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Perfume Fountain for Humanity

A public project led by artist Anne McClain

Project Proposal

The creation of a perfume begins with a brief. For Anne’s project, that brief is to create a scent based on the experience of an act of humanity.

In September of 2009, Anne will travel to the city of San Miguel de Allende in Mexico with a group of twelve friends and perfumers and spend one week volunteering at the Casa de los Angeles, teaching art and visiting the local botanical garden at a day care center for children of single mothers. This act will serve as a tribute to a friend of Anne’s who volunteered at the Casa de los Angeles in 2003 and wrote of her experience, “I want to work with children..and do something to somehow improve their lives. I know that sometimes that means simply being 'present' to them..sharing a hug, holding them, smiling with them. We don't always have to do the big things to make a difference. If in my time of working with them I can benefit their families and the community in which they live I will be grateful.”

In Grasse, France, the capital of the perfume industry, Anne will create the Humanity scent by combining the techniques of modern perfumery and her studies in aromatherapy. Anne's intention is to use the inherent healing and transformative effects of natural plant materials to create a scent to uplift, encourage relaxation and making connections, stimulate compassion, and nurture a sense of letting go.

The Humanity scent will take the form of a fountain of perfumed water. A place of gathering often found in town squares (in Grasse, a fountain is located in the central square where the daily flower market takes place; in San Miguel de Allende the area where the fountain is located is called El Jardin), the fountain will serve as a place for communing, contemplation, and reflection. The creation of the fountain will be a collaborative effort between Anne, glass artist Alan Iwamura, and industrial designer Lance McGregor.

The fountain will be placed in a public space in New York, acting as a gathering place for people to experience the inspiration and meaning behind Humanity. The fountain is meant to transmit positive energy into the public. The question it will pose is: can good will be spread through scent?

About the Artist

Anne McClain is currently attending the Grasse Institute of Perfumery, taking courses in natural and synthetic raw materials, chemistry, and creation. She studied environmental studies, philosophy, and art at Brown University.

Anne fell into scent as an artistic medium through photography. Anne used photography in the same way she uses scents now - to flatten an experience or memory into something tangible. She also studied aromatherapy to understand the psychological effects the distillation of flowers, resins, barks, peels, leaves and other plant materials have on people.

Anne is passionate about revealing scent's power as artistic medium, and the unparalleled beauty of natural raw materials.

Artist's Past Work







Photography naturally lead Anne to scent artistry. Both mediums lend themselves to the pursuit of trying to capture moments and memories. Anne loves the dreamy, lingering quality that the memory of place can give over time. The excitement and displacement of travel leads one to an experience of being untethered. Anne likes to try and take those feelings, somewhere between illusion and reality, and to condense it, to flatten it, to create something so that she can remember what it feels like, always.




108, 2004
While spending four months living in Nepal, Anne studied with a rinpoche and was initiated into Tibetan Buddhism by a lama. This book recounts some of the insights into her spiritual practice, accompanied by photographs.




Transit/Home, 2005
For a period of a few years Anne travelled incessantly visiting Thailand, Indonesia, Baja California, Japan, and Hawaii, all the while thinking of someone she loved. They circled the globe on different paths, sometimes meeting and sometimes not. They took photographs influenced by each other and collected them into a book.




Kept, 2008
Stemming from her fascination with all things relating to memory, Anne was thinking about the phrase 'a kept woman'. She realized that not only would she most likely be keeping herself, she wanted it that way. At the time she was disappointed in love and conceived of a loverʼs gift to herself. she cut a hole through the center of a book about Paris, writing a story of lost love along the edges. In the void she placed a ring and the book became a jewelry box which she kept for herself.

Perfume - Left
Perfume - Right1

From The Artist

Perfume - Right2

Your Voice

« Press for the Humanity Fragrance | Main | The Humanity Wearable Fragrance - Coming Soon! »
Sunday
Jan242010

The Humanity Fragrance

And we're off!  The Humanity fragrance fundraiser has launched, and you can now pick up your first edition handmade bottle on our site: www.humanityfragrance.com.  It's the perfect gift for Valentine's Day! 

The Humanity fragrance is based around the Indian white lotus flower, a symbol of purity in ancient cultures. Rich with vanilla inflections with notes of maté tea and sustainable sandalwood from Australia, the scent is fresh, sheer, floral and woody, and comes in a blended in a base of three organic oils.  

The anatomical heart inspired bottles with white glass corks were designed by Lance McGregor and Alan Iwamura, and handmade by Alan.  Each bottle is engraved with the edition number.  100% of the proceeds go directly to the manufacture of the fountain this spring.  The Humanity fragrance is available online now as well as at Sigerson Morrison in Soho beginning February 9th.

To see the "making of..." pictures, click here.

And a special shout out to our friend Claire for the amazing photographs!

DateJanuary 24, 2010 at 23:52 | Comment4 Comments

Reader Comments (4)

Aloha Anne,

I live in Hawaii and represent an online Multiple Chemical Sensitivity community. Your perfumed fountain project has come up on our radar today. As I'm sure you know, the toxic ingredients usually found in modern fragrance can cause serious illness for those of us with chemical sensitivities. We always are concerned when we hear about fragrance being released into a public area because it usually means that people with MCS are then blocked from access to that public area because of the toxic chemicals.

I'm sure you also know that the phthalates found in modern perfume and personal care products are of great concern to environmentalists due to the chemical's prevalence in natural waterways from sewage runoff. Phthalates have been directly linked to reproductive harm in living things, especially in vitro males.

I see that your academic background includes environmental studies. I love the compassion concept of your fragrance and your perfumed garden project, but I'm wondering, would you be willing to fully disclose all ingredients found in your perfume, both the product to be used in the fountain and the product being sold as Humanity perfume fragrance? Is the product in the fountain project the same as the product being sold as personal perfume? Phthalates in either? Any synthetic scent? Any petrochemicals or other toxic chemicals used in either product or in the manufacturing of the products?

I greatly appreciate your time and would very much like your input before I blog about your public fountain project. People in my community are jumping to a lot of conclusions before asking you directly about your products.

Aloha and Namaste,
Susie

January 29, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterSusie Collins

I live in Melbourne Australia and manage a social network site for those with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

I love the concept of the a gorgeous glass heart spurting, beautifully, sadly, dreamlike into the air and pooling on the ground. The vision is rich and evocative. I wish it were to be displayed in my city of Melbourne.

However, I’d like to speak to the idea of putting fragrance through the fountain in a public space. This idea worries me greatly and I ask you if you would please reconsider this idea.

By putting fragrance through the fountain you will be potentially putting up a barrier that will deny access to the public park by a significant number of people. Those with Asthma, respiratory disorders, allergies to chemicals used in fragrances, non-allergic chemical sensitivities and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, will all have access to the park, their park, compromised. For these people the act of breathing the slightest wisp of fragrance may threaten their health and well being. It is clear from a large number of refereed scientific studies that at least 25% of the population has asthma, MCS or some other chemical sensitivity. So a sizable number of people are at risk of becoming disenfranchised by the act of putting artificial fragrance into the air of the public park. The planned fragrance release makes this a public health issue that would be covered under State and Federal Legislation, local bylaws and the project’s insurance.

Humanity and compassion are identified as key concepts being expressed by this project. From reading your site I believe you are personally committed to these concepts in a deep way, and so I ask and urge you to not to add fragrance to the fountain in the park.
Harry Clark
MCS News Australia
feel free to visit my MCS support and information site
http://hbc-mcs-001.ning.com

January 30, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterHarry Clark

hi susie and harry,
i appreciate your comments and concerns very much. yes, it's true that i studied environmental studies at brown university, and i also made my way to perfumery via my love of nature, and natural ingredients.

i would love to continue this conversation offline. i would love to learn more from you, and hopefully you from me. please feel free to email me at annemcclain@mac.com.

thank you!
anne

February 3, 2010 | Unregistered Commenteranne

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