defamiliarize
Render newly unfamiliar
Defamiliarize is to make something familiar seem strange or unfamiliar, forcing fresh perception.
The term comes from literary theory, where techniques like unusual narration or description strip away automatic recognition: The novel defamiliarizes domestic life by describing a kitchen through an alien's eyes.
Artists defamiliarize the ordinary to make audiences see it anew.
Privileging structure over substance
- automatizationMaking processes self-operating
- habituationDiminished reaction over time
- foregroundingMaking textual features prominent
Disturbingly incongruous
- unsettlingCausing unease or discomfort
- disorientingCausing loss of direction
- subversiveSeeking to undermine authority
- destabilizingCausing loss of equilibrium
disconcerting · jolting · bewildering · confounding · disruptive · challenging · provocative · disordering
Innovative cultural pioneers
- experimentalTesting new methods
- unconventionalDeparting from standard practice
- surrealistCreator of dreamlike art
- absurdistBeliever in cosmic meaninglessness
modernist · postmodern · Brechtian · epic theater · metafiction · collage · montage · juxtaposition
State of being isolated
- disconnectionState of being severed
- distancingCreating space or separation
- detachmentSeparation or emotional uninvolvement
- displacementRemoval from usual location
strangeness · otherness · disorientation · remoteness · apartness · dissociation · separation · anomie
Change how something's viewed
- recontextualizeAssign new interpretive frame
- reconceiveRethink from the ground up
- reimagineEnvision in altered form
- fresh perspectiveChanged way of seeing
formalism
Privileging structure over substance
- automatizationMaking processes self-operating
- habituationDiminished reaction over time
- foregroundingMaking textual features prominent
jarring
Disturbingly incongruous
- unsettlingCausing unease or discomfort
- disorientingCausing loss of direction
- subversiveSeeking to undermine authority
destabilizing · disconcerting · jolting · bewildering · confounding · disruptive · challenging · provocative · disordering · upending
avant-garde
Innovative cultural pioneers
- experimentalTesting new methods
- unconventionalDeparting from standard practice
- surrealistCreator of dreamlike art
absurdist · modernist · postmodern · Brechtian · epic theater · metafiction · collage · montage · juxtaposition · fragmentation
alienation
State of being isolated
- disconnectionState of being severed
- distancingCreating space or separation
- detachmentSeparation or emotional uninvolvement
displacement · strangeness · otherness · disorientation · remoteness · apartness · dissociation · separation · anomie · disaffection
reframe
Change how something's viewed
- recontextualizeAssign new interpretive frame
- reconceiveRethink from the ground up
- reimagineEnvision in altered form
defamiliarizenormalize
Make regular or standard
familiarize · naturalize · habituate · accustom · domesticate
defamiliarizeconventionalize
Make traditional or standard
standardize · smooth over · naturalize · simplify · streamline