Proof

New York’s Museum Of Arts And Design is just about to unveil its first perfume exhibition, which is why Newsweek have published this highly readable interview with curator Chandler Burr. Its main focus is a subject about which I seem to be thinking a great deal at the moment – the legitimacy of perfumery as an art form – and whilst I believe the piece speaks for itself and doesn’t require any commentary from me, I will just throw the following idea into the debate.

At one point in the article, author Blake Gopnik complains that “for all Burr’s proselytizing, the range of experience on offer [by perfumery] still seems smaller than in some other art forms. It’s as though all of visual art were limited to the kind of expressionist abstraction that’s all about emotion and vague hints at the world. … But of course fine art can be full of content as well. Artists can draw or paint or snap pictures – or make films and videos and installations – that talk, directly and with force, about almost anything that humans can think about. Artists can go for the wildly scatological or the emphatically political; they can craft experiences that work below the belt or speak to our most abstract mental capacities; they can please, but they can also enrage or disgust. Whereas most perfumers make expensive stuff that smells more or less like perfume.”
I have no doubt that Gopnik’s views on the “range of experience” offered by other art forms are absolutely correct. But surely, just because perfumery has a narrower field of impact doesn’t mean that it cannot be considered a valid art form. I don’t see how a ‘breadth of experiential capacity’, for want of a less pompous term, can be a pre-requisite for an activity hoping to attain the status of art.
Long may this discussion continue…

Some of you will remember that a few months ago, the Candy Perfume Boy and I announced that when both of us reach the ‘1000 followers’ mark on Twitter, we’ll hold a give-away for a 50 ml bottle of Juniper Sling, very generously donated by Penhaligon’s. Well, Mr CPB crossed the threshold some time ago and since then, he’s been waiting for yours truly to catch up. Thankfully, on Saturday, I joined the millennial club, which means we can now go ahead and hold the draw.

To enter, you need to carry out these three simple steps:

Follow @candyperfumeb0y on Twitter

Follow @persolaise on Twitter

Tweet the following words: “I’m entering the @candyperfumeb0y @persolaise @PenhaligonsLtd Juniper Sling draw.”

Once you’ve done all that, you can relax, cross your fingers and wait for the winner to be chosen by Random.org, which will happen soon after the closing date of 14th November 2012.

Oh, and be sure to read the Terms & Conditions below.

Good luck!

Persolaise.
Draw Terms & Conditions

i) the draw will be closed at 10 pm (UK time) on Wednesday 14th November; ii) the winner will be selected at random; iii) the winner will be announced on Persolaise’s and Candy Perfume Boy’s blogs on Friday 16th November; iv) if the winner has not made contact with Persolaise and/or Candy Perfume Boy by Wednesday 21st November, an alternative winner may be selected; v) the winner’s postal address will be forwarded to Penhaligon’s, who will then post the prize to the winner; vi) the winner’s address will not be shared with any other parties; vii) if the winner lives in a country to which Penhaligon’s is unable to post alcohol-based products, the winner will be asked to make a selection of non-alcohol-based Penhaligon’s products, up to the value of a 50 ml bottle of Juniper Sling viii) readers from anywhere in the world are eligible to enter; ix) entries must be submitted through Twitter and must follow the rules outlined above x) relatives of anyone associated with Persolaise.com and/or TheCandyPerfumeBoy.com are not permitted to enter.


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