The Architectures of Smell

UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS MASTERS RESEARCH THESIS 2010 The Architectures of Smell NADIA WAGNER SUPERVISED BY PROF. DR. RICHARD GOODWIN i. Originality Statement I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and, to the best of my knowledge, it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project's design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged. Signed Date: ii. Acknowledgments I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Richard Goodwin for his advice and guidance in the sourcing of material, planning and writing of this thesis; John Lambeth for his generosity concerning all things Smell; Dr. Adam Japser for his tireless editing and advice; Jesse O’Neill and Joel Mu for access to their libraries and minds. And for their support and understanding throughout the writing of this paper I thank the staff and students at the College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales, and my dear family and friends. iii. Definition of Terms Aesthetics “Aesthetics” is usually used to describe reflections on judgments of taste. Such judgments can apply to the fine arts, nature or affects; however in colloquial use the term is most often restricted to the fine arts. All European variations of the term are derived from the Greek aioOqiiKoq (aisthetikos) “sensitive” or "sentient", from a(o0r|ar|-aio0avopcu (aisthese-aisthanomai) "to perceive". That is, in its original use, the aesthetic applied to all kinds of sensations, not merely positive ones. Taken literally, “Aesthetics” would be a science of perception. The earliest use of aesthetics in its modern sense derives from the German asthetisch (Alexander Baumgarten, 1750-1758), where it was used to denote perception with particular regard to the experience of beauty in the natural world. In the late Eighteenth century it was widely used in English in prescriptive tracts on how to achieve beauty in design and the arts. In the history of its usage, therefore, the term “aesthetics” has undergone significant slippage in both meaning and domain of applicability. Architecture 1. the result or product of architectural work, as a building 2. the action or process of building; construction 3. the structure of anything Atmosphere 1. a surrounding or pervading mood, environment, or influence 2. the dominant mood or emotional tone of a work of art, as of a play or novel 3. a distinctive quality, as of a place Miasma 1. noxious exhalations from putrescent organic matter; poisonous effluvia or germs polluting the atmosphere 2. a dangerous, foreboding, or deathlike influence or atmosphere Smell I Odour I Fragrance I Perfume These terms form subclasses within each other as follows: Smell 1. to perceive the odour or scent of through the nose by means of the olfactory nerves Odour In this thesis the term odour is used in a neutral sense, as sometimes pleasant or sometimes unpleasant. However it is usually linked to a definite source, such as the odour of hair, or smoke. In this, its relationship to the word smell is like the relationship of “sound” to “noise”. An odour is a smell with an identifiable source. Fragrance Fragrance is used to designate a pleasant odour, that is, an agreeable natural smell from an identifiable source. Perfume The etymology of perfume is derived from the Latin per- meaning "through" and fumare "to smoke". Since the Sixteenth century it has been used to describe fragrances designed by a perfumer. It is in this sense—an identifiable and agreeable smell designed by human agency—that I use “perfume” in this thesis. Odour profile An odour profile is used to aid classification. It divides an odourous composition into the categories of top, middle and base note. Notes Septimus Piesse, in the book The Art of Perfumery and Methods of Obtaining the Odours of Plants introduces his simple form of odour classification by mapping odour molecules on a music scale. Although this taxonomy was never put to use, the terminology stuck and is still used by perfumers today Top notes Volatile odour chemicals that take between one second and 15 minutes to evaporate and become imperceptible to the sense of smell Middle notes Odour molecules that take between between 15 minutes and 12 hours to evaporate and become imperceptible to the sense of smell Base notes Most tenacious odour molecules that, in the most extreme cases, can last for up to 10 years before evaporating or becoming imperceptible to the sense of smell 15-25% 30 - 40% Middle 45 - 55% fig. iii Diagramatic representation of the structure of a perfume’s top, middle and base notes by Jean Carles, 1961 iv. List of Figures Plates appear at the end of each chapter iii. Definition of Terms Figure iii Diagramatic representation of the structure of a perfume’s top, middle and base notes by Jean Carles, 1961 Source: Calkin, R. and Jellinek, J. S. Perfumery, Practices and Principles, Wiley-lnterscience, 1994, p. 88 Chapter 1 Figure 1.1 The process by which olfactory information is transmitted to the brain Source: Chiacchia, K. B., Smell, Gale Encyclopedia of Science, Gale Research, 1996, p. 3329 Figure 1.2 Plague doctor’s dress, eighteenth century France Source: Stoddart, M. The scented ape, Cambridge University Press, p. 3 Chapter 2 Figure 2.1 Hans Henning’s Odour Prism, 1915-1916 Source: Wagner, N., Jasper, A., Notes on scent, Cabinet Magazine, 2009, p. 41 Figure 2.2 Michael Edwards’s Fragrance Wheel, 1983 Source: Wagner, N., Jasper, A., Notes on scent, Cabinet Magazine, 2009, p. 39 . * Figure 2.3 Fragrance circle used by Drom, a global scent company founded in Germany in 1911 Source: Wagner, N., Jasper, A., Notes on scent, Cabinet Magazine, 2009, p. 36 Figure 2.4 A music-inspired taxonomy of scent offered by English chemist and perfumer George William Septimus Piesse in his seminal book The Art of Perfumery (1857) Source: Wagner, N., Jasper, A., Notes on scent, Cabinet Magazine, 2009, p. 40 Figure 2.5 Perfumer Paul Jellineck’s classificatory system, 1951 Source: Wagner, N., Jasper, A., Notes on scent, Cabinet Magazine, 2009, p. 42 Chapter 3 Figure 3.1 Solution to Concrete project by Janet Laurence Source: archive of project outcomes, Nadia Wagner Figure 3.2 Solution to Concrete project by Adrian Lahoud Source: archive of project outcomes, Nadia Wagner Figure 3.3.1 Solution to Concrete project by Anthony Browell Source: archive of project outcomes, Nadia Wagner Figure 3.3.2 Solution to Concrete project by Anthony Browell Source: archive of project outcomes, Nadia Wagner Figure 3.3.3 Solution to Concrete project by Anthony Browell Source: archive of project outcomes, Nadia Wagner Chapter 4 Figure 4.1 Exhibition view, Edinburgh Source: Photograph by Nadia Wagner, 2008 Figure 4.2 Poster: Why the connection stinks Source: Porosity Studio, By the Throat, 2008, p. 31 Chapter 5 Figure 5.1 Installation view Source: Photograph by Nadia Wagner, 2008 Figure 5.2 Invitation Source: Photograph by Nadia Wagner, 2008 Chapter 6 Figure 6.1 Installation view, Thisiscurating1-40 Source: Photograph by Joel Mu, 2009 Figure 6.2 Fontana, [Center painting of triptych] Concetto spaziale, Attese, 1958-59 Source: Auping, M. Declaring Space, Prestel Verlag, p. 102 Figure 6.3 Fontana, Concetto spaziale, Attese, 1960 Source: Auping, M. Declaring Space, Prestel Verlag, p. 105 Figure 6.4 Fontana, Ambiente spaziale, 1968 Source: Photograph by Frank Kleinbach. Auping, M. Declaring Space, Prestel Verlag, p. 115 Figure 6.5 Rothko Chapel installation, Houston, Texas Source: Photograph by Hickey Robertson, 1974. Auping, M. Declaring Space, Prestel Verlag, p. 18-19 Chapter 7 Figure 7.1 Interior view, Cabinet Exhibition Source: Photograph by Nadia Wagner, 2009 Figure 7.2 Interaction with the exhibition Source: Photograph by Sina Najafi, 2009 Figure 7.3 Yves Klein Smell’s the Void (Yves Klein in his Immaterial Room, Krefeld, Germany, 1961) Source: Courtesy of Yves Klein Archives. Auping, M. Declaring Space, Prestel Verlag, p. 161 Figure 7.4 Pierre Huyghe, A Forest of Lines, 2008 Source: http://www.bos2008.com/page/pierre huvghe archive.html. accessed 20/04/09 Chapter 8 Figure 8.1 Miasma Rupture Source: Photograph by Nadia Wagner, 2010 Figure 8.2 The cholera epidemic of the nineteenth century Source: http://historv.nih.gov/exhibits/historv/docs/index c.html. accessed 09/01/2010 Figure 8.3 Philip Johnson’s Glass House Source: Photograph by Norman McGrath. Klein, L. History, Autobiography, and Interpretation: The Challenge of Philip Johnson’s Glass House, Future Anterior, Volume 1, Number 2, University of Minnesota Press, p. 58 . Figure 8.4 Printed scent strip Source: Otero-Pailos, J. An Olfactory reconstruction of Philip Johnson’s Glass House, AA Files, Issue 57, The Architectural Association, p. 40 Figure 8.5 Andy Warhol lights up a cigarette during a visit to Philip Johnson’s Glass House in 1965 Source: Photograph by David McCabe. Otero-Pailos, J. An Olfactory reconstruction of Philip Johnson’s Glass House, AA Files, Issue 57, The Architectural Association, p. 43 Figure 8.6 Philip Johnson’s Guest House, Source: Jenkins, S. and Mohney, D. The Houses of Philip Johnson, Abbeville Publishers, p. 91 Chapter 9 Figure 9.1 How to smell, step one Source: drawing by Aldous Massie, 2009 Figure 9.2 How to smell, step two Source: drawing by Aldous Massie, 2009 Figure 9.3 How to smell, step three Source: drawing by Aldous Massie, 2009 Figure 9.4 How to smell, step four Source: drawing by Aldous Massie, 2009 Figure 9.5 The internal and external senses, from a thirteenth-century English manuscript [...] Source: Woolgar, C.M.

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