By Johanna Agerman, Ross Corinna Gardner, Annilina Koivu, Charlotte Hale, Lauren Bassam, Jane Atfield, Dianna Cohen, Peter Chyczy, Dave Hakkens, John McGeehan, Mateo Kries. Edited by Jochen Eisenbrand, Mea hoffman. Contributions by Nanjaja Nyabola, Mark Miodownik, Susan Freinkel.
The complex life of plastic, from global success story to ecological conundrum and beyond.
Plastic has shaped our daily lives like no other material. Originally associated with convenience, progress and even revolution, today plastic seems to have lost its utopian appeal. Plastic is everywhere, yet most conspicuous as waste and as a key factor in the global environmental crisis.
This book examines the success story of plastic in the 20th century and at the same time presents the different discourses on how we should manage the waste the material produces and also find solutions that take into account its entire life cycle in the future. A material-rich visual chronology illustrates how consumers’ perception of plastics has changed over the decades; brief descriptions of a selection of 50 objects examine the importance of plastics for material culture; and reprints of fundamental texts about the history of plastics.
The book juxtaposes the current discourse and state of research on plastic with numerous individual interviews and panel discussions that were held with designers, representatives from industry, researchers and environmental activists. Underpinning these conversations are comprehensive data visualizations on plastic production, consumption and the spread of plastic around the world.
- Vitra Museum, 2022
- Softcover, 256 pages
- 8 x 10 inches
