Nanoart and the Moving Image: Shifts in Perception from Optical Microscopy to Nanoscopy

Artists engaging with the nanoscale have a particular problem of representation: Humans are unable to directly perceive nanoscale phenomena. Even without sensory or temporal experience of these phenomena, nanoartists are exploring technological, interactive and audiovisual mediation techniques. The author discusses this “problematic perception,” describes a key piece of nanoscientific instrumentation and finds diverse nanoart practices that exhibit a common concern for multisensoriality and embodied experience. This reflects our human desire to use our bodies to explore the world. Finally the author explores the question: How might nanoscientific and cinematic imaging systems work together with the perceiving body to further facilitate this multisensoriality?