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Uncanny - A Heightened multi sensory experience

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Uncanny - A Heightened multi sensory experience

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Uncanny - strange or mysterious, often in a way that is slightly frightening (Cambridge dictionary).

To generate uncanny feelings in art or media, various tactics can be used to establish the required familiarity, mystery and strangeness.

The first technique refers to using movement and motion to create the uncanny valley effect. Research has shown that mismatched or incongruent motion in humanoid robots triggers perceptual conflict in the brain, leading to feelings of unease (uncanny valley - howstuffworks.com).

The next technique used to generate uncanny feelings involves blending real and unreal elements. In the last example, I explore how Dirtgirlworld uses live-action human eyes and mouths on animated bodies to create an uncanny viewing experience.

The final technique involves creators blending familiar and unfamiliar elements. By combining recognisable landscape features with strange or out-of-place elements, They can create cognitive dissonance and unease (Landscape design - doi.org)

References:

UNCANNY | meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary. (n.d.). Dictionary.cambridge.org. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/uncanny

How the Uncanny Valley Works. (2017, June 16). HowStuffWorks. https://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/unexplained-phenomena/uncanny-valley.htm

Müller, N., Ignatieva, M., Nilon, C. H., Werner, P., & Zipperer, W. C. (2013). Patterns and Trends in Urban Biodiversity and Landscape Design. Urbanization, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: Challenges and Opportunities, 123–174. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7088-1_10

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'The Backrooms' is a video web series created by Kane Pixels in 2022, based on a 4chan copy pasta of the same name from 2019 (The Backrooms TV series 2022 - imbd).

This piece is a perfect starting point when exploring liminal spaces, as it is the most popular representation of the genre so far. 'The Backrooms' evokes feelings of unease and disorientation due to it's in-between nature and lack of clear identity (The case of The Backrooms - ArchDaily).

This sense of unease described by ArchDaily relates directly to the word 'Uncanny'. The series is eerie and subtly terrifying, while maintaining the calm and familiar atmosphere of an empty space.

References:

Parsons, K., Parsons, K., Akash, & Henry. (2022, January 7). The Backrooms. IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt20863294/

Why Are Liminal Spaces Eerie? The Case of The Backrooms. (2023, February 22). ArchDaily. https://www.archdaily.com/996668/why-are-liminal-spaces-eerie-the-case-of-the-backrooms

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Hans Bellmer's dolls were created in the 1930s and were one of the first artworks in the Surrealist movement. Bellmer constructed his first doll in Berlin in 1933, collaborating with his younger brother Fritz (Hans Bellmer Dolls - Widewalls.ch).

The artwork relates to the definition of uncanny as it is subtly frightening. Bellmer achieves this by using a mysterious stare, and implementing humanoid features. The doll-like features, combined with realistic facial expressions evoke an uneasiness into the viewers.

Art historians have viewed the dolls as expressions of complex psychological states, including fear of fragmentation and disintegration (Hans Bellmer Dolls - Widewalls.ch).

References:

The Experimental Poetry of Hans Bellmer Dolls | Widewalls. (n.d.). Www.widewalls.ch. https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/hans-bellmer-dolls

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The Red Ceiling is an uncanny photograph taken by William Eggleston in 1973. It was taken at the home of Eggleston's friend Dr. Thomas Chester Boring Jr in Greenwood, Mississippi.

It was created using the dye transfer process, which Eggleston discovered in 1973. This technique produces intense, vibrant colours (Red Ceiling - collections.vam.ac.uk)

Despite being a mundane photo of a ceiling, the image has an ominous feel to it. The explicit sexual photos in the bottom right create a layer of mystery, and the vibrant red depicts a hellish, blood filled environment. There is a strange terror within the image that is not immediately apparent, something all uncanny artworks have in common.

References:

Museum, V. and A. (n.d.). Red Ceiling, Greenwood, Mississippi | Eggleston, William | V&A Explore The Collections. Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O167274/red-ceiling-greenwood-mississippi-photograph-eggleston-william/

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The Red Tower is an oil painting created in 1913 by Giorgio de Chirico. It depicts a dreamlike hallucinatory landscape that holds the same characteristics as a liminal space.

One example of this is the absence of event which provokes a nostalgic or melancholy mood as if one senses the wake of a momentous incident (The Red Tower - Guggenheim.org)

Despite having a different aesthetic to the first liminal space example of The Backrooms, both pieces hold the same feeling of uncanniness.

This feeling can be described as the sense you're being watched by an unseen being, perhaps a byproduct of the expectation there should be people in the space, instead of being empty.

References:

The Red Tower. (1913). Guggenheim. https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/853

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Don't hug me I'm scared is a web series created by Becky Sloan and Joseph Pelling. The series premiered on YouTube in 2011 and quickly developed a huge following, with episode 1 now boasting over 78 million views. The general consensus is that the series is about how the media conditions children (Don't hug me I'm scared, analysis - Tvtropes.org).

One of the defining stylistic elements of the series is how things that are supposed to feel harmless, like a puppet show or an educational video, become increasingly sinister as the plot develops (Don't hug me I'm scared, explained - movieweb.com).

From the first few seconds of the pilot, the audience can immediately tell that something sinister is at play despite seeming like an innocent children's show. Sloan and Pelling's stylistic choices have a large role to play in the eerie atmosphere.

These stylistic choices include but are not limited to;

The breaking of the fourth wall, non-diegetic ticking sounds, uncanny humanoid character design, and a lack of directional lighting.

References:

Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared / Analysis. (n.d.). TV Tropes. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Analysis/DontHugMeImScared

Cusson, K. (2022, December 28). Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared, Explained: Meaning and Analysis. MovieWeb. https://movieweb.com/dont-hug-me-im-scared-meaning-analysis/

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Daniel Libeskind's Jewish Museum in Berlin, Germany, was completed in 1999 and opened to the public in 2001. Libeskind aimed to express feelings of absence, emptiness, and invisibility - representing the erasure of Jewish culture during the Holocaust (deconstructivist architecture - Dezeen.com)

The design has a plethora of empty spaces cutting through the building, representing absence. The complexity of the architecture creates an uncanny feeling when paired with the context of the building's underlying messages. This can be likened to an impending sense of doom in the atmosphere, stemming from the powerful emotional impact of Libeskind's story.

References:

Astbury, J. (2022, May 20). Daniel Libeskind’s Jewish Museum is a “foreboding experience.” Dezeen. https://www.dezeen.com/2022/05/20/daniel-libeskind-jewish-museum-deconstructivist-architecture/

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Diego-san is a humanoid robot created by researchers at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in Japan.

The robot was activated in 2013. It's expressive face and reactivity are intended to let Diego-San communicate intuitively with people, just as babies do (Diego-san - Hansonrobotics.com).

Diego-san presents as an example of the uncanny valley phenomenon. The definition of uncanny Valley is 'the unpleasant feeling that some people have when they see robots, or pictures of a human beings created by a computer, that appear very similar to a living human' (uncanny valley - cambridge.org)

References:

Diego-San. (n.d.). Hanson Robotics. Retrieved August 3, 2024, from https://www.hansonrobotics.com/diego-san/

Cambridge Dictionary. (2024, July 31). uncanny valley. @CambridgeWords. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/uncanny-valley#google_vignette

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Mobile Homestead is a full-scale replica of Kelley's childhood home, a 1950s ranch-style house. It's located on the grounds of the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD) and serves as both a public art installation and a functional space (mobile homestead - mocadetroit.org).

The nostalgic aspect of the work creates a sense of familiarity and sadness. The major project was Kelley's last before his death in 2012. Due to the personal meaning behind the piece, and the strange out-of-place aesthetic of an old fashioned house on the road, there is an uncanny & eerie vibe to the work.

References:

Mike Kelley’s Mobile Homestead - MOCAD. (2024, April 5). MOCAD. https://mocadetroit.org/plan-your-visit/mobile-homestead/

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"Savage rural landscapes" is a concept that refers to uncanny depictions of rural countryside. These settings often have a sense of danger attached, using otherworldly elements.

The concept is often seen in British film and television. The landscapes create a dissonance between the typically idyllic image of the countryside and hidden threats or strange occurrences. This contrast contributes to the uncanny feeling evoked by these landscapes (Surrealist landscape - www.acadamia.edu).

References:

Maria Rosa Lehmann. (2016b, October 16). The Unheimliche Landschaft – Surrealist landscape: melancholic, violent, erotic. Academia.edu. https://www.academia.edu/29204781/The_Unheimliche_Landschaft_Surrealist_landscape_melancholic_violent_erotic

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Dirtgirlworld is an animated children's television series created by Cate McQuillen and Hewey Eustace. The educational animated series is aimed at children and uses 3D CGI animation combined with photomontage and live action.

The voice acting is described as having grating or over-the-top voices, which can contribute to the unsettling feeling (Dirtgirlworld - IMDb). This, combined with the creepy mix of live action and animation creates an uncanny nightmare.

References:

McQuillen, C. (2009, November 2). Dirtgirlworld. IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1638062/