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Reading Room #6 | NAME Readymade

Janez Janša, Janez Janša, Janez Janša 002199616 (Identity Card), Ljubljana, 2007. Courtesy: Aksioma – Institute for Contemporary Art, Ljubljana Janez Janša, Janez Janša, Janez Janša 002199341 (Identity Card), Ljubljana, 2007. Courtesy: Aksioma – Institute for Contemporary Art, Ljubljana Janez Janša, Janez Janša, Janez Janša 002293264 (Identity Card), Ljubljana, 2007 (Original lost; 2nd version). Courtesy: Aksioma – Institute for Contemporary Art, Ljubljana

A seminar with Janez Jansa
Chair of debate: Dobrila Denegri
Produced By Aksioma - Institute for Contemporary Art, Ljubljana
Supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia the Municipality of Ljubljana

March 11th, 2011 at 6.30pm
Nomas Foundation, viale Somalia, 33 Rome

On the occasion of the sixth appointment of the Reading Room, which this year concentrates on initiatives established by artists for artists, Nomas Foundation presents NAME Readymade a seminar with Janez Jansa
A personal name is a label used by people to differentiate a specific subject from others. But, just how personal is a personal name if it mainly has a public function and what does a personal name mean – in terms of brand – in the contemporary neo-liberal society?
What does it mean for a public figure to give up his established brand and continue his career with a brand-new name? Does the multiplication of the personal name as a signifier lead to the disappearance of the original referent or does it rather contribute to the popularity and the diffusion of that name?
NAME Readymade is a project about “name changing” and the consequences of this gesture perpetrated by three Slovenian artists, who in 2007 officially – with all the papers and stamps required – changed their names to that of the then prime minister of Slovenia Janez Janša. Since then, all of their works have been signed under this name and their private and their public affairs have also been conducted under the same.
During the lecture, Janez Jansa will take you through a series of artistic, political, administrative and media actions performed by the three artists with a particular focus on their personal exhibition entitled NAME Readymade in which all of their valid personal documents have been put on display, raising contradictions, paradoxes, tensions, legal and practical questions.

Janez Janša is a conceptual artist performer and producer who lives and works in Ljubljana, Slovenia. His works explore political and social topics and are characterized by a cross-media approach. He is the co-founder of the artistic production centre Aksioma – Institute for Contemporary Art, Ljubljana. His artworks have been shown at Manifesta 4, ZKM Karlsruhe, National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation - Tokyo, at ARCO - Madrid, ARs Electronica - Linz and in other international art spaces. He holds talks and seminars in different universities and cultural institutes around the world.


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