• About
  • Login to comment
    • Facebook
    • RSS
    • Twitter

Now Smell This

a blog about perfume

Menu ▼
  • Perfume Reviews
  • New Perfumes
  • Perfumers
  • Perfume Houses
  • Shop for perfume
  • Resources

The Art of Scent at Museum of Arts and Design ~ upcoming exhibit in New York City

Posted by Robin on 2 June 2012 7 Comments

The Museum of Arts and Design will host The Art of Scent: 1889-2012, an exhibit curated by Chandler Burr, starting in November of this year.

The Art of Scent, 1889-2012, is the first museum exhibition dedicated to exploring the design and aesthetics of olfactory art through twelve pivotal fragrances, dating from 1889 to the present, that profoundly impacted the course of the medium. On view November 13, 2012, through January 27, 2013, at the Museum of Arts and Design, the exhibition will examine major stylistic developments in the evolution and design of fragrance, and provide unprecedented insight into the creative visions and intricate processes of the artists responsible for crafting the featured works. The scents will be experienced individually in a special installation designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro that emphasizes the distinct combination of artistry and chemistry entailed in their creation. The Art of Scent will be accompanied by a boxed catalogue designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro for MAD, featuring identically bottled samples of select works in the exhibition.

Organized by MAD’s Curator of Olfactory Art, Chandler Burr, The Art of Scent explores the progression of olfactory art, beginning in the late nineteenth century—when the introduction of synthetic molecules freed scent artists from the constraints of using all-natural materials, making scent a true artistic medium—through the present day. The exhibition opens with the work of Aimé Guerlain, who was among the first to introduce synthetic molecules alongside natural materials with the design of Jicky (1889). The exhibition will then lead visitors through an olfactory experience that showcases the work of the most significant scent artists of the 20th and early 21st centuries...

[...] Presented in MAD’s second floor galleries, the exhibition will facilitate a focused olfactory experience through the near-complete removal of visual indicators, such as logos and marketing materials, encouraging visitors to concentrate exclusively on their sense of smell. The exhibition will also provide visitors with an unprecedented glimpse into the labor-intensive artistic process of creating perfume by showcasing the stages of development for one fragrance, from the initial written brief to the first iteration and through the layering and modification of scent required to reach the final desired work of olfactory art.

Scents featured in the exhibit will include Jicky by Aimé Guerlain, Chanel No. 5 by Ernest Beaux, Aromatics Elixir by Bernard Chant, Angel by Olivier Cresp, Pleasures by Annie Buzantian and Alberto Morillas, Untitled by Daniela Andrier, Drakkar Noir by Pierre Wargnye, L’Eau d’Issey by Jacques Cavallier, cK One by Alberto Morillas and Harry Frémont, and Prada by Carlos Benaïm and Clément Gavarry.

The Museum of Arts and Design is located at 2 Columbus Circle in New York City; hours are Tuesday to Sunday from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm and Thursday and Friday from 11:00 am to 9:00 pm (closed Mondays and major holidays). Admission is $15 for adults.

(via press release)

Filed Under: perfume in the news
Tagged With: chandler burr, museum arts design, new york city, scent event

Advertisement


7 Comments

Leave a comment, or read more about commenting at Now Smell This. Here's our privacy policy, and a handy emoticon chart.

  1. hajusuuri says:
    2 June 2012 at 10:36 am

    This sounds (smells?) very intereting! I’ll definitely be checking it out. Thanks for the heads up, Robin!

    Log in to Reply
    • Robin says:
      2 June 2012 at 11:08 am

      It should be quite interesting, esp. the emphasis on the development of one particular scent — would be really cool if you could smell some number of the actual mods they went through, and sounds like maybe that’s what they’re planning.

      Log in to Reply
  2. zubi says:
    2 June 2012 at 5:15 pm

    Please plane-ticket fairy, New York, soon!

    I miss NYC…. Let’s hope I’ll be need to be around when this opens.

    Log in to Reply
    • Robin says:
      3 June 2012 at 3:43 pm

      Ha…if you learn how to contact the plane ticket fairy, do let me know!

      Log in to Reply
  3. littlemoron says:
    3 June 2012 at 3:09 pm

    I would just love to go to this – I’ve always wanted to know how a scent is created. It seems like magic to me. Why does New York always have to have the coolest things? A trip down there is just completely not in the cards for me in November! *weeps*

    Log in to Reply
    • Robin says:
      3 June 2012 at 3:48 pm

      There are some great books on the subject! For the basics on how a scent gets made, highly recommend Cathy Newman’s Art & Science of Perfume, and then next level, Michael Edwards Perfume Legends. And Chandler Burr’s The Perfect Scent is very informative on how the perfume industry operates.

      Log in to Reply
      • littlemoron says:
        3 June 2012 at 9:13 pm

        Thank you for this, Robin. I’ve been looking for a good perfume book, so I’ll definitely check these out! :-)

        Log in to Reply

Leave a reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Advertisement


Luckyscent

Search

Browse by…

Topic

Perfume talk New fragrances
Shopping Books :: News
Body products Home fragrance
Polls Another subject

Date

January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
Prior months

Author

Robin Jessica
Angela Kevin
Erin Guest Author

Tag

Celebrity perfumes
Cheap thrills
Collector bottles
Perfumista tip series
Video
The complete tag index

From NST at Twitter

  • "She did it again: Britney Spears fragrance sales soar as fans show their support after #FreeBritney documentary" (… https://t.co/MxT9Sc6im3,

Recent reviews

Atelier Cologne Love Osmanthus
Moschino Toy Boy
Arquiste Misfit
Diptyque Eau Capitale
Zoologist Bee
Parfum d’Empire Immortelle Corse
Comme des Garcons Series 10 Clash
Frédéric Malle Rose & Cuir
L’Artisan Parfumeur Le Chant de Camargue
Yves Saint Laurent Grain de Poudre
Régime des Fleurs Chloë Sevigny Little Flower
Chanel 1957
Gallivant Los Angeles
Amouage Portrayal Woman

Blogroll

Bois de Jasmin
Grain de Musc
Perfume Posse
The Non-Blonde
More blogs...

Perfumista lists

100 fragrances every perfumista should try
And 25 more fragrances every perfumista should smell
50 masculine fragrances every perfumista should try
26 vintage fragrances every perfumista should try
25 rose fragrances every perfumista should try
11 Cheap Perfumes Beauty Outsiders Love

Favorite posts

The Great Perfume Reduction Plan
Why I Love Old School Chypres
New to perfume and want to learn more?
How to make fragrance last through the day
Fragrance concentrations: sorting it all out
On reformulations, or why your favorite perfume doesn’t smell like it used to
How to get fragrance samples
Perfume for Life: How Long Will Your Fragrance Collection Last?

Upcoming

List of upcoming Friday projects

TBA April ~ freebiemeet

Back to Top

Home
About Now Smell This :: Privacy Policy

Shop for Perfume Online
Perfume Shopping in New York
Perfume Shopping in London
Perfume Reviews
New Perfumes
General Perfume Articles
The Monday Mail

Glossary of Perfume Terms
Perfume FAQ
Perfume Links
Perfume Books
Fragrance Awards

Noses ~ Perfumers A-E :: F-K :: L-S :: T-Z

Perfume Houses A-B :: C :: D-E :: F-G
H-J :: K-L :: M :: N-O :: P :: Q-R :: S
T :: U-Z

Copyright © 2005-2021 Now Smell This. All rights reserved.