Anouchka Grose - Art, Robots and the Uncanny — Can a Representation Ever Be TOO Realistic?

From the earliest days of representational art people have put a great deal of thought and ingenuity into making realistic’ images. For instance, cave paintings at Lascaux demonstrate an understanding of perspective, and Da Vinci’s sfumato continues to amaze and unnerve. But contemporary imagemaking technologies are now so sophisticated that people worry about the risk of realism overload, producing repulsion in the viewer. This talk will explore the Freudian uncanny in relation to Ron Mueck’s sculptures, the uncanny valley and BDSM (with a little detour through Steven Spielberg’s A.I.).