Janez Janša, Janez Janša and Janez Janša

Janez Janša, Janez Janša and Janez Janša – Signature
A+A | Centro Espositivo Pubblico Sloveno
15 March – 3 April 2011
On 15th March 2011, the A+A | Centro Espositivo Pubblico Sloveno in Venice – will have the pleasure to host the joint project of the Slovenian Artists Janez Janša, Janez Janša and Janez Janša, entitled Signature.

In 2007, after all the severe bureaucratic procedures, the authors changed their name in Janez Janša, the Slovenian Prime Minister in charge at the time. From that moment on, all their works and all the issues of their public and private lives were signed with this name.

The exhibition focuses on the authorship and on the central role that the artist plays in the art pieces. What’s the meaning of creating an art piece in our society? How can the artist establish himself, as his works are disputed between society, institutions, market and its influences? Who is the one that can finally see his works acknowledged? These and
other themes are faced in 27 paintings assembled in 9 triptych and created by the artist Viktor Bernik. Each one of them portrays the signature »Janez Janša«, in black acrylic on a white background.

But the author of the work is not Viktor Bernik. The authors of the art projects are Janez Janša, Janez Janša and Janez Janša, that is, the artists that commissioned the triptychs and set their signature at the right, in the bottom of each painting.

In the first triptych the three paintings are signed by the artist Janez Janša. The second triptych is signed by another Janez Janša, obviously the signature, even if formally different, also reads Janez Janša. The third one instead is signed by the artist that now uses Janez Janša only as pseudonym.

The fourth triptych is signed by the artists themselves with homographic signatures, but different from the formal and content point of view.

One of the Janez Janša has changed his name in November 2008. The other one was born in Italy as Davide Grassi. This is the same for the third Janez Janša that in Croatia is named Emil Hrvatin.

For this reason, the triptych cycle with their signature variations does not end with the fourth triptych. The fifth indeed is signed Emil Hrvatin, the sixth Davide Grassi and the seventh by Žiga Kariž. The eight is signed by the three of them with their names of baptism Emil Hrvatin, Davide Grassi and Žiga Kariž, names with whom the three have operated before
changing their personal name.

The last triptych is an official Slovenian triptych, his legitimacy is recognized by the registry office in Slovenian Republic. It is signed by Janez Janša, Janez Janša and Žiga Kariž.

The purpose of Signature is to reflect on the role of the inventor of the project, between him and the one that realizes the work. The artists ask themselves who is the author: is the one who created the work, or the artist who signed it? And consequently, who is the one that signs the work: is Hrvatin the same author as Grassi, as they set the signature Janez Janša? The tension created between signatures/images and signature/acronyms refers to the authorship of the pieces, but also to the copyright. The exhibition will be open until April 3rd 2011.