EV002: What Is ‘Idiology’?
Art and Politics in the 21st Century.
This event concluded on May 22, 2025.
This special event with J.F. Martel on Thursday, May 22, 2025, at 8 p.m. EDT, marks the release of the second edition of J.F. Martel’s Reclaiming Art in the Age of Artifice, published by Basic Books, imprint of Hachette Book Group.
Available in a beautiful trade paperback, the new edition features an introduction from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Donna Tartt and a new afterword by the author. There is also an unabridged audiobook available, read by J.F. Martel.
In this presentation, J.F. will examine how the book’s central ideas intersect with the political landscape of the 21st century. He argues that art—like the Alps—is fundamentally apolitical, yet it exerts profound political effects. The title’s neologism, “idiology,” refers to the figure of the idiot in Dostoevsky’s sense: a person who sees through ideology into the Real.
Join us as we explore the psychic forces that shape the world, mythologies as symbol complexes, the political usefulness of prophets, the spirit of play versus the spirit of work, and creativity as freedom’s most primal expression.
Schedule
This event concluded on May 22, 2025. Registering for an event after its conclusion grants you access to the video recording in Event Materials.
Instructor Bio
J.F. Martel is a Canadian author, filmmaker, lecturer, and cultural critic known for his work on the arts, philosophy, and the uncanny. With a background in film production and an interest in metaphysics, Martel explores the intersections of creativity and the ineffable, challenging conventional boundaries of understanding. He is best known for his book Reclaiming Art in the Age of Artifice, which argues for the intrinsic value of art beyond commodification and utilitarianism. Martel’s writings often appear in various publications, where he discusses the spiritual and existential dimensions of culture. As a filmmaker, he has directed several documentaries and short films. Through his work, Martel invites audiences to reconsider their perceptions of reality and embrace the mysteries that lie beneath the surface of the workaday world. He co-hosts the Weird Studies podcast with the music historian Phil Ford.