Scented/tactile performance, AI at the Whitney, molecules of connectedness, fragrant photos, pressure cooking, dog shit, alchemy/poetry & a half marathon are some of what you’ll find in this edition of the Dr. M. Leona Godin’s Aromatica Poetica Newsletter…
ID: The Good Life flyer has a “SOLD OUT” stamp over the June 29 date, a circle around the July 13 date, and an arrow to Happy Disability Pride Month! The image features a rustic wood table laid out with a decadent snack: Beefeater and wine, cheeseboard and chocolates, glasses and plates. The centerpiece is a silver bowl containing gold cage tokens stuffed with tiny, juniper-scented alpaca blankets. A crystal ashtray with Russian Tea Room matches is set towards the viewer and a lit candelabra towards the back. Presiding over all is An old photo in a gold frame of Godin and her dad smiling and hamming it up for a birthday photo, he in a black suit and she in a vintage sleeveless turquoise dress with beads at the neck. Behind all is a colorful world map.
Dear friends and family,
Whew, it’s been smoldering here in NYC this summer, but as I write, a beautiful tropical storm is blowing a cooling mist through my window, and with it the smells of the community garden next door. Last weekend was the premiere of The Good Life: A Scented Storytelling Journey of Growing Disabled with Dad at Olfactory Art Keller. I hit the super engaged, sold-out audience with some difficult scents and emotions. There are still a few tickets left for the July 13 performance—smack in the middle of Disability Pride Month, yay!
ID: “AI Describing AI”: A verbal description tour of Harold Cohen at the Whitney with Paula Stuttman features a group of people seated in a semi-circle on folding stools in an art gallery. They appear to be participating in a guided discussion or workshop led by two individuals seated in the middle. The room has light wooden floors and white walls. Two large paintings are visible on the walls. The painting on the left is abstract with a blue and purple pattern. The painting on the right, “Susan with Plant,” depicts a person with yellow hair, wearing a blue outfit, standing behind a large pink flower in a red pot.
Speaking of disability pride, it was awesome to team up with disabled artist Paula Stuttman at the Whitney Museum to present AI Describing AI, a unique verbal description tour of Harold Cohen’s AARON. Here’s that photo/image description journal. I also (finally) posted “Image Description and the Critical Blind Gaze,” a talk I gave at the New York Public Library in March, which includes the video as well as my cleaned-up notes, plus references.
ID: The cover of “Essential Oils for Psychedelic Therapy Support”. Below the title, it reads “An Introduction to the AromaGnosis Method” and the author’s name “FLORIAN BIRKMAYER MD” is displayed at the bottom in a yellow stripe. The background of the top half is a solid olive green color with the text in white. The bottom half of the cover features a photograph of several items on a table. There are three dark amber glass bottles of varying sizes, two with droppers and one with a label that reads “Labdanum Absolute”. There’s also a small clear glass vial labeled “HN Essential Oil”. In front of the bottles, there’s a small black chunk on a stone, a feather, and a piece of what appears to be a crystal or mineral. To the right, there’s a large animal skull, possibly a sheep or goat, with prominent teeth and empty eye sockets.
Aromatica Poetica is open for submissions! Send your fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and art. We also love book excerpts, and were excited to share one from Essential Oils for psychedelic Therapy Support by an old AP friend—Florian Birkmayer, who gave us one of our first interviews! Check out all of this season’s offerings, which are as dynamic as ever…
Hot AP Takes
ID: A screengrab of “Dog Shit” at Aromatica Poetica featuring a photorealistic image of a white woman’s legs wearing a black skirt and brown tennis shoes stepping out of a subway. To her right is a pile of dog shit she is trying to avoid. Credit: @Imagine.Art.
✿ “Cooked Under Pressure” & Other Poems * Joan Mazza
✿ “Dog Shit” * Nonfiction * Ro Miller
✿ “The Flavors of Red” & Other Poems * Sharon Whitehill
✿ Sillage 4: Fille en Aiguilles * Poem + Essay * Jehanne Dubrow
✿ “Fog Man” & Other Poems By Michael Lee Johnson
✿ Basenote Bitch * Elizabeth Renstrom * Fragrant Photos + Image Descriptions
✿ “The Molecules of Connectedness” * Book Excerpt * Florian Birkmayer, MD
ID: “Basenote Bitch”: Verbal description and artist talk with Elizabeth Renstrom at Olfactory Art Keller features Elizabeth with her paper notes and Leona with her iPhone notes smiling on either side of “Fahrenheit,” which hangs on bubblegum pink walls. .
In Other News…
An oldy-but-goody piece first published at Quail Bell Magazine, “The Poetry of Alchemy,” was brought to life with a delightful narrator on the Knowing podcast—an episode called “The Art and Alchemy of Transmutation.” And I had a wonderful conversation with Kristen Witucki on Tamman’s Article 19 podcast about There Plant Eyes and so much more.
Finally, I ran the Brooklyn Half Marathon—my first half marathon with my two awesome Achilles guides, Gillian Broome and Sarah Goodman! Above is our fantastic finish-line video at Coney Island, and here’s the photo-image description journal.
Sending buckets of sweet rainwater wishes,