Freud

Das Unheimliche
In his 1919 essay Das Unheimliche, Sigmund Freud discussed the concept of uncanny literally translated into unhomely - which explains how some objects or situaDons both arouse familiarity feelings and at the same Dme express oddity and strangeness. Uncanny scenes are in a way familiar, already thought or lived whilst they present eerie unnatural elements. This explains why some artwork creates an impression of aIracDon and repulsion, such as this sculpture by Ron Mueck.

Muecks sculptures combine extreme naturalism, astonishing accuracy of form, and unnatural size dierenDals. So its no wonder viewers oOen feel unseIled.

Edgar Degas
EDGAR DEGAS (1834-1917)

Degas is recognised for

Interior has been described as "the most theatrical of all Degas's composiDons of modern life". It has a disDnctly stage-managed character: items are arranged as if they are props, while the dramaDc lighDng increases the impression that a play is being enacted . Described as "the most puzzling of Degas's major works", it depicts a tense confrontaDon by lamplight between a man and a parDally undressed woman.

his painDngs of ballet and horses and his ability to capture movement. He was innovaDve in his use of cropping scenes to create interest in what the viewer couldnt see.

Georgio De Chirico
De Chirico strongly inuenced the Surrealist movement, and his inuence was acknowledged by Ernst, MagriIe and Dali. Early de Chiricos are full of metaphor and mystery. De Chicero inscribed "What shall I love if not the enigma? on his own self portrait. This painDng is an enigma. Bright happy sunshine contrasDng with dark shadows, mysterious archways, an open trailer, a child playing, and worryingly the approach of someone unknown. I nd this painDng really interesDng, I feel it is trying to tell me something but I cant quite catch what it is. I worry I may not like it.but it may just be an innocent street.

Melancholy of a Street, 1914

Edward Hopper
EDWARD HOPPER 1882-1967 Most of Hopper's gure painDngs focus on the subtle interacDon of human beings with their environmentcarried out with solo gures, couples, or groups. His primary emoDonal themes are solitude, loneliness, regret, boredom, and resignaDon. He expresses the emoDons in various environments, including the oce, in public places, in apartments, on the road, or on vacaDon. As if he were creaDng sDlls for a movie or tableaux in a play, Hopper posiDoned his characters as if they were captured just before or just aOer the climax of a scene. Summer Interior, leO, is a perfect example of this.

Summer Interior, 1909

Edward Hopper Summer Evening 1947

A great example of mystery and intrigue. She may be irDng, sulking, bored, suggesDve. He may be cajoling, apologeDc, confronDng. This painDng seems to encompass all the issues of puberty: daDng, sex, boredom, love and arguments, without showing any of them individually.

Kara Walker
American arDst Kara Walker produces life size silhoueIes. At a glance they look quite preIy but register as slightly wronglook closely and you see how disturbing they actually are. Walker grew up in the Southern States and her work explores slavery, both of black people and of women.

Tableau Vivant Photography

As they fuse performance art, painDng, and sculpturethe producDon of the photograph becomes almost incidental, a mere document of the elaborate scene they have fabricated.
Tableau Vivant Alive and Well by Yaelle Amir

Gregory Crewdson
Gregory Crewdson's photographs usually take place in small town America, but are dramaDc and cinemaDc. They feature oOen disturbing, surreal events. The photographs are shot using a large crew, and are elaborately staged and lit.

Crewdson has tapped into that sort of uneasiness that can be so easily applied to our noDon of suburbia, where the veneer of normalcy can be stripped away in layers.

his pictures are inDmate and epic at the same Dme.

Tableau Vivant Photography

Above, Julia Fullerton-BaIen uses scale to show the awkwardness of puberty. Right, My Own Private Idaho (1991) Dir. Gus Van Sant The sex scenes were shot as a series of living sDlls so the lead actors could avoid doing anything too embarrassing.

Diane Arbus
Diane Arbus ( 1923 1971) was an American photographer and writer noted for black-and-white square photographs of "deviant and marginal people (dwarfs, giants, transvesDtes, nudists, circus performers) or of people whose normality seems ugly or surreal. She was parDcularly controversial for the way she obtained her photographs, which was someDmes considered underhand. Her darkly disturbing photography reected her own inner turmoil; she killed herself aged just 48. Right, Child with toy hand grenade in Central Park 1962 LeO, Man with Curlers 1965