More than a substance,
plastic is the very idea of its infinite transformation.
—Roland Barthes
The NHL theory of violence goes something like this: Hockey is by its nature a violent game. Played in an area confined by boards of unbreakable glass, by players carrying sticks travelling at speeds approaching thirty miles per hour, collisions occur.
–Ken Dryden
Your shield like a wing, protects your bulletproof heart from the wind, your right arm black in the cloth of your brothers. Full face visor. Baby gladiator.
—Riot Police, Sun Yung Shin
![Grosfeld House Plexiglas bedroom, 1942. From Decorative Art 1942 – The Studio Year Book, edited by C. G. Holme. [The Studio Ltd., London, 1942]. The Print Collector / Heritage Images / Alamy.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6924bdc71ccca22797caf93a/1764044889996-RBK5TUQHBU3RG1EFXP4J/Bedroom-PKCWAF.jpg)
General Motors, the transparent Pontiac Ghost Car was unveiled at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York as part of General Motors’ Futurama exhibit, 1939. General Motors Archive.
The Yurikamome Elevated Train passes behind a Plexiglas map of the Shiodome Sio-Site business complex, located in Minato Ward in central Tokyo, Japan, April 14, 2008. J. Lumiere / Alamy.
Grosfeld House Plexiglas bedroom, 1942. From Decorative Art 1942 – The Studio Year Book, edited by C. G. Holme. [The Studio Ltd., London, 1942]. The Print Collector / Heritage Images / Alamy.
Telephone acrylic dome in the Palace Hotel, Stockholm, Sweden, 1950s. Photo Kristoffersson ref cb23-2 / Classic Picture Library / Alamy.
Rohm and Haas Company. “Woman Polishing Plexiglas at Rohm and Haas Facility,” 1940–1949. Rohm & Haas Company Archives, Box 18 (Photographs), Folder 12. Science History Institute. Philadelphia. https://digital.sciencehistory.org/works/rf55z867q.
Jane Rieger of Golders Green seen with the first all-plastic greenhouse at the First International British Plastics Exhibition, July 7, 1957. Keystone Pictures usa / zumapress / Alamy.
A Farnsworth table model television receiver installed in a Lucite cabinet to show the operation of the components, 1949. rbm Vintage Images / Alamy.
Barbara Kasten, Intervention, 2018, Steel and fluorescent acrylic. Courtesy Bortolami Gallery.
A McDonald’s in Chicago, 2008. James Kirkikis / Alamy.
Ocular prosthesis. Evil Kahn / iStock.
Climate measuring devices, Mt Zugspitze summit station, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria, Germany, Europe, November 10, 2011. uwl / imagebroker.com / Alamy.
Color plastic acrylic shapes, Plexiglas, April 2, 2020. Opreanu Roberto Sorin / Alamy.
Red, green, blue, beige, aqua, brown, yellow and navy rows of a horizontal multi-colored crochet lines pattern, June 11, 2023. Dorin Puha / Alamy.
Orlon acrylic by DuPont, “Just for Kicks,” 1960. adsR / Alamy.
Heart-shaped sunglasses. William Dondyk / iStock.
Blurred view through protective glass. Hockey player on the ice surface of the stadium, February 13, 2023. Edophoto / Panther Media Global / Alamy.
Haruka Kojin, Contact Lens, 2011. Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo. Photo: daici ano.
Unknown. Handbag, early 1950s. Engraved perspex. Given by Peggy Marchant, © Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1996/2203.
Pigeonholes full of safety glasses high school workshop in Western Australia, March 5, 2018. Chris de Blank / Alamy.
Plexiglas milling on a CNC machine at a furniture factory, October 22, 2019. Marina Demkina / Alamy.
Outdoor basketball backboard and hoop rim with chain net in urban residential district, Serbia, 2023. Igor Stevanovic / Alamy.
Walkway, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France. Kate Hockenhull / Alamy.
Plexiglass screens on metal stands for social distancing in Trastevere, Rome, Italy, September 12, 2020. Daniele Cossu / Alamy.
National Guard members at the Metro Detention Center in Downtown Los Angeles on June 8th, 2025, amid protests against federal immigration raids, June 8, 2025. Jim Newberry / Alamy.
Glowing red exit sign, Plexiglas, July 11, 2019. MirrorImages / Alamy.
General Motors, the transparent Pontiac Ghost Car was unveiled at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York as part of General Motors’ Futurama exhibit, 1939. General Motors Archive.
The Yurikamome Elevated Train passes behind a Plexiglas map of the Shiodome Sio-Site business complex, located in Minato Ward in central Tokyo, Japan, April 14, 2008. J. Lumiere / Alamy.
Grosfeld House Plexiglas bedroom, 1942. From Decorative Art 1942 – The Studio Year Book, edited by C. G. Holme. [The Studio Ltd., London, 1942]. The Print Collector / Heritage Images / Alamy.
Telephone acrylic dome in the Palace Hotel, Stockholm, Sweden, 1950s. Photo Kristoffersson ref cb23-2 / Classic Picture Library / Alamy.
Rohm and Haas Company. “Woman Polishing Plexiglas at Rohm and Haas Facility,” 1940–1949. Rohm & Haas Company Archives, Box 18 (Photographs), Folder 12. Science History Institute. Philadelphia. https://digital.sciencehistory.org/works/rf55z867q.
Jane Rieger of Golders Green seen with the first all-plastic greenhouse at the First International British Plastics Exhibition, July 7, 1957. Keystone Pictures usa / zumapress / Alamy.
A Farnsworth table model television receiver installed in a Lucite cabinet to show the operation of the components, 1949. rbm Vintage Images / Alamy.
Barbara Kasten, Intervention, 2018, Steel and fluorescent acrylic. Courtesy Bortolami Gallery.
A McDonald’s in Chicago, 2008. James Kirkikis / Alamy.
Ocular prosthesis. Evil Kahn / iStock.
Climate measuring devices, Mt Zugspitze summit station, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria, Germany, Europe, November 10, 2011. uwl / imagebroker.com / Alamy.
Color plastic acrylic shapes, Plexiglas, April 2, 2020. Opreanu Roberto Sorin / Alamy.
Red, green, blue, beige, aqua, brown, yellow and navy rows of a horizontal multi-colored crochet lines pattern, June 11, 2023. Dorin Puha / Alamy.
Orlon acrylic by DuPont, “Just for Kicks,” 1960. adsR / Alamy.
Heart-shaped sunglasses. William Dondyk / iStock.
Blurred view through protective glass. Hockey player on the ice surface of the stadium, February 13, 2023. Edophoto / Panther Media Global / Alamy.
Haruka Kojin, Contact Lens, 2011. Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo. Photo: daici ano.
Unknown. Handbag, early 1950s. Engraved perspex. Given by Peggy Marchant, © Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1996/2203.
Pigeonholes full of safety glasses high school workshop in Western Australia, March 5, 2018. Chris de Blank / Alamy.
Plexiglas milling on a CNC machine at a furniture factory, October 22, 2019. Marina Demkina / Alamy.
Outdoor basketball backboard and hoop rim with chain net in urban residential district, Serbia, 2023. Igor Stevanovic / Alamy.
Walkway, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France. Kate Hockenhull / Alamy.
Plexiglass screens on metal stands for social distancing in Trastevere, Rome, Italy, September 12, 2020. Daniele Cossu / Alamy.
National Guard members at the Metro Detention Center in Downtown Los Angeles on June 8th, 2025, amid protests against federal immigration raids, June 8, 2025. Jim Newberry / Alamy.
Glowing red exit sign, Plexiglas, July 11, 2019. MirrorImages / Alamy.