There’s a special moment I can imagine long before it happens – something I can recall in memory so vividly that it feels as real as the sound of waves crashing on a beach. It is the moment I walk through the doors of JFK Airport into the air of New York City. There’s a particular weight to the air, a hum, a bustle, but most of all an array of odors. From the very first moment I step into the atmosphere of the city, every segment of the journey – from the car ride to the streets I walk – is filled with smells.
One especially enjoyable pastime is to walk down Manhattan Avenue, block after block, bathing in the generous variety of scents one encounters: those emitted by the city itself and those people carry with them like invisible clouds. For me, it becomes a walk of odors.
My performance consists of offering samples from
12 different anonymous perfumes or odors, each presented in unmarked bottles found on eBay. These bottles are arranged on a colorful Latin American blanket placed over a platform trolley. The trolley itself is strongly scented. I walk the trolley like a dog on a leash along Broadway Ave, specifically the stretch between West 80th Street and West 88th Street in New York City for the duration of the performance. As I move, I advertise the perfumes and odors in a spoken-word, salesman-like style. My commentary will shift between the intimate (the body and its smells) and the expansive, evoking a whole world of odors.
For over forty years all my spoken word performances have been freestyle, straight off the dome. And it’s New York, baby! People improvise – like jazz musicians. You can’t expect a market vendor to pitch in advance how she’ll sell her apples. It’s the street that shapes it, the rhythm, the momentum, the vibe. That’s where the words come alive. That’s the fun – and the art.
Instructions for the guide:
– For the duration of the project, the heavily scented trolley, carrying the unmarked bottles of perfume, will be pulled slowly and steadily down the blocks. Imagine it bears a greater weight than it actually does. That weight represents the ideas that travel along with it.
– Stop to advertise “Free scents, smells, and odors!” every five to ten minutes. Do this much like a market vendor would, by literally calling out and promoting the goods.
– The advertisement of “Free scents, smells, and odors!” should take the form of a freestyle spoken word performance. Everything that comes to mind – every association, every freely connected thought from your surroundings or imagination – should be spoken without censorship. Allow yourself to become a medium through which words flow, circling around the scents of the city and the perfumes people wear. It may also help to imagine yourself on the edge of delirium or in an overstimulated state, and just riff on the situation, its idea, and, above all, its smells.
– Calmly and engagingly invite people to sample one of the scents on the trolley. If they do, enter into a short exchange about what the scent might mean and where it could originate. This dialogue should remain brief – just enough to spark insight. Lingering too long is not desired; do express an urge to continue moving down the block.
– From time to time, if it feels as though the trolley has lost some of its scent or presence, spray it again to restore its aura. If that seems unnecessary, simply rearrange the unmarked bottles or adjust the small Latin American blanket. This moment is one of maintenance. It may also include adjusting your hair, clothes, or tying a shoelace.
