Rebecca Giles Art

 

My artwork focuses on the sublime in the context of light microscopy. The sublime, an aesthetic experience of overwhelming awe, is often thought of as that which is great in size. Inspired by Edmund Burke and Immanuel Kant, I argue that the sublime also encompasses that which is overwhelmingly small. This feeling of overwhelming awe at the sheer magnitude of smallness I call the “microscopic sublime.”

 

I have a light microscope in my art studio. I use my microscope to play with light: glowing light, transparencies, backlit objects, deep dark backgrounds offsetting little bright jewels of pure vivid color, and sharp contrasts between light and dark. Strong contrasts can create the sublime, not only contrasts between large and microscopic, but also contrasts between brightness and absence of light. I want to connect art with science, and I want to enthrall viewers with the soft, warm, spellbinding marvel of light.