo of my coffee maker on what I claim to be an art themed blog...


...and attempting to further validate the relevance of the photo...

The Atomic coffee maker has an important place in the history of art and design. It made a bold statement that resonates with us today. If you think about it for a moment, you will agree: the Atomic represents the past, present and future of four generations of coffee enthusiasts. Their hopes and dreams cast in bolts of aluminium and bakelite...under the cloud of the mushroom. ~ Excerpt from the CoffeeCrew site (Yay!)

Oh & if you're really passionate about coffee I highly recommend checking out the uber cool CoffeeSnobs site. An extremely informative site dedicated to coffee lovers everywhere. Be sure to visit their Coffee Art Gallery for amazing photos of Latte Art, along with some great tips & tricks on how to pour your own. And by the way, next time you're at a cafe & your coffee arrives with a decorative double rosetta or other pretty pattern floating on top, don't be shy about letting the barista know how much you appreciate their creative talents. The compliment could possibly make his or her day!

With the idea in mind about household appliances being considered great works of art, this suddenly opens up an exciting range of new possibilities. I'm now off to photograph my refrigerator!

Way too much coffee. But if it weren't for the coffee, I'd have no identifiable personality whatsoever. ~ David Letterman

Comments

decadentdiamond said…
I must say that I'm more of a tea person, also, before I started reading, I thought the coffee maker was some sort of moped, ha!
Hey Harriet said…
When it's in milk frothing mode it sounds a little like a moped. A sick moped ;)
Tizzalicious said…
Thanks for the link to Coffee Snobs, I love it!
Very cool coffee maker.

Your fridge will have to be rad to top this....
Thanks for the post; nice read! And a very neato coffee maker. My brother will totally love the link you gave to the CoffeeSnobs site. He's in the process of getting his own equipment to roast his own coffee beans. Hooray! I don't drink a lot of coffee, but with him starting a new hobby, it's possible that I'll be increasing my intake.
Ana said…
That's a great blog entry! And I love that stove top coffee maker, it's awesome.
Hey Harriet said…
Simply Wired -
Lucky brother getting his own roasting equipment. I'm jealous! & lucky you being able to sample all of his new yummy freshly roasted brews!

Hope your brother enjoys the site -he certainly will if he's a coffee geek like me ;)
Carol said…
What a cool post - and photo!
I'll be looking at everything differently today :)
Anonymous said…
Drinking "Atomic" coffee explains a lot about you, Tracy. I now get why the emails you send BUZZ as I am reading them....
Speaking of buzzing, were you making light of my bugs and 'magic' remark? Jealous, me thinks. :-) Delightful blog entry! Now, put something on Etsy...
Karen from A`Musements
Prairie Gothic said…
I love that coffee maker! I've only recently begun drinking coffee. I'm all about the cuban coffee. Needless to say I've start my day out 'wired'. It's true what you say about art in everyday objects.
Oh i feel the need to go out for a coffe right away, just to appreciate it that little bit more, what an excuse, I shall use that often and I am sure some of the great decisions in the world have been made over a good coffee. So that means the bad decisions have been made over bad coffee...oh look I think i have the answer the worlds problems....ban crappy coffee! TTFN Linda Lilly Cottage.
Stacey said…
Atomic coffee makes are so close to art its not funny. You are so lucky to own one!
Hey Harriet said…
Lilly Cottage -

Yes! I think you're on to something there! I agree! Let's ban crappy coffee! Woohoo!

Starting with...no...wait...it's your idea. So you get the ball rolling & I'll sign your petition ;D
Agent M. said…
Last year, I was at the MOMA in San Francisco, and they had an entire exhibit dedicated to retro appliances as art (they weren't altered in any way). So there you go! ;)

And you're right, we could all sit around and debate the "what is art?" question.

What is a poem? That's another one you can go blue in the face on. I thought it was fairly definable, but after 5 semesters of poetry workshopping. Nevermind.

Great post & coffee maker!
=^.^=
amy said…
Hey, cool blog.
I'm off to check out your coffee snobs link.
esta sketch said…
omg the atomic! such a beautiful, beautiful thing. my parents have one, they don't use it anymore, although they did go back to it for a couple of weeks while the espresso machine was in the shop a few years ago and it worked just as well as it ever did. i would love to take it off their hands though :) not that my cute little french press isn't without it's charm..