Art of Scent at MAD Museum Opens Finally & Pre-sale of Catalogue

‘The Art of Scent’ at the Museum of Arts and Design, delayed by superstorm Sandy by a week, is finally opening. Curated by Chandler Burr (well known to perfume aficionados so that he doesn't need an introduction), its aim is to place fragrance in a vision-free "zone" to be appreciated as pure art.“The fundamental goal of the department [of Olfactory Art],” mr. Burr said during a recent interview at his office, “is placing scent as an artistic medium alongside painting, sculpture and music.” For however “brilliant” or “extraordinary” the greatest scents may be, he added, “they’re not recognized as works of art, and the artists who create them are not recognized as artists.”

A gallery with 12 gently curved indentations in its walls was created by Diller Scofidio & Renfro. "Hidden behind each is a scent diffusion machine: a visitor who leans into the curve will set off an electronic eye, causing the machine to release a burst of fragrance calibrated to stay in place for four seconds, without spreading across the room (made by the German company Scentcommunication)".[source]

The catalogue of the exhibition is scheduled to be sold and ready to ship in about 2 weeks on the Store at MAD site here (check for pre-ordering). The catalogue includes essays on the fragrances, written by mr.Burr, referenced through art movements that correspond to the scents, and will retail for $250 and there are only 1,000 catalogues, numbered, 1 – 1,000. The catalogue will contain 11 of the 12 works of olfactory art that Burr is exhibiting —they haven’t been able to include Chanel N° 5 which will be exhibited in the show nevertheless. Each fragrance is contained in a Spartan 5ml vial of pure taste.

And the works contained are:

01 Romanticism

Jicky

1889

Aimé Guerlain

Lent by Guerlain

02  Abstract Expressionism

L’Interdit

1957

Francis Fabron

Lent by Givenchy and Givaudan

03 Early American School

Aromatics Elixir

1971

Bernard Chant

Lent by The Estée Lauder Companies and International Flavors and Fragrances

04 Industrialism

Drakkar Noir

1982

Pierre Wargnye

Lent by l’Oréal International Flavors and Fragrances

05 Surrealism

Angel

1992

Olivier Cresp

Lent by Clarins and Firmenich

06 Minimalism

L’Eau d’Issey

1992

Jacques Cavallier

Lent by BPI and Firmenich

07 Photo Realism

Pleasures

1995

Annie Buzantian, Alberto Morillas

Lent by The Estée Lauder Companies and Firmenich

08  Kinetic Sculpture

Light Blue

2001

Olivier Cresp

Lent by Dolce & Gabbana, P&G Prestige, and Firmenich

09 Neo-Romanticism

Prada Amber

2004

Carlos Benaïm, Max Gavarry, Clément Gavarry

Lent by Prada, Puig, and International Flavors & Fragrances

10 Luminism

Osmanthe Yunnan

2006

Jean-Claude Ellena

Lent by Hermès

11 Post-Brutalism

Untitled

2010

Daniela Andrier

Lent by l’Oréal and Givaudan

Hermes to Join Donors at The Department of Olfactory Art at The Museum of Arts and Design

Good news for the inclusion of know-how and artistry in the olfactory art exhibition at the NYC Museum of Arts and Design. Hermès has become a 2012 Major Donor to The Department of Olfactory Art.

Hermès’ gift is earmarked for the exclusive use of the Department of Olfactory Art and its activities. To quote Chandler Burr, the curator of the exhibition: "As you all know, I’m particularly familiar with Hermès Parfums’ in-house artist, Jean-Claude Ellena, and am extremely happy to have Hermès, this great house founded in 1837, as a donor."
Like The Estée Lauder Companies, P&G Prestige, Chanel, and Guerlain, Hermès will have a seat on the Department of Olfactory Art’s Advisory Board.

Musée du Parfum Fragonard in Paris

The Musée du Parfum Fragonard in Paris is presented in the following clip, which I came across on Youtube. The Fragonard Perfume Museum is taking two sections of a specially rearranged town house in the heart of Paris, the decoration following the Napoléon III style, accepting visitors from all over the world.
Agniezska Buziani guides us through the old alembics which were used in Grasse, perfume capital in France since the 17th century. Cyprien Fabre explains to us how the family has been collecting perfumery instruments and objects for generations.
And of course there are several flacons and boxes displayed, many of the objects which one can imagine appearing in novels by de Maupassant, Balzac, Flaubert and other authors.
Towards the end you can see a traditional perfumer's "organ", that is the organised desk with rows of essences, classified according to volatility (top, heart and bottom notes) for the perfumer to act as a musician when composing sonorous chords (scent accords).



Fragonard Perfume Museum: 9 rue Scribe 75009 PARIS, FRANCE Tel. +33 (0)1 47 42 04 56

Related reading on Perfume Shrine: Travel Memoirs Paris Shopping

Later on we will be continuing with reviews of the three Les Nez fragrances!

Clip originally uploaded by cap24paris on Youtube