Is a Scent a Song? Oui and Non

Is a Scent like a Song? Oui and Non
In this article about perfumes, their education, construction and legitimacy as intellectual property, the idea is explored about whether or not perfume making is an artistic creation. At the time (7/2006), the France high courts had ruled that making perfume is not an artistic creation but the work of an artisan. Later, a French Court of Appeals ruled the opposite saying that a perfume could be a “work of the mind.” The article even introduces the idea that the Bible agrees with this ruling in Exodus 30:35. The rest of the article talks about the structure of the elite perfume school in France. (Is a scent a Song? Oui and Non, 2006)
Is perfume making really an art? At its fundamental level, it is a mixture of chemicals that create a scent which is stimulating to our sense of smell. Every person may be intrigued by different scents yet there are certain scents that are deemed popular and are copied. The creators of the mainstream scents are not artists in my opinion because they are simply creating something according to techniques and research that they know most people will enjoy. This is more popular culture than artistry.
Some of the perfume makers believe that their creations may symbolize music or stories. One perfumer says, “When I write a perfume, the scents are the words,” and this creates a story to him. To me, this is a commercialization of the so-called artistry of perfume making. The more buzz around a certain scent, the more money it will make. If it was truly a wonderful scent, the emotional feelings would create their own story in each subject it affected.


Works Cited
Is a scent a Song? Oui and Non. (2006, July 13). Retrieved February 3, 2008, from New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/13/fashion/thursdaystyles/13skin.html?_r=1&scp=10&sq=art+of+scent&st=nyt&oref=slogin