The power of disturbing image in art

The disturbing image is a potent visual element that evokes emotions such as fear, anxiety, and disgust in the viewer. It emerges from ordinary or normal situations and asserts itself in a way that is unsettling. The threat, fear, eeriness, or horror within a narrative excites the viewer. The disturbing image, linked to these excitement-inducing situations, quickly captivates the viewer. Images that the mind deems strange, abnormal, or extraordinary provide an active visual experience. In this sense, the disturbing image draws the gaze towards itself and establishes a power over the viewer. This thesis aims to reveal the meaning of the disturbing image in art by examining the power it exerts on the viewer through its effects. In this context, the image-power relationship, along with concepts of sublimity, eeriness, and fear, are discussed. Subsequently, the elements that create the impact of the disturbing image-fear-horror, disgust, dream-invention-imagination-surrealism, myth-mythology, reality-distortion of reality, and destruction-are analyzed with examples from art history.