The Art Of Scent exhibition, the first of it kind, will be opening in New York’s MAD today. It is open until February 24th 2013.
12 perfumes are exhibited, the catalogue that will accompany the exhibition only features 11 though (the 12th, Chanel N°5 could not be included, I’m guessing Chanel did not cooperate?). The catalogue contains 5ml vials of the perfumes. It is limited to 1000 pieces and will be sold online (as far as I’m informed they only ship within the US though).
Here are the 11 perfumes included in the catalogue:
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
The catalogue will also contain a booklet, written by Chandler Burr, of 11 essays on the art historical context of each of the 11 works.
Once more reason for sighing deeply and wishing I was in New York…
NY perfume lovers, will you be going to the exhibition?
Olfactoria's Travels 
Yes, I wish I would be there. Ueee.
Hopefully there will be more exhibitions of this kind in the future and you get to go then!
Thanks for posting the list. Now that I know what the choices are my curiosity has to a fair extent been satisfied. I don’t admit to a burning desire to see the exhibition, especially as it is not built on visuals. Perhaps it would be fun to smell the perfumes as a group (but your nose would get pretty tired wouldn’t it?). I’d love to read the essays, especially to discover why L’Interdit has been linked to abstract expressionism. That has me stumped!
The essays are what interest me most as well.
My mom and I already were planning a NYC perfume trip when I am home at Christmas time. We will have to add this to our list of things to do! Having a perfume exhibit is certainly unique and I would love to read what Mr. Burr has to say about each of the scents.
Ah, I would love to join the two of you! 🙂
It might be fun to have the set along with the essays on each scent. I can’t remember the last time I was in New York. I guess I’m not much of a city girl. I wonder if the exhibit will do well or generate more interest in perfumes.
I’ll be watching with interest how the exhibit is received by the public. Generally I think Chandler is doing a great service to olfactory art. I hope he succeeds with his endeavors.
My better half has a conference in NYC after Thanksgiving every year so we are heading up there this coming weekend. I’m so glad this is opening before we arrive as it was originally scheduled to launch in 2011. I am hoping this is really special. As for the catalogue; I’ll have to decide once I’m there. $250 could go a long way in building my perfume collection.. especially shopping in NYC!
My better half has a conference in NYC every year around Thanksgiving too, but this year we are not going, sigh.
I see your point regarding the catalogue.
I was just in NYC this past weekend (it was fantastic, as the weather was picture-perfect with blue skies and just the right amount of snap to the air). It wasn’t a perfume trip because we were there to have other kinds of fun, but the next time I’m back I’ll probably check out this exhibit. The essays are what I’m most interested in too.
Oh, how lovely! I hope you had a fantastic time. NY in fall is the best (it’s also nice in spring and around Christmas though. 😀 )
My aunt lives in New York and we have been meaning to get up there to visit her, but alas, I don’t think we are going to be able to time it right to see the exhibit. Boo.
Too bad. 😦 It is on only for quite a short time, I think.
Yes, I think through February. Not much time.
I happen to be in New York for a couple days right now and I’m going to try to see this today! Hopefully it won’t be a mad house (no pun intended) on opening day. I wonder if Mr. Burr will be wandering around?
Great! Have a wonderful time, Elisa! Let us know how it was and whether you met Chandler in the flesh, please!
Stuck in San Francisco! I am hoping they put the show on the road.
That would be nice! 🙂
I’ve realized some time ago that I prefer perfumes in their … mmm… applied form, I do not care much for history, technical aspects or even cultorological significance. Had the exhibition been opened when I was in New York I could have persuaded my vSO to go and spend some time there with me. But I’m not too sad I wouldn’t be able to go there. Burrs participation in the OpenSky project (is it still going on?) played not the last role in my attitude towards his other undertakings.
I love your honesty, it’s so refreshing! I’m more about the wearability than the history too. No exhibition will ever get me to admire Pleasures or Light Blue… 😉
I guess it’s a good primer for the uninitiated, but I agree with those who would say that Burr seems to have fairly pedestrian tastes. I’ll be in NYC in December, but I can’t say this overview makes me want to rush to the museum. I’m not impressed enough by the curation. I’m glad the exhibit has been done though — it’s much needed
I’m not sure whether he really is so over the moon about Drakkar Noir et al, or whether he is trying to keep it real for the mainstream population (which would be quite a strange thing to do for an art historian/curator).
I’m sure about the more practical aspects though, big donors like L’Orèal or Estée Lauder are always good to have on hand, and a small niche firm could probably not even provide the 5 litres of juice needed for the catalogues without going out of business. Just a thought… 🙂
I work in NYC but typically work late enough that it is not worth the shlep for 1-2 hours before I have to head home. In any case, I have an evening function in NYC on Saturday, Dec. 1 and will make it a point to visit the exhibit. I also have a ticket to attend a participatory lecture “Design and Structure in Olfactory Art” with Chandler Burr and Sumit Bhasin on Dec. 4 although I am not sure if I’ll make it.
i wonder what perfume museumgoers would wear to this exhibit?
The lecture sounds interesting, I hope you make it! Enjoy!