Essay
Dostoevsky’s "The Idiot" as a Cultural Artifact and an Object of Deconstruction in a Psychoanalytic Perspective
The text is based on a report presented at a Conference at the Mikhail Shemyakin Center, St. Petersburg, 2025
Artist Statement for the Project “3D Idiot”
In 2022, Fyodor Dostoevsky’s books were effectively excluded from Western cultural circulation under the guise of political sanction. This gesture was not merely censorship—it was an attempt to erase an entire stratum of thought once hailed as “world literary classics.”
The project “3D Idiot” responds to this ban not through polemics, but through form. Rather than defending the text, I propose its transformation: the book is no longer read—it is seen.
Drawing on the methods of deconstruction (Jacques Derrida) and the logic of structural psychoanalysis (Jacques Lacan), I interpret the ban as a form-generating act. Just as the incest taboo in the psyche does not produce emptiness but gives rise to a complex symbolic structure, so too does the cultural prohibition of Dostoevsky provoke not disappearance, but the emergence of a new figure of the book.
The Idiot is a novel about holy kindness—misunderstood and rejected by the world. Under conditions of prohibition, the book itself becomes the “idiot”: a bearer of truth no one wishes to hear. Its “madness” lies in its refusal to submit to the logic of cultural silence.
In the project, every page of the novel is folded into a sharp, origami-like form. The text remains visible—but unreadable. Meaning is displaced by gesture. The reader gives way to the viewer. Sequential pages are replaced by a spatial unfolding. The title acquires the prefix “3D”—not only denoting volume, but also the three dimensions of the book’s existence: the historical (Dostoevsky), the material (paper, form), and the contemporary (the artist as witness).
“3D Idiot” asserts: art cannot be banned. It can only be forced to change. And it is in this transformation that its power resides.
The 3D Idiot project: when a ban turns text into a form.
1. Trajectories of the Object’s Transition into the Postmodern Cultural Field
The art object “3D Idiot” is a book translated into a new dimension. Under the pressure of contemporaneity and cultural-political shifts, Dostoevsky’s novel acquires a new form by employing methods characteristic of postmodernism. At its core, postmodernism operates through negation—not destruction, but transformation. It allows us to uncover hidden structures within what appears “familiar,” “well-known,” or “obvious”—that is, within the stereotype.
One of the key instruments of such rethinking is Jacques Derrida’s deconstruction. It aims to destabilize fixed meanings and reveal the elements that sustain an object’s stereotypical coherence. When such an object—for example, Dostoevsky’s book—is placed into a new context (in this case, a situation of cultural prohibition), its structure becomes deformed, exposing its own foundational supports.
Jacques Lacan’s theory of structural psychoanalysis helps outline possible trajectories of this transformation. If we consider a cultural object as a subject formed according to specific laws, its response to external pressure can be anticipated—provided this pressure aligns with the logic of psychoanalytic mechanisms. In our case, the point of intersection is the logic of prohibition.
In 2022, Western cultural institutions effectively announced a ban on Russian classics, including Dostoevsky’s works. In Lacanian theory, the prohibition of the incestuous object (the mother) is not merely a restriction but a form-generating act: it produces a lack, which in turn initiates a process of symbolic creativity and psychic structuration. Similarly, the ban on Dostoevsky can be read not as annihilation, but as an invitation to create a new, more complex form.
2. Analysis of the Book as a Cultural Construct
The ban on Russian culture—however brief and unofficial—triggered a powerful reaction, not so much political as aesthetic. Dostoevsky’s books, especially The Idiot, became focal points precisely because they are not just literature, but a cultural stereotype: “difficult,” “gloomy,” “profound,” “challenging to understand.” This stereotype makes them an ideal object for deconstruction: it is simultaneously stable and vulnerable.
The book can be conceptualized as a construct composed of the following elements:
– cover,
– pages,
– title,
– text as a system of signs,
– content as the transmission of meaning,
– author (Dostoevsky as a figure),
– reader,
– stereotype (“Dostoevsky’s book” as a cultural code).
Traditionally, the reader enters into dialogue with the text—agreeing, arguing, interpreting. But it is precisely the reader who binds all these elements into a unified whole. Remove the reader, and the book ceases to function as a cultural object.
3. The Logic of Prohibition in Structural Psychoanalysis
In psychoanalysis, prohibition is not mere denial, but a cultural law that deprives the subject of direct access to the desired object (classically, the mother). This loss generates a lack, which becomes the driving force of symbolic creativity. The subject begins to seek substitutions, construct metaphors, and complicate their internal structure.
Analogously, the ban on Dostoevsky creates a cultural lack. But rather than disappearing, the object strives for transformation—it seeks new modes of existence. It is here that the process of deconstruction begins.
4. Dismantling the Reader and the Production of Lack
If the ban targets Russian culture, its direct addressee is the reader—as the representative of contemporaneity capable of receiving and transmitting this cultural code. Deprived of the reader, the book loses its function. Deconstruction thus begins with the dismantling of this very element.
In psychoanalytic logic, the loss of an object does not lead to emptiness but triggers a process of reconfiguration. Elements within the construct begin to shift functions, occupy new positions, and form different connections.
5. The Structure of the “Reader” Object
The reader engages with a text that exists simultaneously in two registers:
– the Imaginary, as a description of the world,
– the Symbolic, as the conveyance of meaning.
Accordingly, the reader’s function is dual: they read (working with meaning) and see (perceiving form). This duality can be expressed as a split into two objects: the reader and the viewer.
6. Redistribution of Functions Among Objects
When the function of reading is suspended, the viewer comes to the fore. No longer deciphering meaning, they perceive form. In place of content emerges the artist’s gesture—an affect materialized by the prohibition. This gesture carries the energy of resistance, not destruction: in Lacanian logic, affect subordinated to the Law is directed not toward annihilating the source of prohibition, but toward complicating one’s own structure.
Crucially, acceptance of the Law is not the same as agreement with it. The artist does not justify the ban but incorporates it into their system in order to generate a new form from within. This is the essence of the postmodern response: art cannot be prohibited—it will always find a way to respond.
7. Assembling Materials for the New Structure of the Book
As a result of deconstruction, new objects emerge:
– the artist’s gesture (in the form of affect),
– the viewer.
The following elements remain:
– pages with text,
– the title The Idiot,
– the stereotype of the “difficult book.”
The author’s function is now partially transferred to the artist: Dostoevsky becomes an ally and observer, but no longer the sole source of meaning. The cover loses its significance—after all, the viewer does not “enter” the book as a reader does, but perceives it as a whole. Sequential reading is no longer necessary: the book can be disassembled to be seen all at once.
8. The Stereotypical Signifier as a Form-Giving Object
The stereotype of the “difficult book” acquires a literal meaning: the book becomes physically folded. The wordplay between “difficult” (slozhnaya) and “folded” (slozhen-naya)—similar in sound but distinct in meaning—opens onto a new signifier. This slippage guides the choice of artistic technique: origami, in which a sheet of paper is folded into a new form while retaining the recognizability of its original material.
9. Form-Giving of Affect Through the Signifier
The affect produced by prohibition is associated with something sharp, stinging, aggressive. The origami technique allows each page of the book to be transformed into a pointed figure—simultaneously threatening and fragile. The text remains visible but unreadable: meaning is replaced by form. This is the visualization of the impossibility of dialogue under conditions of prohibition.
10. The Book for the Viewer: Reading Form
The new book exists no longer in a linear but in a spatial dimension. All pages, folded into sharp shapes, are arranged sequentially across two planes—as an unfolded “spread” of an installation. Each page directs the gaze toward its tip, where the material crosses into the symbolic: it is there that the artist’s gesture is concentrated.
11. Transformation of the Title
The title The Idiot acquires the prefix 3D—not merely indicating volume. “3D Idiot” signifies:
– “The Idiot in a Cube”—a response to the attempt to “package” and isolate Russian culture;
– the literal embodiment of the book in three-dimensional space;
– the three dimensions of the new book:
Conclusion
“3D Idiot” is not merely a reinterpretation of a classic, but an act of cultural resistance through form. The ban does not destroy the book—it compels it to be reborn. In this new configuration, the reader yields to the viewer, meaning to form, linearity to space. But most importantly: the book remains—not as a text, but as a gesture, a challenge, an object that cannot be ignored.
The art object “3D Idiot” is a book translated into a new dimension. Under the pressure of contemporaneity and cultural-political shifts, Dostoevsky’s novel acquires a new form by employing methods characteristic of postmodernism. At its core, postmodernism operates through negation—not destruction, but transformation. It allows us to uncover hidden structures within what appears “familiar,” “well-known,” or “obvious”—that is, within the stereotype.
One of the key instruments of such rethinking is Jacques Derrida’s deconstruction. It aims to destabilize fixed meanings and reveal the elements that sustain an object’s stereotypical coherence. When such an object—for example, Dostoevsky’s book—is placed into a new context (in this case, a situation of cultural prohibition), its structure becomes deformed, exposing its own foundational supports.
Jacques Lacan’s theory of structural psychoanalysis helps outline possible trajectories of this transformation. If we consider a cultural object as a subject formed according to specific laws, its response to external pressure can be anticipated—provided this pressure aligns with the logic of psychoanalytic mechanisms. In our case, the point of intersection is the logic of prohibition.
In 2022, Western cultural institutions effectively announced a ban on Russian classics, including Dostoevsky’s works. In Lacanian theory, the prohibition of the incestuous object (the mother) is not merely a restriction but a form-generating act: it produces a lack, which in turn initiates a process of symbolic creativity and psychic structuration. Similarly, the ban on Dostoevsky can be read not as annihilation, but as an invitation to create a new, more complex form.
2. Analysis of the Book as a Cultural Construct
The ban on Russian culture—however brief and unofficial—triggered a powerful reaction, not so much political as aesthetic. Dostoevsky’s books, especially The Idiot, became focal points precisely because they are not just literature, but a cultural stereotype: “difficult,” “gloomy,” “profound,” “challenging to understand.” This stereotype makes them an ideal object for deconstruction: it is simultaneously stable and vulnerable.
The book can be conceptualized as a construct composed of the following elements:
– cover,
– pages,
– title,
– text as a system of signs,
– content as the transmission of meaning,
– author (Dostoevsky as a figure),
– reader,
– stereotype (“Dostoevsky’s book” as a cultural code).
Traditionally, the reader enters into dialogue with the text—agreeing, arguing, interpreting. But it is precisely the reader who binds all these elements into a unified whole. Remove the reader, and the book ceases to function as a cultural object.
3. The Logic of Prohibition in Structural Psychoanalysis
In psychoanalysis, prohibition is not mere denial, but a cultural law that deprives the subject of direct access to the desired object (classically, the mother). This loss generates a lack, which becomes the driving force of symbolic creativity. The subject begins to seek substitutions, construct metaphors, and complicate their internal structure.
Analogously, the ban on Dostoevsky creates a cultural lack. But rather than disappearing, the object strives for transformation—it seeks new modes of existence. It is here that the process of deconstruction begins.
4. Dismantling the Reader and the Production of Lack
If the ban targets Russian culture, its direct addressee is the reader—as the representative of contemporaneity capable of receiving and transmitting this cultural code. Deprived of the reader, the book loses its function. Deconstruction thus begins with the dismantling of this very element.
In psychoanalytic logic, the loss of an object does not lead to emptiness but triggers a process of reconfiguration. Elements within the construct begin to shift functions, occupy new positions, and form different connections.
5. The Structure of the “Reader” Object
The reader engages with a text that exists simultaneously in two registers:
– the Imaginary, as a description of the world,
– the Symbolic, as the conveyance of meaning.
Accordingly, the reader’s function is dual: they read (working with meaning) and see (perceiving form). This duality can be expressed as a split into two objects: the reader and the viewer.
6. Redistribution of Functions Among Objects
When the function of reading is suspended, the viewer comes to the fore. No longer deciphering meaning, they perceive form. In place of content emerges the artist’s gesture—an affect materialized by the prohibition. This gesture carries the energy of resistance, not destruction: in Lacanian logic, affect subordinated to the Law is directed not toward annihilating the source of prohibition, but toward complicating one’s own structure.
Crucially, acceptance of the Law is not the same as agreement with it. The artist does not justify the ban but incorporates it into their system in order to generate a new form from within. This is the essence of the postmodern response: art cannot be prohibited—it will always find a way to respond.
7. Assembling Materials for the New Structure of the Book
As a result of deconstruction, new objects emerge:
– the artist’s gesture (in the form of affect),
– the viewer.
The following elements remain:
– pages with text,
– the title The Idiot,
– the stereotype of the “difficult book.”
The author’s function is now partially transferred to the artist: Dostoevsky becomes an ally and observer, but no longer the sole source of meaning. The cover loses its significance—after all, the viewer does not “enter” the book as a reader does, but perceives it as a whole. Sequential reading is no longer necessary: the book can be disassembled to be seen all at once.
8. The Stereotypical Signifier as a Form-Giving Object
The stereotype of the “difficult book” acquires a literal meaning: the book becomes physically folded. The wordplay between “difficult” (slozhnaya) and “folded” (slozhen-naya)—similar in sound but distinct in meaning—opens onto a new signifier. This slippage guides the choice of artistic technique: origami, in which a sheet of paper is folded into a new form while retaining the recognizability of its original material.
9. Form-Giving of Affect Through the Signifier
The affect produced by prohibition is associated with something sharp, stinging, aggressive. The origami technique allows each page of the book to be transformed into a pointed figure—simultaneously threatening and fragile. The text remains visible but unreadable: meaning is replaced by form. This is the visualization of the impossibility of dialogue under conditions of prohibition.
10. The Book for the Viewer: Reading Form
The new book exists no longer in a linear but in a spatial dimension. All pages, folded into sharp shapes, are arranged sequentially across two planes—as an unfolded “spread” of an installation. Each page directs the gaze toward its tip, where the material crosses into the symbolic: it is there that the artist’s gesture is concentrated.
11. Transformation of the Title
The title The Idiot acquires the prefix 3D—not merely indicating volume. “3D Idiot” signifies:
– “The Idiot in a Cube”—a response to the attempt to “package” and isolate Russian culture;
– the literal embodiment of the book in three-dimensional space;
– the three dimensions of the new book:
- the artist’s dimension (contemporaneity),
- the material dimension (paper, form, object),
- the writer’s dimension (historicity, tradition).
Conclusion
“3D Idiot” is not merely a reinterpretation of a classic, but an act of cultural resistance through form. The ban does not destroy the book—it compels it to be reborn. In this new configuration, the reader yields to the viewer, meaning to form, linearity to space. But most importantly: the book remains—not as a text, but as a gesture, a challenge, an object that cannot be ignored.