Berlin, January 28th 2008 – Signature, Event,
Context
"No name. No memory today of yesterday's name; of today's name, tomorrow. If the name is the thing; if a name in us is the concept of everything placed outside of us; and without a name you don't have the concept, and the thing remains in us as if blind, indistinct and undefined well then, let each carve this name that I bore among men, a funeral epigraph, on the brow of that image in which I appeared to him, and then leave it in peace, and let there be no more talk about it. It is fitting for the dead. For those who have concluded. I am alive and I do not conclude. Life does not conclude. And life knows nothing of names. This tree, tremulous pulse of new leaves. I am this tree. Tree, cloud; tomorrow book or wind: the book I read, the wind I drink. All outside, wandering.” - L. Pirandello
Jaz sem JANEZ JANŠA
My name is JANEZ JANŠA is a project introduced during the exhibition CONSPIRE, which was part of the transmediale.08, the historical Berlin festival of digital arts. [ed. The next one will take place from 31. Jan to 4. Feb 2019].
You can easily guess... It turned to be quite an interesting issue to talk about at the time.
Out of a sudden, Slovenia has Janez Janša no. 1, the Prime Minister, Janez Janša no. 2 (Davide Grassi), no. 3 (Emil Hrvatin) and no. 4 (Žiga Kariž), dominating the same physical and media scenario.
Out of a sudden, Slovenia has Janez Janša no. 1, the Prime Minister, Janez Janša no. 2 (Davide Grassi), no. 3 (Emil Hrvatin) and no. 4 (Žiga Kariž), dominating the same physical and media scenario.
The three artists started this project mainly to investigate the meaning
of the self in connection with the process of art.
The choice to take
the name of the Prime Minister was for sure unconventional and a debate in the
art society and in the media system was inevitable: What was its
purpose? A political criticism? A mere provocation or an active support of the
three artists to the SDS-Party? Who knows?
The choice to take
the name of the Prime Minister was for sure unconventional and a debate in the
art society and in the media system was inevitable: What was its
purpose? A political criticism? A mere provocation or an active support of the
three artists to the SDS-Party? Who knows?
Since the Prime Minister had a slogan “The more of us there are, the faster we
will reach the goal”.
The first assumption about this choice was that it was a kind of
provocation. The three artists basically interpreted his motto literally, as if
the prime minister by saying “the more of us ” was meaning his person X millions. Like joining the party to study the enemy from the inside. Though, they have never declared it as a political act.
It was, then, in 2008 that the three artists started a daily correspondence in the newspaper Dnevnik under their new names - that of Janez Janša - talking about different kinds of topics. The funny thing was that they were "indirectly expressing left-wing opinions in the name of a right-wing prime minister".
It was, then, in 2008 that the three artists started a daily correspondence in the newspaper Dnevnik under their new names - that of Janez Janša - talking about different kinds of topics. The funny thing was that they were "indirectly expressing left-wing opinions in the name of a right-wing prime minister".
This project also helps to shed some light on the concept of identity in relation to art.
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
A name is how we define things and ... it could be any name - as Shakespeare and "its famous rose" teach. In the world of art the name does play a role, in particular for an artist.
As an artist, your name is working as a brand on the market. By changing their names, they are deliberatly choosing to take the distance from the system. And the performance finally becomes the real protagonist.
However - in this case - it doesn't work like that. The importance of the name chosen - that of the Prime Minister - put them in a category and we consider them according to this category. Again, the definition becomes the name and the attention of the people is one more time focused on the name and not on the performence itself.
Practising art without defining it commercially could lead the artist to break the rules and to create something which goes beyond a limit: names.
Well, there is much more to discuss about.. but it will be for another time ;)
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
A name is how we define things and ... it could be any name - as Shakespeare and "its famous rose" teach. In the world of art the name does play a role, in particular for an artist.
As an artist, your name is working as a brand on the market. By changing their names, they are deliberatly choosing to take the distance from the system. And the performance finally becomes the real protagonist.
However - in this case - it doesn't work like that. The importance of the name chosen - that of the Prime Minister - put them in a category and we consider them according to this category. Again, the definition becomes the name and the attention of the people is one more time focused on the name and not on the performence itself.
Practising art without defining it commercially could lead the artist to break the rules and to create something which goes beyond a limit: names.
Well, there is much more to discuss about.. but it will be for another time ;)
