"Plastic, the common name for a group of organic substances with a high molecular weight. Plasters (a plastic, plaster, the plastics) are further characterized by the fact that at one stage or another of the manufacturing process they are plastic or liquid so that they can be shaped (press moulded, injection moulded, profile sprayed, calendered, laminated, blown etc.)" (Gyldendal's one-volume encyclopedia .)

— Yes, that's the sober, lexical definition of the plastic material that, perhaps more than anything else, is about to change our everyday life. That in 1981 it is exactly 150 years since the first groping steps were taken in the direction of what is today a major chemical industry is probably something that few people know or think about when they are driving around in cars, buses and trains with plastic interiors, cooking dinner in teflon pans and then pack the remains as well as the waste in plastic bags—preferably while they play music on plastic whether it's records or cassettes. Plastic intervenes in our daily lives and we are only standing on the threshold of the plastic world of the future. We can like it or not, but we can neither avoid nor do without it.

When shaping something in a material has the function of satisfying our aesthetic sense, we like to call it art. Throughout history, raw materials that people have been accustomed to processing have been used to make such objects that have had no direct connection to practical purposes. In all its varieties, plastic is a product most of us think we know very well. The word plastic still has an odious connotation. — In any case, put in connection with "serious" and "real" things in life, such as art. Mostly, this is probably more due to people's prejudices than the artists'. They have never been afraid to use new materials. Art should revolutionize, not preserve! The fact that the "revolution" is often accepted in arrears is good enough reason for the artists to search for new means of action — new ways of seeing and interpreting the world. Because it is with art as with life: Nothing can - or should - remain as it was. The basis of human experience is in constant change. Paintings in plastic, sculptures in plastic. One reason why plastic in art has had so little impact here at home is that in many cases plastic has been used to imitate other and "nobler" materials. But plastic is not a poor man's bronze. Plastic has its own character, its own materiality, and that is what must be expressed. We have not investigated the properties of a material before we have tried to shape freely in it. Material sensitivity means exposing the material's uniqueness. Carl Nesjar, John Nordhuus, Ole Sjølie and Odd Tandberg are 4 artists who dare to expose plastic in their art. Together, they have formed the group "Plastic in Art", which has a far wider aim than making pictures and sculptures. Through collaboration with industry, they have explored some of the countless possibilities that the plastic material offers. In this sense, they have made a pioneering effort in Norwegian artistic life, and they have gained experiences that they are more than happy to share with their colleagues.

Much of the plastic we surround ourselves with today indicates that we are alienated from the material. The fact that artists explore plastic's possibilities for aesthetic design will hopefully raise the material's reputation. In this way, perhaps industrial designers can also be inspired to make our practical everyday life more beautiful.

Stig Andersen