Different types of books contribute to the field of scent culture: coffee table books, scholarly books, perfume guides and many more. This book is different. It is original in its approach, writing and design: Nose Dive by Catherine Haley Epstein. Continue reading A new book for the curious…
Category Archives: SCNews
#Covid_19 & scent culture: Hongi banned in New Zealand
Hongi is the name of the traditional form of greeting among the MÄori tribe in New Zealand: Two people press noses to each other and inhale one another’s breath. Due to the current coronavirus outbreak it has recently been banned.
Continue reading #Covid_19 & scent culture: Hongi banned in New Zealand
“Amuse-bouche. The Taste of Art” at Museum Tinguely
«Amuse-bouche. The Taste of Art» is the third art experiment at Museum Tinguely in Basel, 19 February – 17 May 2020, entering the world of the human senses. Continue reading “Amuse-bouche. The Taste of Art” at Museum Tinguely
Chanel 5 & world history
“The scent of empires: Chanel Nº 5 and Red Moscow” is the title of a new book by the noted German historian of Eastern Europe Karl Schlögel. Continue reading Chanel 5 & world history
Political protest: “Scent of Terror”
The sense of smell can be an instrument of political protest as this current example shows. An investor wants to re-use a former site of terror in Moscow for a perfume store.
Prix Photoforum 2019
“Durch Glas”, a project on the perception of scent by the Swiss-Canadian artist Christelle Boulé wins the Prix Photoforum 2019. The series of photographs will be exhibited at Photoforum Pasquart.
Earlier this year another scent related work was ealier shown at Sillages, an exhibition devoted to olfaction as a theme in contemporary photography, at Biel.
[blog_subscription_form title=”” title_following=”You are already subscribed” subscribe_text=”” subscribe_logged_in=”Click to subscribe to this site” subscribe_button=”Click me!” show_subscribers_total=true]
Headwind: Ambient scenting for new worlds of work
HEADWIND brings a breath of fresh air into the world of work. This reviving ambient scent was developed at the Bern University of Applied Sciences Business School in the summer of 2019 in a student project.
Continue reading Headwind: Ambient scenting for new worlds of work
Workshop on the mediality of the lower senses at Leuphana University
“Making Sense(s): Die Medialität der Nahsinne” is the title of the upcoming workshop the Center for Digital Cultures at Leuphana hosts on the mediality of the lower senses. The event brings together an indisciplinary and international group of scholars working on the sense of smell, touch and taste. The workshop is scheduled for 12 June – 13 June 2019 is organized by the media scholars Sebastian Vehlken, Daniela Wentz and Andreas Bernard.Â
Continue reading Workshop on the mediality of the lower senses at Leuphana University
Michel Serres: the philosopher of the senses R.I.P.
Michel Serres, the French philosopher, died yesterday. Continue reading Michel Serres: the philosopher of the senses R.I.P.
Patrick Süskind at 70
The history of the emergent field of scent culture has not been written yet. We are still in the midst of creating and shaping this new field. In terms of books that made all this possible very few books stand out.
Patrick Süskind’s novel “The perfume” has been a point of reference in innumerable talks, studies & workshops: How often do I receive questions about this novel when discussing our empirical research! In fact, numerous quotes from the novel have been very effective in anchoring the significance of scent for culture & society.
Here are a few favorites I often refer to:
Odors have a power of persuasion stronger than that of words, appearances, emotions, or will. The persuasive power of an odor cannot be fended off, it enters into us like breath into our lungs, it fills us up, imbues us totally.
He had preserved the best part of her and made it his own: the principle of her scent.
He had preserved the best part of her and made it his own: the principle of her scent.
And an ode to the egalitarian value of smell:
From a perfumer’s point of view Christophe Laudamiel calls Süskind’s book “an allegory of Perfumery”. Moreover it educational value is “a gift for a perfumer, fallen out of the sky”.The peasant stank as did the priest, the apprentice as did his master’s wife, the whole of the aristocracy stank, even the king himself stank, stank like a rank lion, and the queen like an old goat, summer and winter. For in the eighteenth century there was nothing to hinder bacteria busy at decomposition, and so there was no human activity, either constructive or destructive, no manifestation of germinating or decaying life that was not accompanied by stench.
Despite the prominence of his work, the author is always absent! There are very few photographs, interviews etc. One popular photograph can be found here. What a fascinating contrast! Today Patrick Süskind celebrates his 70th birthday.
If I had a chance to nominate a recicpient for the Contribution to Scent Culture at the Art & Olfaction Awards Patrick Süskind would be my candidate!
[blog_subscription_form title=”” title_following=”You are already subscribed” subscribe_text=”” subscribe_logged_in=”Please click to subscribe to this site” subscribe_button=”Click me!” show_subscribers_total=true]
Reference: Laudamiel, C., Hornetz, C., Braja, M., & Patel, S. (2008). From Virginia Education to Real Education. In P. Kraft & Royal Society of Chemistry (Great Britain);Society of Chemical Industry (Great Britain) (Eds.), Current topics in flavor and fragrance research (pp. 329–339). Chichester: Wiley-VCH, p. 339.
Image source: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Das_Parfum#/media/File:Parfum_Sueskind_Cover_Diogenes.jpg