"Five Senses" at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (February - May 2014) hits every innate sense from taste to touch in an interactive collection of installation art. From Janet Cardiff's enveloping The Forty Part Motet (2001) to Olafur Eliasson's resonating Beauty (1993), this exhibit works to involve visitors every step of the way.
Included in the show is the work of five internationally recognized artists that assistant curator Claire C. Carter says she came across during her visits to such cities as Berlin, New York, Chicago, and London. These works left a lasting impression on her, not because of what she saw but because of what she felt. The idea to connect them through the senses came after she began planning the works for the show.
The most aesthetically inspiring work in "Five Senses" -- Olafur Eliasson's Beauty. An enclosed dark pathway leads visitors around a corner where they are struck with a misty rainbow dancing in the middle of the room. The room, built specifically for the Eliasson work, projects the mist from a stream in the ceiling and a single light cast colors onto the wall of water.
Beauty is one of Eliasson's early works and plays with a simple concept of blending light and water. What is most impactful about this presentation of Beauty, however, is that in the background you can hear the angelic voices of Cardiff's The Forty Part Motet in the next room. As Carter describes, it is a presentation of the work never before imagined by the two artists, but they work together symbiotically to create a resplendent experience.
In the final gallery are two pieces that strike on the sense of smell. Roelof Louw's Soul City (Pyramid of Oranges) (1967) sits on one side of the room with its sharp citrus scent, and Ernesto Neto's Cai Cai Marrom (2007) hangs from the ceiling emitting the rich spices of turmeric, pepper and cinnamon. Neto's piece is created from stockings filled with spices and resembles a structure that is animal-like and organic.
Louw's orange pyramid is perhaps the most tangible work in "Five Senses" because visitors are encouraged to take oranges directly from the pile and eat them. Carter remarks that this piece mocks a common museum policy that doesn't allow eating in the galleries, but here the artist is welcoming it. The orange is also the symbol of a gift given directly to viewers by the artist. And the oranges are restocked often, so visitors need not worry about the quality of the fruit they are consuming.
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