Olfactory art

Olfactory art is an art form that uses scents as a medium. Olfactory art includes perfume as well as other applications of scent.

The art form has been a recognized genre since at least 1980. Marcel Duchamp was one of the first artists who pioneered with using scents in art.

Examples of olfactory art
In 1938, the poet Benjamin Péret roasted coffee behind screens at the Exposition Internationale du Surréalisme which was orchestrated by Marcel Duchamp, and was possibly one of the first true examples of olfactory art. (from the book "Salon to Biennial - Exhibitions that Made Art History", Volume 1: 1863-1959 Hardcover – July 2, 2008 by Bruce Altshuler)

A series of chess sets where the pieces could be distinguished only by scent were made by Takako Saito in 1965. Spice Chess and Smell Chess relied on the use of spices or scented liquids in the pieces. In Spice Chess, the black king was scented with asafetida, the black queen with cayenne, and the black bishops with cumin. The white pieces included cinnamon pawns, nutmeg rooks, ginger knights and an anise white queen.

Self-Portrait in Scent, Sketch no. 1 was a 1994 exhibit by Clara Ursitti at The Centre for Contemporary Arts in Glasgow, Scotland. It consisted of a small, specially constructed room outfitted with motion sensors and scent dispensers. Art historian Caro Verbeek, of the Vrije Universiteit and the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, cites this work as a breakthrough in both artistic and technological terms.

Green Aria: A Scent Opera was an exhibit by Christophe Laudamiel at the Guggenheim that incorporated both over two dozen fragrances pumped through special "scent microphones" to 148 seats, accompanied by music. Some scents were intended to invoke natural fragrances, while others were described as "Industrial" or "Absolute Zero".

Sillage is an ongoing olfactory public artwork by Brian Goeltzenleuchter in which the artist asks a city's residents to name smells associated with different regions of the city. He then translates the responses into bottled fragrances representing each region. The project culminates in an event at an art museum during which visitors are sprayed with the scent of their neighborhood and are encouraged to interact with others who smelled differently. The resulting scent portrait is intended to stimulate conversation and provide a representation of the museum's demographic. In 2014, the Santa Monica Museum of Art (now Institute for Contemporary Art in Los Angeles) hosted the project. In 2016, the project was realized at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore.

LacrimAu was an exhibit by the Czech artist Federico Díaz at an exposition at Shanghai. An individual could enter a glass cube containing a 30 inch tall golden teardrop. After putting on a headband, the person's brainwaves would be read by sensors, which would translate them into a uniquely tailored scent. It was described as a "surprise hit".

Various attempts have been made to enhance films with scents. A Swiss professor named Hans Laube demonstrated the concept at the 1939 New York World's Fair. The AromaRama system released scents through the air conditioning system, and was first used for the travelogue Behind the Great Wall in December 1959. The 1960 film Scent of Mystery used the Smell-O-Vision system, located under the seats, to release aromas which were integral to the story. Polyester (1981) used "Odorama" scratch-and-sniff cards with 10 numbered spots for a similar effect. Scents were also used in the 2023 film Postcard from Earth.

Artists

 * Peter de Cupere
 * Wolfgang Georgsdorf
 * Brian Goeltzenleuchter
 * Christophe Laudamiel
 * Annick Ménardo
 * Gayil Nalls
 * Guy Bleus
 * Sissel Tolaas
 * Clara Ursitti
 * Maki Ueda
 * Anicka Yi