Odophonics: A performance for scent and chamber ensemble
with Brian Goeltzenleuchter and Sean Francis Conway
at Craft Contemporary
October 28, 2023
The IAO is thrilled to co-produce a scent concert with Brian Goeltzenleuchter and Sean Francis Conway at Craft Contemporary.
Creatively riffing on a 19th century treatise on the harmonics of smell, Goeltzenleuchter and Conway’s performance challenges current perceptions of how we experience smell and sound. The auditory element involves Minimalist structures that create gradual chord transformations, while the corresponding scent notes are released in time.
Septimus Piesse, a 19th century French perfumer, created the ‘Odophone,’ a literal scale of smells corresponding to different pitches in Western musical notation. According to his logic, scent chords could be formed. Piesse’s logic somewhat corresponded to the scientific understanding of smell in his day, which posited that smell, like sound, was perceived by frequency and vibration. That logic has since been debunked, rendering Piesse’s Odophone little more than a historical anachronism. That is, unless one is dubious of the scientific evidence that supports this conviction. Or, unless one finds value in mining anachronisms as a way to move culture forward.
Odophonics, a performance for scent and chamber ensemble, is an ongoing collaboration between Sean Francis Conway and Brian Goeltzenleuchter. The performance is a jumping off point to explore Piesse’s Odophone, to test new propositions about how one experiences smell, particularly in relation to sound.
The musical component in Odophonics uses Minimalist structures such as consonant harmony, drones and polyrhythms to create gradual chord transformations. All the notes in this ambient soundscape can be found on Piesse’s scale. As the performers play the composition, Goeltzenleuchter releases the corresponding scent notes in time. Each scent is faithfully derived from Piesse’s scale. Together, the musical and olfactory harmonics gradually shift. Specific to the performance is the question: What relationships exist between concurrent perceptions of smell and sound?
Performances
October 28, 2023 – 1pm
October 28, 2023 – 4pm
Biographies
Brian Goeltzenleuchter is a research-based conceptual artist working at the intersection of social engagement, olfactory art, and image-making. He has held residencies at Banff Centre, Centrum Beeldende Kunst, Sculpture Space, and Institute for Art and Olfaction. He is the Darlene Shiley Honors Faculty Fellow at San Diego State University.
Sean Francis Conway is a multi-instrumentalist and composer based in San Diego. He graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2007. Conway founded the marching sound collective “BOMBSHELL BOOM BOOM (!)” and has performed with groups such as The Santa Clara Vanguard, Gamelan Galak Tika, and No Know Sound Band.
Robbie Bui is a contemporary cellist who graduated with a Master of Arts in Contemporary Cello performance at University of California San Diego studying with Charles Curtis. Bui is currently recognized in ensembles such as La Jolla Symphony, Pacific Lyric Association, Ecce Ensemble, Palimpsest Ensemble, and Alinéa Ensemble.
Batya MacAdam-Somer plays the violin, occasionally the viola, and sometimes sings as well. She enjoys collaborative ventures across a variety of musical genres and has performed throughout the USA, Mexico, The United Kingdom and Europe.
Rebecca Matayoshi is a violist with the Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra and an acting violist with San Diego Symphony. She holds degrees from the New England Conservatory and University of Ilinois at Urbana-Champaign and her principal teachers and mentors include Marcus Thompson, Masumi Rostad, Rudolf Haken, Ralph Fielding and Li-Kuo Chang.
Bassist Kathryn Schulmeister enjoys a creative musical practice ranging from classical to experimental. Kathryn is a member of several contemporary music ensembles including the ELISION Ensemble, Fonema Consort, and Echoi Ensemble. She is an Assistant Professor of Practice in String Bass at the University of the Pacific Conservatory of Music.