Often in olfactory art, the focus is on smell itself. It is used for evoking memories and feelings, for emphasizing manifestations or making statements. We will take a different approach that focuses more on our perception of smell and less on the meaning of smell.
I think that smell is in itself neutral. It's the audience that attributes meanings such as "this is the smell of apple" or "this is a bad odour" based on their personal experiences and history. My memories and history are different from yours, so how can I assume that what is a "sweet smell" to me will have the same meaning to you?
In the course we will depart from the above perspective and regard smell as something neutral. In the first half of the course we discuss the question "what do we know, and what can we find out, about smelling?" By doing a lot of original and spontaneous researches and experiments you will quickly learn more about your sense of smell. In the second half of the course we will focus on creating a 'simple' artwork, interface, or game all focusing on confusing the senses.
Blog of the previous years: http://smellart.blogspot.com
By: Maki Ueda http://www.ueda.nl
At: Art Science (PB301), an interfactuly of The Royal Art Academy and Royal Conservatory, The Hague, The Nertherlands
Date: 29 Sep, 1, 6, 8, 13, 15 Oct (6 hours each, 36 hours in total) 2015