Proper and Improper Names Conference in Ljubljana Explores Identity in the Information Society

The conference 'Proper and Improper Names. Identity in the Information Society' will take place in Ljubljana on October 17-18, curated by Marco Deseriis, author of a 2015 volume on the subject published by University of Minnesota Press. The event investigates identity and authorship in the network era, examining past and present experiences with collective names and fluid identities. It is organized by cultural association Aksioma. Speakers include artist Kristin Sue Lucas, known for legally changing her name to an identical one for her project 'Refresh'; philosopher Gerald Raunig, author of 'Dividuum'; and a screening of Ryan Trecartin's film 'I-Be Area', where multiple characters and voices manifest a single person. Day two features a representative from the Wu-Ming collective and media artist Natalie Bookchin, who explores collective identity through net art and video installations. The conference concludes with the opening of the exhibition 'Janez Janša®' at MSUM Museum of Contemporary Art Metelkova, curated by Domenico Quaranta, an anthology of the eponymous project. The event aims to explore modes of intervention that evade state and market attempts to measure and identify subjects as stable political, biological, and epistemological units.