Scratch and Sniff Proust
Dr. Virginia Barry M.D / Psychoanalyst in Chicago, IL. skillfully combines the words of Proust-psychology-art-prose-science and medicine to reveal the link between smell and emotion.
Author Dr. Barry writes:
Memories elicited by smell are imbued with a kind of visceral and emotional essence that sets them apart from memories called up by words or images alone. I am transported when I bury my nose in a bunch of freshly cut basil; whereas seeing a recipe for Insalata Caprese generates a grocery list. Another parched day of drought makes me wish for rain, but the smell of the earth–the petrichor–after that first rain makes me want to dance and fills me with optimism. The memories evoked by fragrances are rarely bland or colorless; they are drenched in emotion.
Although he didn’t have neuroscience to illuminate why olfaction is so emotionally evocative, Marcel Proust understood the power of scent to unleash ancient, long forgotten memories that form the foundation of our emotional lives. As the title of his great work tells us, In Search of Lost Time (also translated from the French as The Remembrance of Things Past) is concerned with these memories and the stamp they place on the experience of the present. Scratch and Sniff Proust began as a wisp of a joke and has evolved into something much more–part neuroscience, part art, part psychoanalysis.
A consistent compositional structure was developed for the glass art to connect with both literal objects referred to in each target quotation and the larger conceptual themes of the constructive nature of memory, the role of language in accessing memory and the neuroscience of signaling and transmission. Literal imagery is captured in gestural, instagram-style photographs. Each literal image has an associated scent.
Dr. Barry writes:
I chose Heather as a collaborator given her integration of her visual art practice with a background in applied neurosciences. Her work with glass is about visual experience; she explores the many properties of glass to infuse spaces with meaning and interest, offering viewers a moment soon gone, yet filled with radiance. This approach is consistent with Proust’s extensive contemplation about light and shadow, reflections and contrasts. Heather’s art pieces offer visual interpretations for each section of the book, forming another connection with Proust’s inner world.
Contact
Virginia C Barry | vcbarry@gmail.com
Heather Hancock | heather.hancock@gmail.com
Dr. Virginia Barry M.D / Psychoanalyst in Chicago, IL. skillfully combines the words of Proust-psychology-art-prose-science and medicine to reveal the link between smell and emotion.
Author Dr. Barry writes:
Memories elicited by smell are imbued with a kind of visceral and emotional essence that sets them apart from memories called up by words or images alone. I am transported when I bury my nose in a bunch of freshly cut basil; whereas seeing a recipe for Insalata Caprese generates a grocery list. Another parched day of drought makes me wish for rain, but the smell of the earth–the petrichor–after that first rain makes me want to dance and fills me with optimism. The memories evoked by fragrances are rarely bland or colorless; they are drenched in emotion.
Although he didn’t have neuroscience to illuminate why olfaction is so emotionally evocative, Marcel Proust understood the power of scent to unleash ancient, long forgotten memories that form the foundation of our emotional lives. As the title of his great work tells us, In Search of Lost Time (also translated from the French as The Remembrance of Things Past) is concerned with these memories and the stamp they place on the experience of the present. Scratch and Sniff Proust began as a wisp of a joke and has evolved into something much more–part neuroscience, part art, part psychoanalysis.
A consistent compositional structure was developed for the glass art to connect with both literal objects referred to in each target quotation and the larger conceptual themes of the constructive nature of memory, the role of language in accessing memory and the neuroscience of signaling and transmission. Literal imagery is captured in gestural, instagram-style photographs. Each literal image has an associated scent.
Dr. Barry writes:
I chose Heather as a collaborator given her integration of her visual art practice with a background in applied neurosciences. Her work with glass is about visual experience; she explores the many properties of glass to infuse spaces with meaning and interest, offering viewers a moment soon gone, yet filled with radiance. This approach is consistent with Proust’s extensive contemplation about light and shadow, reflections and contrasts. Heather’s art pieces offer visual interpretations for each section of the book, forming another connection with Proust’s inner world.
Contact
Virginia C Barry | vcbarry@gmail.com
Heather Hancock | heather.hancock@gmail.com
Scratch and Sniff Proust
Making Sense of Scents and Sentiments
Scratch and Sniff Proust
A collaboration with psychiatrist Dr. Virginia Barry to develop illustrations for a book addressing the neuroscience of Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time. Dr. Barry is specifically interested in the so-called “Proust phenomenon” in which intense, visceral memories are evoked by scents. Dr Barry writes an accessible overview of the neuroscience behind consciousness, attention, memory, and sensation, focusing on Proust’s understanding of olfaction in triggering memory. She deftly weaves sections of Proust’s writing along with clinical anecdotes from her practice to illustrate these complex processes.
Author Dr. Barry writes:
Memories elicited by smell are imbued with a kind of visceral and emotional essence that sets them apart from memories called up by words or images alone. I am transported when I bury my nose in a bunch of freshly cut basil; whereas seeing a recipe for Insalata Caprese generates a grocery list. Another parched day of drought makes me wish for rain, but the smell of the earth–the petrichor–after that first rain makes me want to dance and fills me with optimism. The memories evoked by fragrances are rarely bland or colorless; they are drenched in emotion.
Although he didn’t have neuroscience to illuminate why olfaction is so emotionally evocative, Marcel Proust understood the power of scent to unleash ancient, long forgotten memories that form the foundation of our emotional lives. As the title of his great work tells us, In Search of Lost Time (also translated from the French as The Remembrance of Things Past) is concerned with these memories and the stamp they place on the experience of the present. Scratch and Sniff Proust began as a wisp of a joke and has evolved into something much more–part neuroscience, part art, part psychoanalysis.
A consistent compositional structure was developed for the glass art to connect with both literal objects referred to in each target quotation and the larger conceptual themes of the constructive nature of memory, the role of language in accessing memory and the neuroscience of signaling and transmission. Literal imagery is captured in gestural, instagram-style photographs. Each literal image has an associated scent.
Dr. Barry writes:
I chose Heather as a collaborator given her integration of her visual art practice with a background in applied neurosciences. Her work with glass is about visual experience; she explores the many properties of glass to infuse spaces with meaning and interest, offering viewers a moment soon gone, yet filled with radiance. This approach is consistent with Proust’s extensive contemplation about light and shadow, reflections and contrasts. Heather’s art pieces offer visual interpretations for each section of the book, forming another connection with Proust’s inner world.
Contact
Virginia C Barry | vcbarry@gmail.com
Heather Hancock | heather.hancock@gmail.co
A collaboration with psychiatrist Dr. Virginia Barry to develop illustrations for a book addressing the neuroscience of Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time. Dr. Barry is specifically interested in the so-called “Proust phenomenon” in which intense, visceral memories are evoked by scents. Dr Barry writes an accessible overview of the neuroscience behind consciousness, attention, memory, and sensation, focusing on Proust’s understanding of olfaction in triggering memory. She deftly weaves sections of Proust’s writing along with clinical anecdotes from her practice to illustrate these complex processes.
Author Dr. Barry writes:
Memories elicited by smell are imbued with a kind of visceral and emotional essence that sets them apart from memories called up by words or images alone. I am transported when I bury my nose in a bunch of freshly cut basil; whereas seeing a recipe for Insalata Caprese generates a grocery list. Another parched day of drought makes me wish for rain, but the smell of the earth–the petrichor–after that first rain makes me want to dance and fills me with optimism. The memories evoked by fragrances are rarely bland or colorless; they are drenched in emotion.
Although he didn’t have neuroscience to illuminate why olfaction is so emotionally evocative, Marcel Proust understood the power of scent to unleash ancient, long forgotten memories that form the foundation of our emotional lives. As the title of his great work tells us, In Search of Lost Time (also translated from the French as The Remembrance of Things Past) is concerned with these memories and the stamp they place on the experience of the present. Scratch and Sniff Proust began as a wisp of a joke and has evolved into something much more–part neuroscience, part art, part psychoanalysis.
A consistent compositional structure was developed for the glass art to connect with both literal objects referred to in each target quotation and the larger conceptual themes of the constructive nature of memory, the role of language in accessing memory and the neuroscience of signaling and transmission. Literal imagery is captured in gestural, instagram-style photographs. Each literal image has an associated scent.
Dr. Barry writes:
I chose Heather as a collaborator given her integration of her visual art practice with a background in applied neurosciences. Her work with glass is about visual experience; she explores the many properties of glass to infuse spaces with meaning and interest, offering viewers a moment soon gone, yet filled with radiance. This approach is consistent with Proust’s extensive contemplation about light and shadow, reflections and contrasts. Heather’s art pieces offer visual interpretations for each section of the book, forming another connection with Proust’s inner world.
Contact
Virginia C Barry | vcbarry@gmail.com
Heather Hancock | heather.hancock@gmail.co
Dr. Barry is specifically interested in the so-called “Proust phenomenon” in which intense, visceral memories are evoked by scents. Dr Barry writes an accessible overview of the neuroscience behind consciousness, attention, memory, and sensation, focusing on Proust’s understanding of olfaction in triggering memory. She deftly weaves sections of Proust’s writing along with clinical anecdotes from her practice to illustrate these complex processes.
The perception of smell consists not only of the sensation of the odors themselves but of the experiences and emotions associated with these sensations. Smells can evoke strong emotional reactions. In surveys on reactions to odors, responses show that many of our olfactory likes and dislikes are based purely on emotional associations. Marcel Proust would be proud of Dr. Barry’s book.
The association of fragrance and emotion is not just an invention of poets or perfume-makers. Our olfactory receptors are directly connected to the limbic system, the most ancient, and primitive part of the brain and the seat of emotion. Smell sensations are relayed to the cortex, where ‘cognitive’ recognition occurs, only after the deepest parts of our brains have been stimulated. By the time we correctly name a particular scent it has already activated the limbic system, triggering more deep-seated emotional responses.
The perception of smell consists not only of the sensation of the odors themselves but of the experiences and emotions associated with these sensations. Smells can evoke strong emotional reactions. In surveys on reactions to odors, responses show that many of our olfactory likes and dislikes are based purely on emotional associations. Marcel Proust would be proud of Dr. Barry’s book.
The association of fragrance and emotion is not just an invention of poets or perfume-makers. Our olfactory receptors are directly connected to the limbic system, the most ancient, and primitive part of the brain and the seat of emotion. Smell sensations are relayed to the cortex, where ‘cognitive’ recognition occurs, only after the deepest parts of our brains have been stimulated. By the time we correctly name a particular scent it has already activated the limbic system, triggering more deep-seated emotional responses.
Nov 5 - 2015 2 pm CT
Dr. Virginia Barry
Special radio guest appearance:
Click to listen to the interview on
Groks Science Radio Show. Other stations this show is heard. Groks is a Weekly science radio program hosted by Dr. Charles Lee, Dr. Frank Ling, and Samantha Thomas-from the Cummings Life Science Center - University of Chicago.
Preview the Table of Contents and chapter one by clicking the front cover
French novelist Marcel Proust was one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century. His books abandoned plot and dramatic action in favor of the narrator's descriptions of his experiences in the world.
Early years and education
Marcel Proust was born on July 10, 1871, in Auteuil, a suburb of Paris, France. His parents, Dr. Adrien Proust and Jeanne Weil, were wealthy. Proust was a nervous and frail child. When he was nine years old, his first attack of asthma (a breathing disorder) nearly killed him. In 1882 Proust enrolled in the Lycée Condorcet. Only during his last two years of study there did he distinguish himself as a student. After a year of military service, Proust studied law and then philosophy (the study of the world and man's place in it). Proust became known as a brilliant conversationalist with the ability to mimic others, although some considered him a snob and social climber.
First works
In 1892 and 1893 Proust wrote criticism, sketches, and short stories for the journal Le Banquet and to La Revue blanche. His first work, Les Plaisirs et les jours (Pleasures and Days), a collection of short stories and short verse descriptions of artists and musicians, was published in 1896. Proust had made an attempt at a major work in 1895, but he was unsure of himself and abandoned it in 1899. It appeared in 1952 under the title of Jean Santeuil; from thousands of pages, Bernard de Fallois had organized the novel according to a sketchy plan he found among them. Parts of the novel make little sense, and many passages are from Proust's other works. Some, however, are beautifully written. Jean Santeuil is the biography of a made-up character who struggles to follow his artistic calling.
Marcel Proust.
Marcel Proust.
After abandoning Jean Santeuil, Proust returned to his studies, reading widely in other literatures. During 1899 he became interested in the works of the English critic John Ruskin (1819–1900), and after Ruskin's death the next year, Proust published an article that established him as a Ruskin scholar. Proust wrote several more articles on Ruskin, and with the help of an English-speaking friend, Marie Nordlinger, and his mother, Proust translated into French Ruskin's The Bible of Amiens (1904) and Sesame and Lilies (1906). Reading Ruskin's ideas on art helped him form his own ideas and move beyond the problems of Jean Santeuil.
In 1903 Proust's father died. The death of his mother two years later forced Proust into a sanatorium (an institution for rest and recovery), but he stayed less than two months. He emerged once again into society and into print after two years with a series of articles published in Le Figaro during 1907 and 1908. By November 1908 Proust was planning his Contre Sainte-Beuve (published in 1954; On Art and Literature). He finished it during the summer of 1909 and immediately started work on his great novel.
Remembrance of Things Past
Although Proust had by 1909 gathered most of the material that became À la recherche du temps perdu (Remembrance of Things Past), he still felt unable to structure the material. In January 1909 the combination of flavors in a cup of tea and toast brought him sensations that reminded him of his youth in his grandfather's garden. These feelings revealed the hidden self that Proust had spoken of in Contre Sainte-Beuve, and he felt that the process of artistic rebirth was the theme his novel required. In À la recherche du temps perdu Proust was mainly concerned with describing not real life but his narrator Marcel's view of it. Marcel traces his growth through a number of remembered experiences and realizes that these experiences reflect his inner life more truly than does his outer life.
Proust began his novel in 1909 and worked on it until his death. In 1913 he found a publisher who would produce, at the author's expense, the first of three projected volumes Du Côté de chez Swann (Swann's Way). French writer André Gide (1869–1951) in 1916 obtained the rights to publish the rest of the volumes. À l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleur (Within a Budding Grove), originally a chapter title, appeared in 1918 as the second volume and won the Goncourt Prize. As other volumes appeared, Proust expanded his material, adding long sections just before publication. Feeling his end approaching, Proust finished drafting his novel and began revising and correcting proofs. On November 18, 1922, Proust died of bronchitis and pneumonia (diseases of the lungs) contracted after a series of asthma attacks. The final volumes of his novel appeared under the direction of his brother Robert.
For More Information
Brée, Germaine. The World of Marcel Proust. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1966.
Carter, William C. Marcel Proust: A Life. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2000.
Cocking, J. M. Proust. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1956.
Painter, George D. Proust. Boston: Little, Brown, 1959–1965.
White, Edmund. Marcel Proust. New York: Viking, 1999.
Read more: http://www.notablebiographies.com/Pe-Pu/Proust-Marcel.html#ixzz44cYIXCpg
Early years and education
Marcel Proust was born on July 10, 1871, in Auteuil, a suburb of Paris, France. His parents, Dr. Adrien Proust and Jeanne Weil, were wealthy. Proust was a nervous and frail child. When he was nine years old, his first attack of asthma (a breathing disorder) nearly killed him. In 1882 Proust enrolled in the Lycée Condorcet. Only during his last two years of study there did he distinguish himself as a student. After a year of military service, Proust studied law and then philosophy (the study of the world and man's place in it). Proust became known as a brilliant conversationalist with the ability to mimic others, although some considered him a snob and social climber.
First works
In 1892 and 1893 Proust wrote criticism, sketches, and short stories for the journal Le Banquet and to La Revue blanche. His first work, Les Plaisirs et les jours (Pleasures and Days), a collection of short stories and short verse descriptions of artists and musicians, was published in 1896. Proust had made an attempt at a major work in 1895, but he was unsure of himself and abandoned it in 1899. It appeared in 1952 under the title of Jean Santeuil; from thousands of pages, Bernard de Fallois had organized the novel according to a sketchy plan he found among them. Parts of the novel make little sense, and many passages are from Proust's other works. Some, however, are beautifully written. Jean Santeuil is the biography of a made-up character who struggles to follow his artistic calling.
Marcel Proust.
Marcel Proust.
After abandoning Jean Santeuil, Proust returned to his studies, reading widely in other literatures. During 1899 he became interested in the works of the English critic John Ruskin (1819–1900), and after Ruskin's death the next year, Proust published an article that established him as a Ruskin scholar. Proust wrote several more articles on Ruskin, and with the help of an English-speaking friend, Marie Nordlinger, and his mother, Proust translated into French Ruskin's The Bible of Amiens (1904) and Sesame and Lilies (1906). Reading Ruskin's ideas on art helped him form his own ideas and move beyond the problems of Jean Santeuil.
In 1903 Proust's father died. The death of his mother two years later forced Proust into a sanatorium (an institution for rest and recovery), but he stayed less than two months. He emerged once again into society and into print after two years with a series of articles published in Le Figaro during 1907 and 1908. By November 1908 Proust was planning his Contre Sainte-Beuve (published in 1954; On Art and Literature). He finished it during the summer of 1909 and immediately started work on his great novel.
Remembrance of Things Past
Although Proust had by 1909 gathered most of the material that became À la recherche du temps perdu (Remembrance of Things Past), he still felt unable to structure the material. In January 1909 the combination of flavors in a cup of tea and toast brought him sensations that reminded him of his youth in his grandfather's garden. These feelings revealed the hidden self that Proust had spoken of in Contre Sainte-Beuve, and he felt that the process of artistic rebirth was the theme his novel required. In À la recherche du temps perdu Proust was mainly concerned with describing not real life but his narrator Marcel's view of it. Marcel traces his growth through a number of remembered experiences and realizes that these experiences reflect his inner life more truly than does his outer life.
Proust began his novel in 1909 and worked on it until his death. In 1913 he found a publisher who would produce, at the author's expense, the first of three projected volumes Du Côté de chez Swann (Swann's Way). French writer André Gide (1869–1951) in 1916 obtained the rights to publish the rest of the volumes. À l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleur (Within a Budding Grove), originally a chapter title, appeared in 1918 as the second volume and won the Goncourt Prize. As other volumes appeared, Proust expanded his material, adding long sections just before publication. Feeling his end approaching, Proust finished drafting his novel and began revising and correcting proofs. On November 18, 1922, Proust died of bronchitis and pneumonia (diseases of the lungs) contracted after a series of asthma attacks. The final volumes of his novel appeared under the direction of his brother Robert.
For More Information
Brée, Germaine. The World of Marcel Proust. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1966.
Carter, William C. Marcel Proust: A Life. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2000.
Cocking, J. M. Proust. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1956.
Painter, George D. Proust. Boston: Little, Brown, 1959–1965.
White, Edmund. Marcel Proust. New York: Viking, 1999.
Read more: http://www.notablebiographies.com/Pe-Pu/Proust-Marcel.html#ixzz44cYIXCpg
At Last! A Scratch & Sniff Proust!
Thursday, April 21, 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Few writers have doted on their olfactory surroundings with the same intensity and devotion that Marcel Proust did. And so it is only natural that there should now be, at long last, a book that provides readers of In Search of Lost Time at least some of the same sensual experience that Proust had while composing his great work! Scratch and Sniff Proust: Making Sense of Scents and Sentiments -- part neuroscience, part art, part psychoanalysis, and part fun -- allows the reader to experience some of the fragrances from Proust's world while learning why scent affected him differently than all the other senses.
We are happy to welcome author Virginia C. Barry, a practicing psychiatrist and psychoanalyst in Chicago, to introduce her new book. She will be joined by Heather Hancock, an artist who works in glass and who has contributed evocative images to each chapter inspired by Proust's reflections. Both author and illustrator will be happy to sign copies of this unique book, which we will have available for purchase.
Thursday, April 21, 6:30 to 8 p.m
BOOKENDS & BEGINNINGS
1712 SHERMAN AVENUE, ALLEY #1, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS 60201, 224-999-7722,
BOOKENDS & BEGINNINGS
1712 SHERMAN AVENUE, ALLEY #1, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS 60201, 224-999-7722,