In addition to our perfume-related programs, we often like to present and curate talks, workshops and other events that relate to scent more obliquely. We call these our esoteric activities, and part of our mission in 2018 and beyond is to develop these programs more more more.
We’ll be posting events here as they come up, but – in the meantime – be sure to check our calendar for updates.
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Sensorial Spirituality + History
It’s no exaggeration to say that just about every religion and belief system – historically and today – has had a relationship with aroma. The early Christians mostly rejected scent in worship due to its association with Greco-Roman Pagan rituals, that is until Emperor Constantine commissioned copious amounts of incense for his church building schemes. Islam, on the contrary, embraced aroma in mosque construction, and as an important part of the Prophet’s physical presence on the streets of Mecca. And what is Buddhism without incense?
As we all know by now, ‘per fumum’ (through smoke) gave rise to the word perfume, and it was indeed through burning aromatics that humans fed, sated or otherwise communicated with our god(s). We love this stuff, and it’s in the spirit of loving our fellow beautiful humans and their various beautiful systems of belief that the IAO presents an ongoing series of talks and sessions exploring the roots of spirituality’s relationship with the senses.
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Sex S(m)ells
Sex. We all have it (if we’re lucky), and we would hazard a guess that probably a fifth of our collective lives are spent thinking about it, or seeking it out. So, let’s have some fun with it!
The IAO is pleased to present a new commitment to the seductive side of life through periodic classes, talks, and workshops relating to human sexuality (including but also going above and beyond scent). Past events have included an attempt to recreate Patrick Süsskind’s famous and up-til-now purely fictional human enfleurage, a double-blind study of pheromones led by Susan Barbour, human body odor extraction workshops, and more. We add to this with a series of talks and lectures exploring historical and contemporary sexual practices. The future is sexy, and we can’t wait to explore it.
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Cannabis Classes
From 6th century BC Chinese graves, to Herodotus’ Scythians, and the rich tradition of hashish smoking in the Middle East – recorded use and cultivation of cannabis spans cultures and time. Closer to home, American colonists grew hemp, and studies by 19th century European doctors led to pharmacy-led production and sales. BUT (there’s always a but!) depression-era fears of immigration in the US led to the creation of the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 – curtailing the “evil weed” popularly understood to be favored by people coming north over the border to escape the Mexican Revolution. Enter Nixon; making a bad situation worse by listing marijuana as a schedule 1 drug. But things are changing, and it’s in the spirit of supporting a reasonable approach to cannabis laws that the IAO teams up with Oren Cohen to explore the aromatics of this now-legal plant through bi-annual classes relating to the aromatics of California’s other official state flower.
Note: No cannabis is consumed in these classes.