For this first seminar we will concentrate on the figure of the Fool, the conditions of laughter, and states of stupidity. The Fool will be explored as a poetical figure that, through a range of practices, from clowning to delirious festivity, locates us on the edge of knowledge. As Georges Bataille suggests, laughter relates us explicitly to the unknown, interrupting knowledge, and the capacity of the Master, with its forceful vibration. We will follow the Fool into states of delirium and intoxication, considering a number of artists and creative expressions, including Joseph Beuys and gestures of the shaman, Hélène Cixous’ hysterical writings, and Charlie Chaplin and his performances of the tramp. The Fool will open up the poetic as being deeply tied to experiences of radical idiocy.
Bibliography:
Avital Ronell, Stupidity.
Georges Bataille, The Unfinished System of Nonknowledge
Hélène Cixous, “The Laugh of the Medusa”; AngstJean-Jacques Lecercle, Philosophy through the looking glass