Ana Petrović
visual artist
Ana Petroviches
different dimensions (approx. 21 x 29 cm), ink jet print laminated on paperboard, lacquered wood, 2010 / series of 48
Ane Petrović
različite dimenzije (cca. 21 x 29 cm), ink jet print kaširano na ljepenku, lakirano drvo, 2010. / serija od 48
Ista imena različitih osoba nalazi se na jednom mjestu, zalijepljene na četrdeset i osam različitih drvenih okvira. Prikupljene 2009. godine, fotografije žena, djevojaka i djevojčica ne liče ni na koji način jedna na drugu i unatoč tomu ih je bilo moguće pronaći, prikupiti i staviti na jedan zid, čak i tih razvojnih godina društvenih mreža.
Imenovanje je opći proces i ne postoji niti jedna poznata ljudska zajednica koja ne poznaje imena [1]. No, neka se imena više koriste. Prema statistice iz 2018. Petrović je top dvanaesto prezime u Hrvatskoj. Tomu možemo pridodati da je ime Ana najpopularnije ime u Hrvata u posljednjih stotinu godina, odmah iza Marija. I to samo u Hrvatskoj, ima nas svugdje- Rusija, cijeli Balkan, ponešto se prosulo čak do S.A.D.-a. No, kada pokrenem Google pretragu imena trenutno ne postoji Ana Petrović koja bi nas sve zasjenila. Iako se to može svakog trenutka promijeniti- jedna od nas mogla bi učiniti nešto uistinu užasno i time zauvijek promijeniti naše živote u ovoj digitalnoj eri. U moru potpuno bizarnih priča o imenima bitno je izdvojiti barem jednu. U ovom slučaju ćemo razmatrati Bretta Kavanagha (bez „u“), prodavača po vokaciji iz S.A.D-a[2]. Kada je Brett Kavanaugh (sa „u“) bio nominiran za Ustavni sud prvom Brettu je bilo upućeno nekoliko dobronamjernih šala od strane kolega i prijatelja. No, kada se sudac Brett našao usred skandala seksualnog nasilja stvari su se promijenile. Brett, trgovac, imao je problema na poslu, nerado je izgovarao svoje ime i prezime, postalo mu je teško raditi svoj posao a na društvenim mrežama je počeo primati zlonamjerne poruke od ljudi koji su ga zamijenili za drugog Bretta. Tada mu je palo na pamet požaliti se na Twitteru: „Ovo je grozno vrijeme za zvati se Brett Kavanagh.“ Osim što je twitt postao instantno viralan počeli su mu se pridruživati drugi sa intimnim znanjem o težini koje vlastito ime može nositi.
Dakle, kao i mnogi, vjerojatno svakoga dana stojim sekundu od potpune katastrofe jer kako Platon kaže, postoji prirodna veza između predmeta i riječi[3]. Dodatni dokaz tomu bi bili svi roditelji koji su uložili veto pri odabiru imena djeteta ukoliko poznaju osobu sa istim imenom koja im se ne sviđa. Ako pak, uzmemo u obzir da postoji ograničeni broj imena i da ih ipak neki ljudi moraju dijeliti potencijalno rješenje ovog starog problema sa novim posljedicama bi bilo kontekstualiziranje imena sa biografijom. Kao naprimjer, vlastito ime „Adolf Hitler“ označava određenu osobu, Hitlera, njemačkog diktatora. Wittgenstein, semantičar, jezične izraze uspoređuje sa šahovskim igraćim figurama; ograničeni pravilima koja utvrđuju njihove naredne poteze. Ako je Wittgenstein u pravu mi onda dijelimo nešto što je u istom trenutku vrlo značajno i potpuno bezvrijedno- tih nekoliko zajedničkih slogova koje toliko često pišemo na papir. Zato, sve što mogu jest ispričati se za sve što ću možda napraviti našoj prošloj, sadašnjoj i budućoj grupi.
[1] Enciklopedija.hr/onomastika (http://www.enciklopedija.hr/natuknica.aspx?ID=45175)
[2] Quarizy- „The Perils of Sharing a Name with someone very, very famous“, Natasha Frost, 26.10.2018. (https://qz.com/quartzy/1434524/the-perils-of-sharing-a-name-with-someone-very-very-famous/)
[3] Platon, Kratil
Same names of different people are in one place, glued to forty-eight different wooden frames. Collected in 2009, the photographs of women and girls do not resemble each other in any way, and yet they were found, collected and placed on one wall, even in those early, developing social network years.
Naming is a universal process and there is no known human community that does not use names [1]. But, some names are used more often. According to the 2018 statistics, Petrovich is the twelfth most common name in Croatia. To this we can add that the name Ana is the most popular name among Croats in the last hundred years, just after Marija. And that’s only in Croatia; we are everywhere – Russia, the entire Balkans, some even spilled over to the U.S.A.[2] But when I start a Google name search, there is currently no Ana Petrovich who would overshadow us all. Although this can change at any moment – one of us could do something truly horrible and change our lives forever in this digital age. In a sea of completely bizarre stories, it is important to single out at least one. In this case, we will consider Brett Kavanagh (without “u”), a US salesman. When Brett Kavanaugh (with a “u”) was nominated for the Constitutional Court, the first Brett received a couple of light well-meaning jokes from colleagues and friends. But when Judge Brett found himself in the midst of a sexual assault scandal, things changed. Brett, the merchant, had problems at work, was reluctant to say his name, it became difficult for him to do his job, and began receiving malicious messages on social networks from people who mistook him for the other Brett. That was the moment when he complained on Twitter: “This is a terrible time to be called Brett Kavanagh.” Not only did his tweet become instantly viral, but others began to join him with an intimate knowledge of the weight that names can carry.
So, like many, every day I am probably poised moments away from complete disaster because, as Plato says, there is a natural connection between matter and words[3]. Further proof of this would be all the parents who vetoed a choice of their child’s name if they knew a namesake they did not like. If, however, we consider that there are a limited number of names and some people have to share them, a potential solution to this old problem with new consequences would be to contextualize the name with a biography. For example, Adolf Hitler’s name denotes a certain person, Hitler, a German dictator. Wittgenstein, a semiotician, compares language expressions to chess figures; limited by the rules that determine their next moves. If Wittgenstein is right, then we are sharing something that is at the same moment very significant and completely worthless – several common syllables that we write so often on paper. So all I can do is apologize in advance to our past, present and future group for anything I might do.
[1] Encyclopedia.hr/onomastika (http://www.enciklopedija.hr/natuknica.aspx?ID=45175)
[2] Quarizy- „The Perils of Sharing a Name with someone very, very famous“, Natasha Frost, 26.10.2018.
[3] Platon, Cratylus
