Planning for Assessment #3
After visiting the museum, my group and I discussed on which weekly topic we should pick. We decided to go with the idea of ‘desire’ since we had just seen artworks related to this theme. At first, we thought of creating an interactive piece where the audience could not interact. We thought of this idea by thinking about the big fluffy piece in the museum. We decided to abandon this idea because we would only have a week to construct a big sculpture. Instead, I suggested the idea of smell. After visiting the museum, I really liked the work with all the spices.
This artwork is created by Ernesto Neto and he wants “people to see [his] sculpture through their pores, as well as their eyes, to feel it with all their senses”.
The paragraph explaining his work:
Based on that, I realized that we could make our own ‘desirable’ perfume. We could create this as a group and it would smell desirable. The event, in this case, would be a farmers market.
At first, this seemed like it was an easy topic. However, we tackled many problems. We did some research to find out what some desirable scents were. We found that the common scents described in all of the sources were Vanilla, Lavender, and lemongrass. Although these are desirable scents, you can already purchase them from outside. We wanted to do something that was a little different.
We then moved onto the idea of using essential oils. As a group, we visited a store and smelt different essential oils.
It wasn’t hard finding cheap essential oil, but it had a very artificial smell. We wanted to create something that was more natural.
We then came back as a group to discuss what we could change or do next. We figured that we could pervade a scent into a classroom using natural materials. Since this is a 9 AM class, we decided that we could have a breakfast event in the class. We would blend fresh oranges to make juice. We were keen on this idea on multiple levels, because orange and citrus is also a desirable scent. We would present this idea by laying out our breakfast on a table. We would bring in many oranges and cups to suggest that it is for everyone. However, only we will be able to consume the juice. This will add onto their desire because although it smells good, they will not be able to consume it. Another idea we are playing with is the senses. When multiple senses are involved, things become more desirable.
Although we seemed to be settled on this idea, we thought of something even better (two days before the assessment). Although the ideas are similar, we expanded on our first idea. Instead of blending orange juice, we will set up a table beautifully with plates and cutlery. In the center of the table, we will place breakfast food with a sign that says “do not touch”. We will then place air-fresheners in front of fans to make the scent of breakfast pervade the room. Therefore, we will be able to smell ‘breakfast’, but we won’t actually be able to eat it. This creates a desire for breakfast because human beings have the tendency to desire what they can’t have. We also decided to buy our air fresheners from Woolies because they have bakery and citrus scents. This is perfect because bakery products and orange juice are commonly consumed during breakfast.
Therefore, the event, in this case, is people coming into a restaurant/cafe to eat breakfast. The event is revolved around the idea of breakfast because this is a 9 AM class. We will bring plates and cutlery for 6 people only. The rest of the class will be the audience observing what is going on. Once the 6 people sit in their seats, we will present them with menus that we made.
Here is an image of the menu we are going to hand them:
As you can see, there is no price for the dishes listed. We purposely made them free because things are more desirable when you can have them for free (this only applies to things that are essential for survival).
After some time, one person in the group will take the people’s orders. However, as soon as all the orders are taken, we will start to clear the table, indicating that it is time for them to leave. Therefore, although they will be able to see and smell ‘breakfast’, they won’t be able to consume it. This will then make it more desirable because they can’t get what they want.
To add another element, we will add the sound of sizzling food as the background. Therefore, we will be playing with 3 senses in total. As said, adding multiple sources will make the event more desirable.
After meeting with the group, we also decided that it would be best to place the air freshener under the table. This way, the participants and audience won’t be able to see it. We will set this up before class so when people enter, it is like a restaurant (when you walk into a restaurant, you can smell food).
Since we have a lot of setting up to do, we will meet in class at 8:30 instead of 9:00. This way, we have plenty of time to set up.
Overall, we had to change our ideas several times. It seems like an easy concept, but it was actually reallky hard to plan and lay out. It was also hard to stage it into the event. Although it is a complicated task, hopefully everything works out fine!
Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, B, “Playing to the senses: food as a performance medium. Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett.”. in Nyu.edu, , 2018, <http://www.nyu.edu/classes/bkg/issues/food-pr6.htm?fbclid=IwAR19KlUhWZfSExScuauHWpMzfGh2YJnqfhB7LlynlKGHPSNampcuSBNs460> [accessed 25 October 2018].
Schumacker, L, “7 Scents That Make You More Attractive, According To Science.”. in Romper, , 2018, <https://www.romper.com/p/7-scents-that-make-you-more-attractive-according-to-science-7921541> [accessed 18 October 2018].
“The 10 essential oils everyone should stock up on”. in, 2018, <https://www.wellandgood.com/good-looks/10-best-essential-oils/> [accessed 18 October 2018].
“The Smell Report - Sexual Attraction.”. in, 2018, <http://www.sirc.org/publik/smell_attract.html> [accessed 18 October 2018].
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