Making discomfort comfortable

The task of the artist is to make the human being uncomfortable, wrote Lucian Freud. But delivering effective discomfort is a subtle art form.
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The adage that ‘art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable’ is widely quoted and variously attributed. Often artists are happie​st embracing the second half of the ​saying, enjoying the role of the stirrer, aware that in transgressing boundaries they are able to expand audience thinking.

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Brooke Boland
About the Author
Brooke Boland is a freelance writer based on the South Coast of NSW. She has a PhD in literature from the University of NSW. You can find her on Instagram @southcoastwriter.