Olfactory Art/Commerce

January 12, 2004 1:16 PM

Compressed Art: Perfume as Art, or Commerce masquerading as Art? This site's main feature is an intriguing olfactory seven deadly sins, put together by artist Nobi Shioya, where each sin is associated with a specific perfumer, all of whom, one comes to realize, work for the same company, one of the big three international perfumes & flavours concerns. In a similar vein: the latest 'scent' issue of Visionaire (warning flash/pop-ups).
posted by misteraitch (1 comment total)

The commercial aspect of this certainly can't be denied - it's pretty baldly presented, and the canvases representing the retail scents are a prominent component of the show, but I love the concept of professional perfumers creating scents to embody the seven deadly sins (always a popular theme). The idea of isolating certain olfactory elements and then combining them to portray "sloth", for example, is fascinating. I would definitely like to experience this installation... But yes, it's clearly an art+marketing=PROFIT!! venture.
posted by taz at 2:14 PM on January 12, 2004