Scenting the Anosmic Cube: On the Use of Ambient Scent in the Context of the Art Gallery or Museum

Abstract

In recent years, there has been growing interest in the possibility of augmenting the visitor’s experience of the exhibits in various art galleries and museums by means of the delivery of a genuinely multisensory experience, one that engages more than just the visual sense. This kind of approach both holds the promise of increasing engagement while, at the same time, also helping to address, in some small way, issues around accessibility for the visually impaired visitor. One of the increasingly popular approaches to enhancing multisensory experience design involves the use of scents that have been chosen to match, or augment, the art or museum display in some way. The various different kinds of congruency between olfaction and vision that have been investigated by researchers and/or incorporated into art/museum displays already are reviewed. However, while the laboratory research does indeed appear to suggest that people’s experience of the paintings (or rather reproductions or photos of the works of art) may well be influenced by the presence of an ambient odour, the results are by no means guaranteed to be positive, either in terms of the emotional response while viewing the display or in terms of the viewer’s subsequent recall of their multisensory experience. As such, caution is advised for those who may be considering whether to augment their multisensory displays/exhibits with ambient scent.

Scent in the Context of Live Performance

“…There can be little doubting the widespread interest in developing a more multisensory theatrical experience, be it involving immersive theatre or virtual reality (see Urwin, 2020, for a very recent example). The introduction of scent in the setting of the cinema, museum, and/or art gallery has, though, often not been successful, nor has it necessarily been positively received (see Spence, 2020bSpence, , 2020cSpence, , 2020d. However, that being said, it is important to note that there is a profound difference between live performance and the cinema.…”

“…More recently, Blankenship (2016) has written of scented performances that “Several current productions are employing it right now, and their examples underscore both the rewards and frustrations of tickling an audience member’s nose.” On one hand, the recent resurgence of scent in theatre can be seen as hinting at an attempt to compete with movies and television (see Banes, 2001). At the same time, however, there has also been increasing interest in scent in the setting of the art gallery/museum (see Spence, 2020b, for a review), as well as in a musical context (Di Stefano et al., in press; Spence, 2020c). Alternatively, however, it might also reflect nothing more than a general resurgence of interest in the sense of smell (e.g., Henshaw et al., 2018; McGann, 2017).…”

“…Given the fact that the latter play incorporated multiple scents, and performances were also given at a wide range of different venues, one can only imagine how challenging it must have been to try and ensure effective scent delivery (and clearance, about which, more later). At the same time, however, as Feagin (2018) notes, the smaller spaces in which theatrical productions are often put on, including the theatre in the round format (see also McGinley & McGinley, 2018), can make ambient scenting a somewhat less challenging proposition than in the case of a movie theatre, or in the context of opera/ballet, where the venues generally tend to be much larger (Spence, 2020b). One of the challenges is that it can be hard to ensure uniform distribution of scent, as production director Ben Randle noted of one show: “Depending on where you are in the room, you might smell something, or you might not.” Nevertheless, he goes on to say thatAs elusive and frustrating as it can be, however, aroma-turgy may still be worth the effort.…”

“…The use of ambient scents in the cinema as well as in the museum setting has sometimes been criticized for smelling overly “synthetic” (see Keller, 2014; Spence, 2020b, 2020c). However, while a similar criticism has, on occasion, been made in relation to scent’s use in the context of live performance, it is worth noting that this has sometimes been intentional, as we saw earlier (e.g., see Brantley, 1996).…”

Scent and the Cinema

“…The artistic use of scent and fragrance has a long history in theatrical and, to a lesser extent, operatic productions (see Banes, 2001;Banes & Lepecki, 2007), as well as, on occasion, musical productions (e.g., Macdonald, 1983;Sebag-Montefiore, 2016). There has also been growing interest in the use of scent to augment the displays in museums and art galleries (see Spence, 2020a, for a recent review). In the contemporary era, much of this interest has been spurred on by attempts to enhance the multisensory experience by means of engaging more of the audience 's, or visitors', senses (Pulh et al, 2008).…”