‘Plasticized: The Proliferation of Plastics in the 20th Century’ draws attention to overconsumption

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On the sixth floor of Bird Library, a poster showcasing a 1980s photo of the Coca-Cola “Easy-Goer lightweight plastic bottle” hangs next to a video advertisement for the product. The pair of artifacts show how the then-new plastic bottle was a moment that solidified plastic as part of daily life.

“The transition was a really pivotal moment for plastics history,” said exhibit curator Courtney Hicks. “The video and the poster because we can point to that moment where (plastic) is becoming everywhere.”

“Plasticized: The Proliferation of Plastics in the 20th Century” opened Monday and will be on display until August. The exhibit emphasizes plastic’s uses, how it arose in popularity and its future through pieces curated from the Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) archives.

SCRC will host a reception this Thursday without any single-use plastic. The gesture is intended to further inspire people, said SCRC Reference and Access Service Librarian Amy McDonald.

While putting together the exhibit, SCRC Instruction and Education Librarian Jana Rosinski asked a series of questions with Hicks — “How do we kind of reconcile with where we’ve come from? How we got to this point? Where we’re going?” She realized telling the story of plastics would be complex because they aren’t going anywhere.

“Knowing plastic’s past, and where the material came from, can help us move forward into the future,” Hicks said.

Hicks wanted to include all aspects of how expansive plastic consumption has become. She especially focused on “The Great Acceleration,” a time in the ‘70s and ‘80s when plastic production skyrocketed worldwide, with items like the Coca-Cola bottle, kids’ toys or clothes.

“Plastic is everywhere. It’s what we wear. It’s around us. It’s what we consume. It’s single-use plastic,” Hicks said. “So I think touching on all of the different ways that it is in our material reality is really important.”

Hicks also wanted to share information about various plastic formulations. The exhibit allows attendees to explore prominent types like Nylon and Mylar.

The exhibit is happening at a time when people are taking global action, discussing policies and finding sustainable solutions to address plastic pollution, Hicks said. Hicks chose to feature previous climate protests in the exhibit to show plastics’ dynamic history, including a poster from the very first Earth Day on April 22, 1970. The exhibit also features workers’ rights magazine covers from “The Environment,” showcasing the harm from plastic’s early era.

Some people are surprised by SCRC’s extensive plastics collection, Hicks said. However, there are even more items in the collection linked to plastics that are not part of the exhibit. It does includes plastic’s relation to industrial design architecture, art history and material culture, but there is a lot more on the subjects in the collection.

“Even though the exhibit might be here for a few months, we will always continue to work with this collection of materials, this curation of materials and field research questions about it,” McDonald said.

The exhibit gave McDonald an opportunity to explore the collections more after joining the SCRC a year ago. She said she’s learning about the subject and the collection, along with the viewers of the exhibition and those who choose to look further into what the SCRC has to offer.

McDonald and Rosinski said they want people to be inspired by Hicks’ research and dive into the collection on their own – whether that be as a researcher or just because of curiosity. People regularly think they must be “scholars” to do research, and Hicks hopes more people will investigate plastics after viewing the exhibit.

“(Plastic) touches everybody and then we also hope that more research comes out of it from people visiting and doing stuff with the collections,” Rosinski said. “This is only one telling. There’s so much more that people can keep adding to our public knowledge public understanding of our relationships with plastic through the stuff that’s here.”