Newswise — PHILADELPHIA (September 24, 2012) -- Food researcher Ryan Bromley has joined the Monell Center as a visiting scholar. While previous visiting artists have focused on olfactory art, Bromley, who will be at Monell through October 3, is the first Monell scholar to explore the role of taste in art.
Monell has a long-standing interest in artistic expression revolving around the senses of taste and smell. “We see the promotion of sensory art as an exciting opportunity for Monell to introduce diverse segments of the public to our mission – to understand the senses of taste and smell for the betterment of human health and well-being,” said Danielle Reed, Ph.D. Reed, who studies the behavioral genetics of taste, will be working closely with Bromley during his stay at Monell.
Using a multidisciplinary approach, Bromley integrates information regarding taste perception to relevant findings from psycholinguistics, anthropology and philosophy to build a case for the validity of taste in art. He currently is pursuing a doctorate in Fine Art at Oxford Brookes University in the United Kingdom.
“My ambition is to relocate the discourse surrounding gustation and artistic expression into the realities of current knowledge of the senses. In order to do this, I need to determine what the current knowledge is and I believe that the Monell Centre is the best place to achieve this,” he says.
Bromley will present a seminar entitled “Taste in Art: Out of Sight, Out of Mind?” on September 27at Monell. Based on his current research, the talk will reevaluate the classical arguments that have excluded taste from art. The seminar is open to the public: for information about time and location, visit www.monell.org.
Bromley holds a Masters of Science in Food Policy from City University in London. He has worked around the world as a private chef and caterer to an exclusive clientele, including four years as Executive Chef for the UK Ambassador to Poland. He now lives in New Delhi, India. More information about Bromley’s work can be found at www.ryanbromley.com.
The Monell Chemical Senses Center is an independent nonprofit basic research institute based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Monell advances scientific understanding of the mechanisms and functions of taste and smell to benefit human health and well-being. Using an interdisciplinary approach, scientists collaborate in the programmatic areas of sensation and perception; neuroscience and molecular biology; environmental and occupational health; nutrition and appetite; health and well-being; development, aging and regeneration; and chemical ecology and communication. For more information about Monell, visit www.monell.org.# # #
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