Part 3 of 3
(The Secret Life of Plastic)Design, unlike many other forms of communication, has the unlimited potential for different forms of cultural expression. Use of plastics like polypropolyne for the container and polyethylene for the more flexible lid of our containers created even more possibilities for different interpretations. Of all materials designers can work with, the one with the least cultural baggage is plastic.
When one thinks of fiberglass, one thinks of the Eames. When bent plywood comes up, Alvar Aalto's experiments comes to stand. When one thinks of plastic, okay, Joe Columbo. But wasn't that Grandma's plastic? The heavy, opaque kind with serious draft and thick walls. All worshipful Kartell 1960's objects weigh more than objects produced today.
In the sixties, plastics were in their infancy. The first designers to injection mold, added a few millimeters to their wall thicknesses, all the better to withstand wear and tear. There were no environmental issues to consider. These were naive times.
Yesterday and today, plastic objects, because of their manufacturing, are different than designs made of traditional building materials. Designers must find new forms of expression. Because plastic is semantically free, it frees designers up to work on important things, like concepts and cultural issues.The true 1990's object of affection uses more ironic, self conscious overtones to convey the layers of meaning within. Projects provide designers unlimited opportunities to tell stories, not only about an objects usage and function, but also about the culture in which they were borne.
We at Boym Design Studio prefer objects that lie on the margins of culture. We translate those objects into the language of design and re-present them. This makes people see something in a new way.
Plastic being the sexy, inexpensive, fluid material that it is, for the moment is becoming overexposed. I invite you to pick up the ball and investigate other materials. How about cedar particle board?
--Laurene Leon
Laurene Leon is an associate at Boym Design Studio, a multidisciplinary design consultancy and a product design professor at Parsons School of Design. Both are in New York City. She can be reached at BOYMSTUDIO@aol.com