Ambivalent Emotional Registers of Subversive Affirmation as a Political and Artistic Act: The Janez Janša Project

Abstract

Although emotional registers are often disregarded when it comes to the evaluation of conceptual projects, this article claims that, in the case of the Janez Janša project, which engages procedures of subversive affirmation, it is precisely its affective ambivalence which makes it relevant both artistically and politically. The name change of three artists to the name identical with the name borne by one of Slovenian political dinosaurs, Janez Janša, brought about complex reactions of their families, friends and the artistic context in which they operate. Those affective reactions are deeply relevant for the understanding of this project, which simultaneously attempts and refuses to present itself as artistic; in other words, it articulates itself through its own ambivalence.

Keywords: subversive affirmation, conceptual art, Janez Janša, affect, ambivalence