Tom Fisher in, A world of Colour and Bright Shining Surfaces: Experiences of Plastics after the Second World War, claims plastics live an interesting double life in the eye of the consumer. Plastics not only represent modern technology at the time, but begin to stir discussion about its properties and even its affects on the environment. During war-time, plastics provided a new outlook on the technology of modern life in the 50s, but even when this product began to take off in popularity, there was still hesitation revolving around the chemical nature of plastic. Even then there was concern of what plastic represented in peoples lives, and worry rose about what the repercussions of living a plastic life in the plastic age might be. Though there was hesitation revolving around the material by the general population, plastic was advertised for its hygienic properties of seamless surfaces that are easy to clean. Plastics shining surfaces and bright colors contrasted the post-World-War II life of rebuilding, recovery, and resource shortages.
Tom Fisher highlights interesting points of the general interpretation of plastic, and the hesitation surrounding it as a safe product in a time of chemical fear. The product was able to be leveraged as advertisers as the product of tomorrow, a product which is universal. I would argue plastic in the design world represented the material of tomorrow, a material which could take any hue, sheen, and shape; Truly a non-material, material. The inherent mass production capabilities of this material made it extremely attractive to modernists, as it had the ability to take any form with ease. Eames furniture for example was a huge advocate for the abilities of plastic, creating brand new, pure forms which were not possible to the same affect as they were with the use of plastic. I would go as far to argue people were not nearly as afraid of plastic as Fisher is claiming, as plastic is still used to an outrageous degree today. In fact, in Plastic Pollution, an article by Hannah Ritchie claims an alarming 0.5% of all plastic waste today ends up in the ocean. Between the two advertisements I have chosen, there is an interesting attitude shift surrounding plastic objects. The 1934 HouseBeauiful advertisement features many types of products made from a variety of materials, none of which include plastic objects, but the 1950s advertisement of Herman Miller features plastic and its amazing capabilities as a daily use, household object.
Figure 1. Eames Chair advertisement, Plastic Chairs by Charles Eames, 1950
https://eames.com/en/library/document/HMB-8
A Herman Miller pamphlet from 1950 advertising Charles Eames’ arm chairs mentions its haptic qualities, “…a plastic reinforced Fiberglas that is plesant to the touch, light, stain-resistant, washable and virtually indestructible.”
Figure 2. Advertised household products in HouseBeautiful Magazine
House Beautiful 1934-02: Vol 75 Iss 2 pg. 60
Caption: “February Notes on Housewares”
A pre-World-War II HouseBeautiful (1934) advertises a series of household objects made from glass, ceramics, metal, and wood, but notably there is a lack of plastic objects.