in 1982, plastic production surpassed that of steel worldwide, and we formally entered The Plastic Age. The materials have become too pervasive to ignore and in many cases too complex to name. From the start, plastics have been contradictory substance - mysterious in their elemental origins as of organic chemicals, banal in their sheer ubiquity. In both industrial design and the decorative arts, the role of plastic has continually evolved from a mere substitute to that of an essential ingredient responsive both to human needs and fantasies.