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Please contextually reference your subject matter. What art, design, cultural, historic reference can you look at to gain insight?

To document the outcome of these three worlds I am exploring the use of photography, film, publication, and installation. I am also exploring the use of self within the outcome which was highlighted to me after reading a book about using yourself within your own art.

Richard Kern a film maker and photographer my prominent in the 1980’s who was also involved in the cinema of transgression. Kern films and photography make you feel uncomfortable as they point our problems within society that some people are afraid to confront. by looking at his work I hope to gain insight into how to shock an audience into confronting something they may not be open to.

By looking at installations and artists such as Kurt Schwitter’s Cathedral of Erotic Desire, Kusama’s infinity rooms, Gordon Matta-Clark, Phyllida Barlow, Pippilotti Rist I hope to gain some inspiration and insight into the art pieces I will create as my final outcomes.

I will look initially to science to choose what idea within the sense to focus on. Research papers and scientific experiments will give me inspiration and help me make my decisions.

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Please introduce your chosen subject area. What interests you as a potential stating points or areas of research? What influenced this choice? 650

I have observed that although all our senses are of equal importance subconsciously, consciously we rely on our visuals and audio channels and judge most things of the way they look or sound. 

Therefore, I am inspired to create artwork based around the theme of our overlooked senses and the big subconscious effects they have on our everyday decision making. I want the work to educate the audience on our bodily processes that would usually go unnoticed, helping them to become aware of the importance of these senses and pay homage to the complicated intelligence of our bodies. To do this, I have decided to create worlds for each scenario where each sense is the most prominent in our life therefore replacing sight. All the worlds I create are real in our subconscious minds.

For smell, I have chosen to investigate the unique body odour we produce. Society sees the smell of our body odour as a thing to hidden and the average person tries to hide it at least once a day and has no idea of the importance it plays in our interactions with each other. Therefore, this is the focus point for me within the sense of smell.

For touch and taste I have not yet decided which element I will focus in on. For touch I am exploring options such as: the phycological effects of lack of touch during the pandemic, the fact that touch is the first sense developed during gestation and therefore there is a period of time where all you can do is touch your mothers insides, the effects of touch on the immune system, altered definitions of acceptable touch in different cultures and mother-infant bonding touch and the effect on later life. For taste I am exploring options such as: the connection between taste and emotions, togue taste zones that help protect us from eating poisonous foods, how the first few bites are better than the last, the act of cleansing a pallet and the factors that affect taste perception be it nature or nurture.

The reason I have decided to investigate our overlooked senses is because I had an initial interest in the smell of sweat and the negativity towards it. Although I wash regularly, deodorant has never been part of my daily routine having grown up in a family where the use of chemicals such as those in deodorant is discouraged. Therefore, discovering the truth behind the importance of our bodies smell when communicating with each other is very interesting for me. which leads me to researching the hidden truth behind other overlooked senses.

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How does this subject area relate to the bigger picture of your own area of expertise? Have you explored similar concept before? Talk about a project you have done in specialism that is relevant either conceptually or technically. Which mediums, techniques, materials that you have mastered on this course so far could you utilise in your FMP?

My project has been about sweat and experimenting with sweat as a medium for artwork. I collected sweat from people and mixed it up in ink that I used to print lino cuts that I made. This related to the smell part of my new project which has taken elements from this but expanded it into exploring the hidden benefits of every sense, not just smell.

Having used many mediums throughout the course I intend to use many mediums in the outcome of my FMP. To create these three worlds, I will need to the use many mediums and I intend to present the outcome by documenting it either in the form of a film, photography, publication or by asking people to step into and experience them themselves. I have not yet decided, and I suspect the decision will be different for each sense. If I got people to experience this world themselves, I would need to think how I could make a naturally multisensory experience a single sensory experiment.

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She shot Andy Warhol

Introduction by Philosopher Avital Ronnell. 

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A piece of underwear which will provoke the audience to think more about the importance of pheromones and their use in our society. The video shows a more seated world in which instead of putting so much emphasis on visuals we put more emphasis on our smells and the smells around us. It asks the audience to understand the importance of sweat and therefore to think less of it as a disgusting excretion. 

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Richard Kern music video for Death Valley 69

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Submit To Me - Richard Kern film

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X is Y - Richard Kern film

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The ability to dissipate excess body heat though eccrine sweating helped to make possible the dramatic enlargement of the brain - the most temperature sensitive organ. 

In 1350 breasts were associated with losing care and nourishment by 1750 they were depicted in artists representation as either erotic or medical. 

Embarrassing VS Shameful ........ interesting distinction.

Adornment

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KEY POINTS

People who are attracted to women with periods thought their body oder was sexy during the follicular phase ( the most fertile phase).

Glands play a role in sexual attraction, repulsion, mother infant bonding and mensural cycles. 

Women can smell if men are genetically compatible so using perfumes means it is harder for you to find that person or for them to find you.

Body odor is an indication of genetic traits. 

Going on the contraceptive pill changed your smell. 

Body odor offers informations about genetic quality, health and reproductive success of a potential mate. 

MY TAKEAWAYS

If body odor is sexy and the place that most pheromones leave is the armpit then why is the armpit not classified as a sexy organ? Society demands that we cover our boobs and vaginas and penis’ and bums but then why are our armpits allowed to go free when they are just as sexy. Just because something isn't as visually appealing doesn't mean it is not appealing to our other senses even if it is subconscious. 

People are altering their smell the whole time with using drugs that change hormone levels and perfumes and deodorants so technically people are changing the whole time into whole new people with totally different smells and therefore genetic configurations. 

What is genetic quality?

Isn't it crazy that we are constantly rejecting our natural smell as a negative thing on our bodies when actually is harbours so much information that connection to the world around us?