The Data-Driven Art of Moving Bodies: ‘Physiological Aesthetics’, Scientific Visualization, and Neurocinematics

How does the scientific measurement of human movement inform artistic representation? This article focuses on the 19th-century art-science initiative ‘physiological aesthetics’ and its 21st-century legacy. Pioneered by Grant Allen and Charles Henry, physiological aesthetics aimed to derive artistic techniques from physiological measurements using laboratory instruments developed by figures like Étienne-Jules Marey. By organizing shapes, colours, and arcs to suggest movement and elicit embodied responses, this initiative influenced avant-garde painters such as Paul Signac, Georges Seurat and Francis Picabia. More recently, these principles resonate in advertising and ‘neurocinematics’, a field described by Uri Hasson. Neurocinematics uses brain imaging and biometric data such as heart rate, galvanic response, and eye movements to shape audiovisual media, including cinema trailers, to optimize emotional and sensory effects. This article concludes by critically reflecting on the democratization of biometric devices and forms of graphical inscription, examining their impact on artistic creation and collective sensory experiences.