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Repository 234: Start Close In
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” – Buckmeister Fuller It has been two years since I posted on my beloved Mindmarrow blog. When I should have celebrated 10 years of writing and commitment to an invisible and caring art loving community, I took a grand pause. The collective and my private life forced me to pivot to listening mode. I observed the systems thankfully…
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Repository 232: Analog is the New New for your Nose
Today the BBC has posted an article about why we don’t have scent coming through our television sets yet. The article lightly explores the attempts of years past, all the way up to some in-process attempts right now around the VR (Virtual Reality) hubbub. It’s exciting to think about, and whenever something is exciting and flashy, it’s pertinent to consider it critically. While I researched historic films and innovative design projects using scent for my book Nose Dive (2019), I…
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Repository 231: God Nose | The Radical Position of the Immaterial in Olfactory Art
Consequently, everything that concerns creativity is invisible, is a purely spiritual substance. And this work, with this invisible substance, is what I call “social sculpture.” This work with invisible substance is my domain, at first, there is nothing to see. Subsequently, when it becomes corporeal it appears initially in the form of a language. -Joseph Beuys Olfactory art’s immaterial qualities, you cannot see it, disrupts systems of representation. This silent and borderless focus is a radical reaction to the hyper-retinal,…
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Repository 229: Imagination Breeds Empathy
Once upon a time in Maryland a young boy named Deamonte lived with his Mom and brother. When he was 12 he came down with a toothache. His Mom looked all around for a dentist to care for him, though no one would take Medicaid. Deamonte did not complain. At the same time in 2007, though up north in the borough of Queens New York, a woman took a cab to the old building of Ps1 which is now the…
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Repository 228: Elephants and Smelly Art
I am honored to be a panelist on today’s Digital Scent Festival Panel on Scent + Art + Design. While the topic is humungous and seriously multi-faceted, it’s terrific to have this dialogue with a broader audience. Here is a resource list to help the curious get started on a pilgrimage to discover materials and practices. Thankfully some have vibrant online presences: A Library of Olfactive Material, Glasgow Scotland Aroma Workshop, Chicago Aftel Archive of Curious Scents, Berkeley, CA Experimental…
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Repository 226: Mixed Reality | The Debilitating Forces of Moral Outrage & Conspiracy Theories in a Time of Pandemics
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” – A Tale of Two Cities (1859) Charles Dickens As an artist in this pandemic, I feel at a great…
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Repository 225: Coronacation | When Things Fall Apart
Do not censor yourself right now – make, write, do without judgement. Censorship* is the height of vanity as Martha Graham said, and now is a time where you must create, and destroy outdated definitions of your “self” and do it freely. I am speaking to you – self identified non-artist, or fully indoctrinated “artist” – we are ALL artists, it’s time to be meaningful. We are in crisis mode throughout the world and the only thing we can do…
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Repository 223: Joke’s on You | Failed Comedian Kills A Bunch
Niko Tavernise/Warner Bros. Pictures via AP Sometimes I like to dip my toes in what “everyone’s” watching, eating, listening to or reading. It’s usually a fun, inconsequential romp through billion dollar commercial successes. Last night’s particular romp has me reeling and worried. While the laughter sequences carried my interest (actually really well done along with the makeup), everything else was a complete disaster. To preface – I love disturbing films Amores Peros is one of my favorites, and I watched…
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Repository 222: A Satisfying Precipice | ASMR the Anxiety Beast Slayer
Seven years ago I started noticing a pattern with my three young kids, where they would describe things to me and say “mom, isn’t that satisfying?”. They said this after popping packaging bubbles, or messing around with some materials in their playroom. Satisfying seemed a big word to use as a four-year-old, one word with a wide range of interpretations from feeling full to ribaldry. Just like I can’t stand it when technology companies call their software “robust”, spaghetti sauce…
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Repository 220: Aromatica Poetica Review of Esxence
Realizing some Mindmarrow readers might not have seen the post on SM – I’m excited to share that the following essay is featured in Aromatica Poetica, a journal dedicated to all things scent founded by Leona Godin. She asked if I could review the Esxence event, where I was in April to do a workshop on art and the niche scent landscape from an American (and artist’s) perspective. She kindly edited and published the work, and I recommend you follow…
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