Fragrant Christmas!

Oranges are native to China. In the late Middle Ages they were new to Europe. Andrea Mantegna was clearly aware of orange trees and their beautiful golden fruit when he created this fragrant image of the Holy Night, the Adoration of the Shepherds: The scene is set in an open...

Ferdinand & Smell culture studies (4)

The Story of Ferdinand (1936) is a much acclaimed classic children book written by American author Munro Leaf and illustrated by Robert Lawson. This post reveals the fragrant (and so far ignored) message of the plot.

Good times

“Good times equate with good smells: even cow manure smells great because it evokes such wonderful memories; conversely, bad times equate with bad smells.”  – Antony Synnott

Hedonics

“Odour is a significant component of our moral construction of reality and our construction of moral reality. The fundamental hypothesis is simple: what smells good is good. Conversely, what smells bad is bad.  ”  – Antony Synnott

Let us scent your fragrance!

“Go on, O Lord, and make an end of it, stir us up, and call us back; kindle us and pluck us to thee, be fragrant, and grow sweet unto us.” – AUGUSTINE

Magic

“Magic, in order to achieve its greatest potency, must enter through the nose.” –  BRONISLAW MALINOWSKI

Creativity

“Wherever I create something I like, I can be sure that it is too far out.” – ANDREAS WILHELM

Re-awakening the Magic

“The Perfumative. Perfume in Art and Design” was the title of an international conference at Zurich University of the Arts (8-10 November 2018). The conference seeked to open up a dialogue between perfumers, researchers, designers, and artists.

Art Now! Lecture at Columbia College Chicago

Portraiture is known as a visual art genre. Yet, working with body odors has given rise to artistic works that explore new sensory territories. A lecture with Claus Noppeney at Columbia College in Chicago discussed this development: Can a smell represent a person? How is an olfactory portrait experienced in...

The fragrance of images

The current exhibition “The fragrance of images” at Opelvillen in Rüsselsheim presents a selection of works from the Barcelona based collection olorVISUAL. 

Intervista A Claus Noppeney

Sin dall’antichità, l’olfatto è conosciuto per le sue qualità emozionali, capaci di influenzare la nostra percezione del mondo e di condizionare il nostro stesso benessere. Ma i profumi e gli odori non rientrano solo nella sfera emotiva: la nostra società li ha intrecciati anche a complessi “meccanismi” tecnici, commerciali e...

The science and magic of olfaction

A recent event of the series “Arte in Azienda” offered an exploration of the sense of smell at the Università della Svizzera italiana in Lugano. The aim was to get the community and students involved in a sensory experience that calls into question the meanings of smell in consumer culture, communication,...