We've been struggling with the name for the experimental award for several months now.

We knew it needed to be differentiated from the Artisan and Independent Awards. After all, the experimental scents are being judged very differently from the artisan and independent scents, and to very different standards.

Whereas the artisan and independent submissions are being judged anonymously in the context only of their creative brief and - of course- the scent itself, the experimental scents are being judged in the context of their larger intention: As part of an art piece, to accompany music, as part of an installation... We are, in short, honoring contemporary art that incorporates scent. It's a different bird.

So, under the guidance of Dr. Claus Noppeney from the University of Bern, we began the naming process. Our first idea, The Art and Olfaction Avant-Garde Award was discarded when we found a similiarly named award honoring work being done in HIV/Aids and drug use Research. Our next option, The Art and Olfaction Sélavy Award was discarded when we realized that, in English, the clever word play of 'Rrose Sélavy' was completely lost. Sorry Marcel Duchamp. We looked into a series of poetic, outer space-ey names like 'the New Horizon Award', the 'Event Horizon Award' or the 'Galaxy Award'. All rejected.

Dr. Noppeney reminded us that we should consider a name that models the type of work we are looking for, and we remembered our old friend Sadakichi Hartmann (and the project we did at the Hammer in January of 2014), and we thought, well, let's name this award after him. After all, Hartmann took risks, incorporated scents in controversial ways, and even took on everyone's worst enemy: Failure.

With this award, we hope to honor scent projects that tread in that very same space. Projects that run a very real risk of failure, that are a bit unorthodox, that are possibly (but not necessarily) collaborative, that rely on context to be understood, that are conceptual, maybe even unpleasant, but always thoughtful, creative and edgy.

Since examples are the best way of communicating an idea, here are some examples of experimental uses of scent. But, please, don't let this be a guide. After all, we're really looking for things that we haven't even heard of yet!

• Marcos Lutyens’ Reflecting Room at Documenta 13, with Sissel Tolaas
• Dane Mitchell’s Radiant Matter at Dunedin Public Art Gallery, with Michel Roudnitska
  
• Martin Sastre’s U From Uruguay at the 2nd Bienal de Montevideo, artist also perfumer
• Bruno Fazzolari’s Lampblack at Gallery Paule Anglim, artist also perfumer
• Ben Frost, Tim Hecker, Kode9’s Noise, Drone and Bass project at Unsound, with Geza Schoen
• Lisa Kirk’s Revolution with Gabriel Jeffrey
• Hilda Kozari’s Air with Bertrand Duchaufour
• Marcel Duchamp’s Belle Haleine ready-made project

Learn more about the Art and Olfaction Sadakichi Award for Experimental Scent here. And - as always - email us with your questions at [email protected].