Uncanny: a dimension of contemporary art

The article features in the second issue dedicated to fear of Esse arts and opinions, a bilingual journal (French/English) and considers the concept of the uncanny as contemporary category across contemporary art.

The article is part of my ongoing research on fear and the arts, and it timely contributes to the debate on the current climate of anxiety and threat that permeates culture at large and that it is variously expressed and betrayed across the arts.

The article brings a consideration of contemporary art within a broader cultural frame. The research is based on a variety of critical and interdisciplinary sources – both historical and contemporary – pointing to the evolution of the concept of the uncanny and its most significant connotations in contemporary culture.