Brochure with informative and educational content for the Paloma paper factory in Sladkogora.
Placeholder to load Butler custom font family and templates.
Salty
Brochure with informative and educational content for the Paloma paper factory in Sladkogora.
Paloma was founded in 1873 as a factory for the production of cardboard and fiberboard, harnessing the power of the Mura River and the extensive surrounding forests. Around 1982, my father also worked at Paloma. By training, he was a mechanical engineer, but he was also a fine art painter, which is why he was involved in the factory's graphic design. For this well-known paper company, he created several graphic solutions and worked there for several years.I don't remember the exact year, it was probably around 1986, but I vividly recall how he brought home a small house – the packaging for paper towels. It was a real cardboard miniature, very colorful, with red roof tiles, windows, doors, flowers, and plants around it. The packaging bore the name "Paloma," with three doves – a dove family. My father designed and drew this packaging himself; although the old Paloma logo wasn't his work, it looked beautiful on the little house.
The house was perfect for playing with small figurines, which could sleep and live inside it. At that time, there weren't many other toys, so it became a popular addition to games with lego figures or small plush animals. Unfortunately, the packaging has not survived, but I found a brochure from Paloma with drawings and instructions on how to recycle paper properly.
I am including it in the Museum of Tastes because it is educational and features my father's illustrations and handwriting. In the past, factories prioritized educating young people, promoting cultural engagement, and encouraging actions for the common good; such advertising materials were not merely promotional but primarily educational and informative — a practice largely forgotten today.
Although the brochure is not related to food, it reminds me of childhood play, creativity, and the thoughtful use of materials that do not harm the environment. Since I prefer savory over sweet, reading it also brings back memories of studying and doing homework, when I always liked to snack on something salty, baked by my grandma. That is why I placed the brochure under the 'Savory Taste' category. I also treasure the memory of play and the carefree nature of childhood – modest, yet full of imagination and joy.
Tastes appear in color systems as bipolar concepts, divided into opposites such as bitter-sweet, sour-salty and umami-kokumi. We associate sweet taste with the color orange, cyan blue with salty taste, green with sour, and magenta red with bitter. Shades of green are usually associated with growth, while yellow, orange and bright red indicate activity. On the other hand, dark red, magenta and purple symbolize slowing down, while passivity is expressed by various shades of blue.
dr. hc Vojko Pogačar, academic painter
First, we chose musical instruments that illustrate different tastes: for the "salty" guitar (Astrid Kukovič), for the "bitter" piano (Sašo Vollmaier), for the "sour" harmonica (Dominik Cvitanič), for the "hot" violin (Andreja Klinc) and for the "sweet" flute (Asja Grauf).
Melodies were created spontaneously. The improvisations of the "bitter" melodies were low and legato, the "salty" were determined and articulate, the "sour" were high and dissonant, and the "sweet" were unison, slow and soft.
Asja Grauf, professor of flute
I experience salty as a mixture of all tastes. It awakens a pleasant, relaxed, unusual feeling in me. I associate this taste with long, emphasized and controlled body movements. Bitter is a taste that awakens confusion in me, because with each bite my body decides whether to approve of this taste or not. I associate with it fluid movement with various emphasized and accelerated movements. I can enjoy sweet for several hours a day. My body relaxes when I enjoy sweets for a long time, which cause a pleasant feeling of joy. I associate with sweet slow and easy movements. Sour usually ends quickly. Each bite causes a short shock in my body, and then disappears completely. I associate with sour taste abrupt, fast and uncontrolled movements. Hot is a taste that usually lasts a very long time. It awakens an unpleasant feeling in me that is hard to shake. These are long, strong movements and individual shorter, more intense ones that show evasion and discomfort.
Pina Batič, dancer
An important task of modern museums is to connect the past with the present, to introduce innovative approaches for the education of new generations and to contribute to cultural and social development.
Read the personal stories of the individuals who contributed their items to the Museum of Taste.
At the same time, we invite you to join this project yourself and participate with your contributions.