Belle Haleine - The Scent of Art

Abstract

How does art smell? What happens when our nose suddenly plays the principal role in the experiencing of art? For the first time, the exhibition places the sense of smell at the focus of our aesthetic perception. Scents evoke emotions, memories and associations that are subjectively and culturally shaped to varying degrees. A certain scent attracts us or repels us. The use of olfactory stimuli in art often occurs subversively and breaks many taboos. Odors provoke. Internationally renowned artists make use of this circumstance and in doing so deal with the big issues of our present day and society. The exhibition shows works and installations by, among others, M. Duchamp, D. Roth, P. de Cupere, E. Neto, E. Ruscha, V. Soares, S. Tolaas. A scent cinema and a diverse interdisciplinary supporting program complete the show.

Peter de Cupere exhibited his Olfactory Art Manifest and the manifest of Carlo Carra (“La Pittura dei suoni, rumori, odori: Manifesto futurists”) from 1913 which he has in his private collection. Besides this he also showed some historical documents of his private collection about the use of scent in the movie history.