Count Robert de Montesquiou, author of “Le Chef des odeurs suaves,” reigned over fin-de-siecle Paris with his dandified salons featuring symbolic perfumes, seances and music. His hyperaestheticism was the inspiration for J. K. Huysmans’ decadent novel “Against Nature” and his philosophy was reborn in the psychedelic era with satanist Anton LaVey’s concept of “Total Environments” which advocate the creation of artificial personal spaces that use theatrical sensory materials to cultivate nostalgia as an occult tool. We will discuss the use of a scented sanctum as a means for creative isolation and reverie.
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