RUBIN MUSEUM SCENT EXPERIENCES WITH CHRISTOPHE LAUDAMIEL + The Zoo Amber Classico Modern 2021 and Inspiring Kodo Incense Draw

 

Mandala Lab Christophe Laudamiel

MANDALA LAB at the Rubin Museum  featuring Christophe Laudamiel

When Master Perfumer Christophe Laudamiel extends an invitation to you, be assured it will be an event that will be a rewarding olfactive experience. And this was no exception. Having been to the Ruben Museum this invite peaked my curiosity. New York City’s Rubin Museum’s six floors focus ion Himalayan art, ideas, and culture across history and into the present. The MANDALA LAB’s opening event was held on October 1st. It was timed to coincide with the museums 17th Anniversary and is now a permanent exhibition. that runs through October 2031!  I was not able to attend that night but it was a privilege that Master Perfumer Christophe Laudamiel and Tim McHenry, Deputy Executive Director/ Chief Programmatic Officer gave me a personal tour when the museum after hours was shut to the public.

Inspiration for the Mandala Lab Rubin Museum

OUR EXPERIENCE :I asked Tim McHenry how long this had The MANDALA LAB  been in the works and he said, “the idea took one year from concept, which began the second week of Covid, and developed from the urgency to express our emotions. The Mandala is a visual tool kit for surviving in uncertain times and through scent, we are able to explore unconscious bias, prejudice, how we view the world through a limited prism while not being aware that it’s limited.”

Christophe Laudamiel Master Perfumer

Christophe Laudamiel at the Check Your Pride station.

MANDALA? Broken down, Manda, meaningful essence and la, to extract, so extracting a meaningful essence. Mandalas are Buddhist teaching tools that you can use to learn how to confront and transform feelings of pride, attachment, envy, anger, and ignorance. They are known as kleshas in Buddhism and the five afflictive emotions can cloud our understanding of the world. Inspired by powerful Buddhist principles, the Mandala Lab features five thought-provoking, interactive experiences featuring video, scent, sculpture, and curated percussion instruments—that guide you along an inner journey focused on self-awareness and awareness of others. See, smell, touch, and breathe your way through the space, designed to inspire connection, empathy, and learning. The Mandala Lab’s activities invite curiosity about our emotions. Each one is designed to help you examine these specific emotional states.

Each artist had a particular scent that evoked a strong memory for them. We decided to start with Laurie Anderson because we wanted to set the bar high. The artists each contributed a two-minute video. Master Perfumer Christophe Laudemiel was the obvious creator to execute this so he was invited to recreate those scents from a few words and those videos.”

Christophe created six custom-made scents (actually five custom-made and one raw ingredient curated directly from Kannauj) to match the six contributing artists visions who hail from Tibet, India, Thailand, and the USA

The Rubin Museum exhibits

 

The contributing artists for the Scent Library Experience are:

Laurie Anderson

Sanford Biggers

Tenzin Tsetan Choklay

Amit Dutta

Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Wang Yahui

Scents created by Christophe Laudamiel

LAURIE ANDERSON NY artist Mandala lab

First station LAURIE ANDERSON  

Each of the six artists created a short video inspired by a particular smell. The six stations feature a custom-made scent based on the artist’s selection. Follow the onscreen prompts to experience a scent based on each artist’s story, then share your response to it, and watch the video. Share your experience like How does the scent make you feel? What emotional reaction do you have to the scent? Then select the emotion(s) that you associate with the smell from the descriptors or you can add your own. The idea is to watch a short 2-minute video from each one of the six artists (in no order) at one of the six stations to discover what emotions they evoke.

Christophe Laudamiel scent design

Christophe Laudamiel demonstrating the stations design 

The scents created different emotions in me, and like wearing a fragrance, would probably change at different times/ days if I was to return, I’m sure. Some elicited a familiar feeling, some an uncomfortable one. The idea is to tap into your feelings. One example was Laurie Anderson’s choice of her Uncle Allen which I related back to my grandmother.

Christophe Laudamiel is an activist and a perfumer

Christophe with gongs

Due to a video shoot, the rest of the floor was off-limits, with the exception of the section that incorporated musical instruments. A very impressive line-up was assembled for this experience. The idea is to approach any one of the gongs in the center of this space and follow the instructions and participate. The idea is to let anger be transformed through sound and stillness. Each musician has chosen a certain gong for this experience. Strike a gong and imagine your anger. Lower it into the water and feel it disperse.

 Peter Gabriel Gong Specifications detail (yes THAT Peter Gabriel

EXPERIENCE Can you find stillness within anger? 

Billy Cobham

Sheila E.

Peter Gabriel

Dame Evelyn Glennie

Sarah Hennies

Huang Ruo

Shivamani

Palden Weinreb

Bora Yoon

Select gongs manufactured by Ryan Shelledy or Matt Nolan, UK

I recommend spending a couple of hours to experience all six floors at this Chelsea cultural oasis; we all can benefit by  learning, self-awareness. and multi-sensorial connections to art.

THE RUBIN MUSEUM OF ART 

150 West 17th Street

New York, NY 10011

(212) 620-5000

https://rubinmuseum.org/

Monday Closed
Tuesday Closed
Wednesday Closed
Thursday 11:00 AM — 5:00 PM

10:00 AM — 11:00 AM Senior and high-risk hours

Friday 11:00 AM — 10:00 PM

Saturday/Sunday 11:00 AM — 5:00 PM

The Mandala Lab is reserved for family programming from 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM every Sunday.

Proof of vaccination is required.

Thank you to Tim McHenry for your hospitality, much appreciated.

~Hernando Courtright, Senior Events Contributor and Brand Ambassador

All Photos by Hernando© of ÇaFleureBon unless otherwise stated and cannot be reproduced without our permission.

The ZOO Amber Classico Modern by Christophe Laudamiel

The Zoo Amber Classico Modern 2021 and Inspiring Kodo-Belair Lab (Courtesy of Christophe Laudamiel)

Thanks to the generosity of Christophe Laudamiel master perfumer and owner of THE Zoo we have a draw for the NEW 60 ml  The Zoo Amber Classico Modern 2021 and, a sample bottle of “Inspiring Kodo” a Japanese incense Christophe created  (officially accredited by a Kodo master and only available in Tokyo) for one registered reader (you must You must be a  registered CaFleureBon reader residing in the USA. To be eligible please leave a comment on what you enjoyed  or learned from Hernando’s experience. Draw closes 11/15/2021.

The newly released The Zoo Amber Classico (is not available in the USA as of this writing )has notes of Fresh natural Mandarin, Gentian absolute, Geranium from Egypt certified For Life®, Patchouli from Indonesia certified For Life® , Peru Balsam certified Fairwild(R) from El Salvador, Labdanum and Nebulone® , Benzoin tears from Laos.

For more on Christophe please read:

Hernando Courtright’s Osmotheque Scent Tracking Through Time with Master Perfumer and Osmocurator Christophe Laudamiel here

Robert Hermann’s reviews  (RIP) of THE ZOO Spacewood and Rhubarb My Love here

Former Monthly Contributor Valerie Lee Vitale’s  Christophe Laudamiel’s Scents and Setai Hotel from 2012 here

Follow us on Instagram @cafleurebonofficial @christophelaudamiel @thezoonyc @belairlab @rohto @rubinmuseum

This is our Privacy and Draw Rules Policy

We announce the winners only on-site and on our Facebook page, so Like ÇaFleureBon and use our Blog feed…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.

 

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21 comments

  • Never going to win for a first post most likely. However I love Christophe. A long time ago I taught drama summer school for 7 to 9 year Olds. My director specifically taught mandalas to the students and i love that this scent and museum experience incorporated mandalas. Also love that one of my favorite musicians Peter Gabriel also participated. Thanks for the draw. In VA USA.

  • I wish I’d known about this exhibit when I went to NYC a couple of weekends ago! It would be interesting (and maybe a bit harrowing) to discover your own emotions in reaction to a scent after knowing that it was created based on someone else’s specific emotion. I admire Christophe Laudamiel and his many works of olfactory art as well as educational efforts. Hopefully I will get to see this exhibit before 2031, but in the meantime I enjoyed the tour through the descriptions and photos. MA, USA

  • Wow! What an amazing project! ❤️ Hernando’s review is fantastic! Laurie Anderson! Wang Yahui! The entire installation/lab experience is wonderful! I must take my cousin there! I would love to win a bottle of The Zoo Amber Classico Modern 2021 (to share with my cousin) and also a sample of Inspiring Kodo (to keep for myself). Thank you for the wonderful opportunity (and the great information, so we can go to NYC & visit!). Good luck to all! ❤️ USA

  • How I wish I lived in New York- this looks like a really good exhibit. Both the scent and the sound areas described would be so cool to visit. We have a singing bowl and I love to just focus on the ringing sound until my mind is empty. The gong being submerged in water and our anger dispersing with it would be an experience. Thank you for the article.

  • How I wish I lived in New York and visit many museums and this very interesting exhibition too looks like a really good exhibit. Both the scent and soul sound very interesting and promise give a lot emotions.
    USA

  • I would love to attend this Museum and have all this wonderful Mandala experience. I loved the idea of smelling some fragrance and then express what emotions they evoke. If I have the time, surely i´ll stop by there.

  • The gong stuff was new and interesting. I would love to try that Tokyo creation along with the 2021 Amber. US

  • That Mandala lab experience sounds like the coolest thing ever! Wow. I am envious, yet glad to live vicariously through Hernando’s words. I would love the chance to win perfumes from Christophe Laudamiel! I am in the US.

  • Mandala Lab looks to be a very interesting way to shine light on just how intertwined our sense of smell is with who we are as humans.

    In general I feel our sense of smell is often overlooked/underestimated as a driver for our emotional connection to meaningful people, places, and experiences in our past. Be it the maternal calm instilled in us by our mother’s musk when we were small children, to the chaotic olfactory overload of our first trip to a big city. Smell is so primal…more so than any of our other senses in my opinion and it is the foundation for so many of emotional memories. It’s nice to see Mandala Lab bringing the bond between emotions and smell to the fore.

    I am in the USA.

  • I do love that you’re highlighting one of my absolute favorite museums in NY! The Rubin is a gem. I can’t wait to go check out this “scentsational” exhibit. Thank you for letting me know about it and for the amazing giveaway. I’ve not yet smelled anything from The Zoo but have heard about the brand. In Brooklyn, NY.

  • It would be great to be able to visit this Museum and have the wonderful Mandala Lab experience. I loved the idea of smelling some scent and then express what emotions they evoke. Koh-Do is the Art of Incense, or Listening to incense, and with deep listening one can open to one’s emotions, and be able to express them. Hernando did a great job of describing the museum experience. Thanks for the draw. From USA.

  • This sounds like a fascinating exhibit! I’ll have to make plans to visit NYC next month to see it. Olfactory memories are some of the most potent connectors to the past. I still think of my maternal grandfather whenever I smell pipe tobacco and it brings up happy memories. Both the Zoo Amber Classico Modern 2021 and Inspiring Kodo sound lovely and would inspire some new scent memories. I’m in MD, USA.

  • msnitechemist says:

    What a fascinating interactive event space. As a music nerd and a budding frag head, what a great collision of two worlds. I like the idea that the different stations are intended to elicit and encourage the sharing of how a scent makes you feel, because I think unless you are someone who consciously thinks about what you want to smell like and what mood or feel you wish to evoke and project out into the world (minority of the world), you don’t think too much about what fragrance means to you personally beyond, “oh, it’s there, that’s nice.” Those who aren’t into music can be frustrating to music heads b/c music heads are the ones who are focusing on beats, tones, progressions, timbres, etc. and I view fragrance similarly.

    I also like that Hernando shared with us that he thinks if he came back to the exhibit another time, his emotions to each scent would change. Good music does that, too. Art, whether music, fragrance, or something else, it isn’t intended to cause a linear reaction in my opinion. Good art challenges you and can evolve as your knowledge and awareness changes. I’d love to try the Master’s work if I win. Thank you for the draw, I live in the US.

  • Really cool stuff! I loved the part about the gongs. We have a drum and percussion museum here and it’s quite fascinating stuff. Thanks for the draw. From Indianapolis

  • The idea of an immersive, multisensorial fragrance experience is so compelling! Though fragrance is one of my strongest (and most expensive, haha) passions, I find there is a disconnect with a lot of people between the general pleasantness of a scent and how it makes them feel. Almost all of my fragrances call to mind a specific moment in my life — some joyous, some more somber. I do not wear fragrance simply to smell “good.” For me, to wear fragrance is to transcend merely its scent but to wear my emotions, spraying my heart upon my sleeve. Though I live more than 600 miles away, if I read the article correctly, the exhibit will be available for the next decade. Maybe I’ll be able to make a trip to see it! Thanks for the giveaway and the thoughtful article. USA

  • I’ve heard of perfumer Christophe Laudamiel, but I haven’t tried any fragrances which he’s made, although I may have smelled A.&F. “Fierce” before. I’m very interested in trying his new “amber” fragrance release because I can certainly enjoy “amber”-prominent fragrances. I also would like to try the Japanese incense which he created because I love a lot of different incense scents. I live in MD., U.S.A. Thanks for the giveaway opportunity.

  • This would be an awesome exhibit to attend… Maybe in the future cause I’d really enjoy these kind of museums! Love fragrances & really love talking about some new/old. Thanks for taking me, without taking me LoL felt like I was next to Christophe. Really interested in what he created also!! This is a really awesome draw, I’d love to be one of the first people in USA with it… Excellent review Hernando!!

    Thanks Cafleurebon, another home run review… Learned a lot!! Good luck everyone!!

  • Michael Prince says:

    Hernando’s experience at the Rubin Museum of Art seems like an amazing experience. The Mandala lab sounds like a once in a lifetime experience connecting different smells to personal feelings, emotions, and experiences. On top of that Hernando got a personal and private tour with Master Perfumer Christophe Laudemiel. I am from Ohio, USA.

  • What a fascinating exhibition! The exploration of emotion tied to scent is so interesting. I have enjoyed the brightness of Smile and Shine and would like exploring Amber Classico Modern 2021. NC USA

  • wallygator88 says:

    Thank you for the fantastic writeup Hernando. The Rubin museum is now added to the list of places I need to visit when I am in NYC.

    I really liked Hernando’s review because I felt like I was taking the tour vicariously through him. It was such a beautiful experience to see idea of a Mandala explained through the mediums of audio, video and olfaction.

    It was interesting to read how certain fragrances elicited an uncomfortable feeling in Hernando.

    I love Christopher’s work and ethics as a perfumer and his mission to educate us and the less priveleged.

    Cheers from WI, USA

  • sephrenia300 says:

    What a wonderful article! I really enjoyed learning about Mandalas and what they represent – I had previously only appreciated their physical beauty, without understanding their history and meaning. An exhibit linking mandala art and scent sounds absolutely fascinating and I will definitely plan a visit as I live in New York!