Lecture at Communication & Multimedia Design - Avans Hogeschool in Breda

Last night I gave a lecture at :

Communication & Multimedia Design - Avans Hogeschool in Breda

http://www.avanscmd.nl/

The other lecturers were: Caro Verbeek and Peter de Coupere

What a gorgeous meeting!

It's quite surprising to see such media school wanting to deal with smell.  When I studied in this discipline (already 20 years ago) there was no such interest at all!

I have let them smell the "deconstructing Chanel No. 5".



It was a part of 48 hours camp "SWEATSHOP".  Looks fun!

Olfactory Games - final presentation

Smell and Art - an introduction to artistic use of the medium of smell -
http://smellart.blogspot.com

It was a course given by Maki Ueda (www.ueda.nl) at Interfaculty Art Science (www.interfaculty.nl), an interfaculty of Royal Academy of Arts (www.kabk.nl) and Royal Conservatory, The Hague, The Netherlands.

Smell and Art: introduction to olfactory art. A half is finished.

My dream is, to have my own atelier / workshop somewhere in a beautiful location in Japan, and give such workshops frequently for anyone from the world.

I've been receiving such requests before.  I felt always pity to say "Sorry, I don't have such occasions."

So this class is for me the basis for my future.

In the second half we're going to develop olfactory works.  Not just an artwork. It's going to be "olfactory game".

OLFACTORY LABYRINTH VOL. 1 @ ATSUKOBAROUH, TOKYO

http://www.atsukobarouh.com/

Smell and Art: introductory course to olfactory art practice

I'm giving a course "Smell and Art" at Art Science interfaculty (www.interfaculty.nl) during 3 weeks in October. The final assignment of the course is: develop an olfactory game.

the blog site of the course:
http://smellart.blogspot.nl/2013/10/day-1.html

Scents of Geisha (intervention) at Camera Japan Festival @ Rotterdam!

Here I am again... This year at Camera Japan Festival (www.camerajapan.nl), I'm going to perform a geisha!


Scents of Geisha (intervention) 
MAKI UEDA (JP/NL)

To the traditional geisha, scents were a tool of her trade. During this casual intervention in the lobby, a geisha will entertain your sense of smell, using a variety of such tools and skills. But she is also a member of the Camera Japan audience, so you may well spot her watching a movie, having a drink or making chit-chat. Who knows, if you stick around, she may surprise you too!

When: evening / Saturday, Sep 28th, 2013

Where: Foyer, Lantaren Venster

OLFACTORY LABYRINTH VOL. 1

Again I'm presenting a new piece...: "OLFACTORY LABYRINTH VOL. 1". 

Premier: ATSUKOBAROUGH, Tokyo, 11.09.2013.

Sharing Vibes Exhibition

11.09.2013. (wed) - 29.09.2013. (sun)  
wed-sun 14:00-21:00 
mon 12:00-18:00 
holidays 12:00-18:00 
(closed on Tue)

ATSUKOBAROUGH - arts drinks talk - (next to Bunkamura)

http://www.atsukobarouh.com/

500 yen（incl. 1drink）

artists: Maki UEDA/Kensyu SHINTSUBO/Fuyuki YAMAKAWA

curator: Yukiko SHIKATA

[Event]

11.09. wed. 19:00～21:00

reception party 
* entrance free the whole day

14.09. sat. 17:00～19:00

Maki UEDA workshop

"Search the space like a dog vol.2"

15 places. (1,500yen.  please mail:  ab@l-amusee.com )

21.09. sat. 17:00～19:00

Talk: Fuyuki YAMAKAWA + Chihiro MINATO (1,000 yen)

28.09. sat. 17:00～19:00

Talk: Kensyuu SHINTSUBO + Natsuki SETO  (1,000 yen)

[Flyer]

白い闇 / Invisible White

白い闇 / Invisible White

（パヴィリオン / Pavilion )

ヨコミゾマコト（建築家） + MAKI UEDA（嗅覚のアーティスト）

Makoto Yokomizo (architect) + MAKI UEDA (olfactory artist)

Photo: Motoko Kamata

■開催期間： 2013年7月23日（火）～8月9日（金）10：00～18：00　（7月28日、8月3、4日は休館）

■会場： オカムラ　ガーデンコートショールーム　〒102-0094東京都千代田区紀尾井町４－１　ニューオータニ・ガーデンコート３F　　　Tel : 03－5276－2001

■シンポジウム：
「知覚と空間」2013年7月27日（土）15：30～17：30　（定員80名）パネラー：ヨコミゾマコト ＋ MAKI UEDA、 アンカーマン＝川向正人

■ワークショップ：
　「嗅覚と空間認識〜犬のように空間を探る〜」2013年7月27日（土）13:00〜15:00（事前予約制：先着15名）（シンポジウム・ワークショップは今週末です。席に限りがありますので、ご予約・お問い合わせをお勧めします。最新情報はtwitterをご覧下さい。）

■ギャラリートーク：

アーティスト達と匂いや建築、空間や知覚について語らう場。2013年7月24日（水）、8月2日（金）、5日（月）、8日（木）19:00〜21:00（私も会場にいます。開館時間が基本オフィスアワーなので、平日夜にみなさんが来やすいように、このような機会を設けました。）

■参加申込・お問い合わせ先：株式会社　岡村製作所　[お客様サービスセンター]　ﾌﾘｰﾀﾞｲﾔﾙ0120-81-906

■入場料： 無料（展示、シンポジウム共）

■主催： 株式会社 岡村製作所

■後援： 日本建築家協会、日本建築美術工芸協会、東京インテリアプランナー協会／協力： 株式会社山本香料

■WEB: http://iwhite.nu/（イベント等の最新情報や予約情報の配信を行う）　

■twitter: @invisiblewhite　　

■facebook: facebook.com/invisiblewhite

■「白い闇」に向けて　　　ヨコミゾマコト

この展覧会では、私が憧憬する無限に広がる境界のない空間をつ くってみたいと考えています。そもそも有限なこの地球上に、無限に広がる空間をつくり出すなど土台無理な話です。しかし、物理的には不可能でも、人の持つ感性と想像力に頼れば可能かもしれません。

そこで、嗅覚のアーティスト MAKI UEDA さんに参加して頂く ことにしました。形によって空間と時間をデザインする建築家と、形 がないもので空間と時間をデザインする嗅覚のアーティストとのコラボレーションです。

想定されるのは、白いだけのまったく何もない空間です。しかしそこは、とても静かで豊かな空間です。嗅覚と聴覚が研ぎすまされます。 視覚は役に立たないからです。匂いは日常に溢れているものながら、 未解明の部分が多いようです。嗅覚は、視覚や聴覚に比べて、原始 的かつ直感的であり、記憶に直結しているとも言われています。その 嗅覚に刺激を与えることで、人のもつ無限の感性と想像力を活性化させたいと考えています。
www.aatplus.com

■インスタレーションを楽しんでいただくために　　MAKI UEDA

みずからを匂いに委ね、嗅覚を頼りに空間を歩いてみてください。匂 いが空間をナビゲートしてくれます。普段は主に視覚が使われます が、この空間では嗅覚が主役です。

独りで入っている時は、目をつむり、手探りしてもよいでしょう。つま ずくモノもありません。たとえば犬のように、四つん這いになって右に 左にクンクンするのはどうでしょう。

この空間には、三つの匂いを使って、目には見えない「立体画」を描 きました。あたかもRGB(赤緑青)の三原色がモニター上で鮮やか な映像を映し出すかのように。この空間は、匂いの色彩で満たされ てい
ます。どことして同じ色は存在しません。

香り自体に意味はありません。そこに意味づけを与えるのは、みなさ んの経験や体験です。香りはすべて、ニュートラル。主役は、みなさん の「嗅覚の可能性」です。
www.ueda.nl

----------------------------------------------
Invisible White
Makoto Yokomizo (architect) + MAKI UEDA (olfactory artist)

Period: July 23 (TUE)- Aug 9 (FRI), 2013. 10:00-18:00.

Closed on: July 28 (SUN), Aug 3(SAT), Aug 4(SUN)

Place: Okamura Garden Court Show Room
　　　　New Otani Garden Court 3F, Kioi-cho, Chiyoda-ku, 102-0094, Tokyo Japan
Tel : 03-5276-2001

Organized by: Okamura Co. Ltd.

Support: Yamamoto Perfumery Co. Ltd.

It's a void space dedicated for touching, hearing, and smelling. The architect designed a semi-darkness space that makes you feel like "endless space", and I made the scent diffusion system for it. As you walk into the space you cannot see at instance, and automatically you switch your priority to hearing, touching, and smelling. As you get used to the darkness you see no end in the space. There's no object but an environment. As you walk in the space you smell differently - 3 principle smells are used here like RGB for monitors. Thus smells navigate you in the space. There's no meaning given to the smells, but it's you who give them.  The focus is your sense of smell and orientation.

Learning programming in Arduino

For controlling the diffuser fan I am starting learning Arduino.

I've learned pascal and C at school so I understand the language a bit. I never expected to use this knowledge again. Life is full of surprise!

Designing the diffuser

So now I'm studying how to control the diffuser fan... with Arduino, an open sauce electronic board. It's made in Italy. The package is so cute that it motivates me :-)



And these are samples of the diffuser exit. Selecting the material that's less visible in dark and that let go aroma throughly.

Making super analogue aroma diffuser

Perfuming the space. It's an art itself.

I've heard that in France there's such man who can do this.  Jose Martin.  He's the specialist in perfuming at theater and cinema.

Normally, perfuming the space is done like this: you perfume the scent [A], then clean it, and then perfume the scent [B].  You can do this easily with mechanic machines.

In this pavilion I'm working on, I would have to place [A] [B] and [C] at the same time.  And I want to make gradations between them.

It's because the space is almost dark, and made in such way that the audience loose the sense of up and down, left and right.  I would like people to navigate themselves by sensing smells.  Scent is the only way to navigate them in this space.

It's quite challenging, I know.  So I make experimentations and observations.  I am designing the whole airflow and aroma diffusing principles myself.

Anyone knows a specialist of airflow in Tokyo?

How to perfume postcards?

We're making invitation postcards of the new pavilion "Invisible White" opening in July.

I would like to perfume the card.  Ideally with scratch & sniff, but it's very, very expensive.

So I thought of various methods of perfuming the postcards.

Normally card itself has a strong odour of paper and paint.  To fight against it is quite some work!!!  But it's not impossible.

3 principle smells: the order for smelling

Placing 3 different smells in the space.

It sounds so simple, but in reality it's always complicated.  Experimentation over experimentation, to identify the factors and where to focus. 

Question: Three different smells A, B, and C, and the total smell Z.  Which order should you smell?

Choose from:

(1) Z > A > B > C

(2) A > B >  C > Z

You really have to place them in the space in order to say something, because the shape and the airflow of the space play role as important factors. But at least I can test it on the table.  With my previous work "OLFACTOSCAPE - deconstructing Chanel No. 5 -"

1. Chanel No. 5 composition
2. Bergamot
3. Rose
4. Vetiver
5. Vanillin
6. Musk
7. Aldehyde
8. Ylang-ylang

Then the opposite order:

1. Ylang-ylang
2. Aldehyde
3. Musk
4. Vanilin
5. Vetiver
6. Rose　
7. Bergamot
8. Chanel No. 5 composition

The latter was more difficult to smell the wholeness of Chanel No. 5.  Smelled a lot of Aldehyde, like an outdated perfume.

Why ?  In the first one, I have probablly learned the nose the whole spctrum of smells and this made it easier to identify the each smell too.  In the latter one, the nose got blocked and masked while smelling the each one.  Heavier smells like musk and aldehyde could do that.

Thus, the right answer is:

(1)  Z > A> B > C

gallery for meditation - Kuh Ren Boh

Here is an introduction to the works by the architect Makoto Yokomizo, whom I collaborate with on an pavillion opening soon.

Kuh-ren-boh  http://www.kurenboh.com/



It's a gallery for meditation.  Its owner is the buddhist temple in Asakusa Tokyo.

Here you enter.


You go through "nijiriguchi", the entrance inspired by tea ceremony architecture, and then you take off shoes.  All the process is there for you to prepare your mind.

Now you are in the subtle space of light and darkness.



Here you don't have the sense of distance.  The sense of up and down, left and right.  You are aware of your heartbeat of yourself, and the sound you make by walking.  You explore the space with a tiny bit of light and the sense of touch.

 

Normally we use the sense of sight the most.  In this space, the other way round.

 

Then you exit to the real world.

It's a gallery space for meditation and teaching.  The space itself teaches you the way how the senses are.

We're adding the perspective of smell in our new collaboration we're making now.

3 principle smells: experiments

I have experimented a bit for a new installation opening in July in Tokyo. Here are memo's:

It's a collaboration project with an architect Makoto Yokomizo .  In a semi-darkness you would explore the space  with the sense of smell, hearing, and touch.

Question are: how do we perceive the mixture of smells?  How do they mingle in the space? What could be the "3 principle smells"? And how to draw gradations?  How could I give the visitors motivation to explore by smell? 

Smell mixes in the space, that's the feit.  But I think it's possible to draw subtle gradations, from the experience of OLFACTOSCAPE.  

The system of air flow is custom made.  With anerometer I can detect some air flow.

1st experiment:

23/03 at home, 3.5-tatami space

3 principle smells:

(1) Citrus (Aromatheque)

(2) Geranium (Aromatheque)

(3) Ceder (Aromatheque)

2nd experiment:

25/03 at Tokyo Art University in Ueno, Tokyo, 6.5m x 4.5m, h3.5m, one side completely open to corridor

1st round from 14:05
3 principle smells:

(1)Petit grain (aromatheque)

(2)Arabisce Wierook (primavera) 乳香

(3)Jasmine (aromatheque)

2nd round from 15:45-

3 principle smells:

(1)Jenever  (aromatheque) 

(2)Ylangylang (primavera) 

(3)Cedar (Aromatheque )

・Jeneverbes 

・Ylang ylang 

・Cedar 

3rd experiment:

26/03 demo at the office of Okamura Furniture. 8m x 8m, h2.5m.

3 principle smells:

(1)Jenever (aromatheque) 

(2)Geranium (aromatheque)

(3)Arabisce Wierook (primavera) 

More info comes soon!

The world's most advanced restaurant: Tippling Club

A couple of days ago I gave a distillation workshop at a renown restaurant in Singapore: Tippling Club.
http://www.junkstage.com/maki/?p=445

Few days later I visited them for a dinner.  They've just finished extracting fennel seed after two days permanent process.  I'm impressed that they took it as their tool and using it already.  

Mixing the fennel extract with oil.

It's a modern, cool place, at the same time very cosy and casual. The man in the center is Ryan, the top chef.


The course starts.  Soup that you suck from the tube, while you taste the garnish on top.


Chef's interpretation of Singapore.  Creamy curry with puff rice on top.


Oh no they've burned it... :-) No, it's intentionaly black, made with bamboo charcoal! Very tasty shishito pepper tempura.


Eggless Chawan-mushi.  No way!  It tastes like real chawan-mushi...   A bit of milk in enzyme makes it tastes like egg it seems.  I got confused.


An amuse with ham and "olive oil caviar".  Mediterranean flavour in mouth.


Which part is edible?


The egg found in the grass was not tasting like real egg but its texture was quite egg-ish.


A test tube cocktail.


Black and white dish.  Hamachi with black sesame, garnished with black-skin daikon.  It goes with coriander cocktail.  Very good hamachi!


Tako (octopus) cooked under pressure. The texture is like a chicken. Together with dry, aged white wine.


Dish with beets: cooked under pressure, grilled in oven for hours, etc.


Candied beet.  Crispy and sweet!


Wagyu beef, A class, from Kagoshima. Together with scampi, spring onion from Kagoshima, and organic cucumber. Very well prepared wagyu!


Dessert starts.  Meteorite chocolate.  Yummy!


"Cheese Cake Remedy"


Iceream that seems not like icecream...I mean, not frozen.  With freeze dry rhubarbar. Chef's interpretation of his grandma's dessert :-)  It goes with a cocktail flavourd with Dutch "dropjes" ... Very creative.  Make it in Holland, and people will be surprised.


The white one looks like a slice of bread but tastes totally different.  Freeze dry milk?


The course is finished.  Now we're starting the bar time.


A cocktail in Penhaligon's perfume bottle. Box is also perfumed.


Sweet raspberry fragrance.



Food for just not filling the stomach, but also for mind-blowing experiences:

Tippling Club:
www.tipplingclub.com