ISMIC
BRIEF
“Isms” are ideologies and set rules that streamline the ways in which people function in the world. Design your own “ism”. The ism should have a set of rules which act as “filters” through which people view the world through. Apply it to one particular mode of function that is practiced globally.
MARGARINE
In the 1800’s, Emperor Napoleon III ordered the chemists of France to create an affordable and non-perishable substitute for butter. This spread would be taken by his soldiers to the battlegrounds as well as be accessible by lower class citizens (as dairy products butter in particular was a luxury ingredient.) Upon iteration, margarine was the imitation butter that disrupted the dairy industry. It took all of the problematic aspects of its’s predecessor to resolve them and turn them into strengths.
Using Picasso’s Guernica as a starting motif, we repainted the war piece as a battle between the faux butter spread’s chemists and dairy farmer.
Imitation Iteration #1: Reinterpreting the war portrayed in Picasso's Guernica. This version visualises the war between the dairy industry and margarine (imitation butter) makers. It also includes expresses Napoleon's influence in the innovation of margarine. The emperor ordered chemists to create an alternative to the spread. One that would have a longer shelf-life so that soldiers at war could enjoy. Furthermore, produce it in a more cost efficient way to also enable access for lower-class families.
Imitation Iteration #2
Imitation Iteration #3
Imitation Iteration #4
We picked the educational institutions as the vehicle to apply our ism, creating the “Marg Coop”. We created a manifesto and a framework for iteration as well as a school guideline inspired by Bauhaus.
Rather than looking at imitation as a negative, margarinism uses it as a starting point for innovation. The more you iterate, the more you innovate. Eventually the imitations will exist as a new entity. This worksheet guides iteration by noting strengths of the original to keep and weaknesses to transform or eliminate. Here, they are used to iterate specific aspects of schools such as uniforms and classroom interior, and discipline.
Tools Designed for the Marg Coop
STAMP: Margarinism identity as a school emblem
UNIFORM: A white shirt with the emblem to be worn by all teachers and learner to eliminate hierarchy present in conventional school. We chose white as the colour to encourage students to iterate their uniform
PUZZLE: The margarine versus butter Guernica in puzzle form that can also be painted on
LENS: A clear acrylic piece with “I can’t believe it’s not” engraved in order to recognise existing imitations and envision further developments
ARCHITECTURE: A set of buildings with characterised levels that physically embody the idea of iteration and progression
Project in Collaboration with Annie Kruntcheva, Laura Durward, Saki Ota, and Won Kyung Hwang