Listen
as we forge ways,
new and old,
of delivering olfactory imagination
in conjunction
with other media -LA
Bottles, Jars, Apothecary, Alchemists, Amphoras, Vials, Pomanders and Jewels
the marriage of heated sand in the form of glass with volatility in the form of perfume, cologne, fragrance
Timelines of containers, ceramic and glass work, pomanders and jewelry, reveal layers of understanding when one has a guide explaining what the contained scent was used for, made from, smelled like, during any period of human existence and expression.
These relationships are inseparable once one clearly sees, truly smells, the archeology, for then … craftsmanship, symbology, beauty, history and iconography come to renewed life.
Private and public collections throughout the world include the art of the miniature, or “minis”, exact replication of the original bottle and fragrance in miniature, and, factices, the large bottles used for display, holding colored liquid that is not perfume, but is often the same color of the original perfume.
Along with the written word, creative merging of performance, fine and curatorial arts is of keen interest to me. As scent designers in both the fragrance and the flavor worlds continually look for new delivery systems, I believe new delivery systems of fragrance knowledge, with its growing language and mediums, create opportunities and visibility for venues and institutions.
Integrate the information that scent ethnology unlocks into cataloguing and timelines. Our interpretation of history then improves as well as our understanding of artistic play and expression.
As I cast bait to various institutions and imaginations - let's see who bites! When they don't, I chew the bait myself. yum.
-Lura Astor
Listen With Your Nose
Illustration: Shimmer Lura Astor
Bottle Lura Astor
