Saturday, November 18, 2006

Barthes and the wonder of plastic

Why Roland Barthes is my hero:

From his essay "Plastics",

"So, more than a substance, plastic is the very idea of its infinite transformation; as its everyday name indicates, it is ubiquity made visible. And it is this, in fact, which makes it a miraculous substance: a miracle is always a sudden transformation of nature. Plastic remains impregnated throughout with this wonder: it is less a thing than the trace of a movement."



Isn't it wonderful for plastics, just for a moment, despite the dangerous chemicals invariably involved in its creation, to be a material for speculation and wonder?

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