Tuesday, September 28, 2010
The Power of the Pseudonym
Throughout the entire video, not one artist was introduced by his own name. Whether it was Cap, Daze, Dondi, Frosty Freeze, Kase 2, Seen, Skeme, or Crazy Legs, the names were not the ones they were born with. The use of pseudonyms signified that recognition did not matter to them in the same way as it did (and still does) to "conventional artists." One could argue that the art of graffiti holds more integrity than art in a museum for this reason. On the other side of the coin, one could argue that they are hiding behind a false identity so that their actions don't have any repercussions. Today, the concept of a pseudonym is slightly more complex. In the case of Banksy, the most widely known current "street artist," the public doesn't know his true identity. The pseudonym actually serves a purpose, adding to the mystery that surrounds him and his work. Additionally, there are theories that Banksy is a group of people instead of one man. Either way, the power of the pseudonym is undeniable.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I agree that a pseudonym has significant power. The names that hip-hop artists and graffiti writers choose to act under have the power to become symbols, which can carry far greater power than any individual person. Symbols become easily recognizable and develop their own meanings. They become bigger than the individual. They have the power to invoke emotions (for instance, the swastika caused fear). We talked about how some artists start to market themselves by their real names after being in the spotlight for awhile. I think this is because they reach the point where they, as a person, becomes just as powerful as the symbol that their name represented and so they no longer need to rely on they symbol aka the pseudonym to get their message heard.
ReplyDeleteI think this definitely has a lot to do with what we talked about today in class as far as having an alternative identity in which these pseudonyms ultimately become their "real name". I think this can be true for all sub-cultures not just hip-hop. For instance, punk and metal bands choose their names for reasons and often times have something to do with the message that they are trying to portray.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that pseudonyms are very meaningful. I think, regardless of the specific pseudonym used, that the decision to create a new name for oneself signifies one's discontent with society. Names are a representation of ourselves, but usually an empty representation. By that I mean that they say little about who we are, our beliefs, values, personality. We are forcibly given names before we even possess any beliefs and values. For instance, I was dubbed Marisa by my parents simply because they liked the sound of it. Not to say that there is anything wrong with that. Yet, we are tied to these nonrepresentational names until we are 18 and even then we must go through a process to change it. The fact that you have to go through the government, the foundation of society, to change it may suggest that names can be seen as a symbol of society's oppression of individuality. So, pseudonyms are important to youth subcultures because it's a way to simultaneously reject society and define yourself, something I think most subcultures strive to do.
ReplyDeleteI kind of agree but I also kind of disagree. The power a pseudonym has is not so much in the fact that it masks the person's identity so much as it adds a level of mystery to an already imperceptible figure. Take for example "Soulja Boy" (or however his name is spelled I cannot say I really care), that obviously is not his real name but I do not think the fact that he has that name instead of his actual name makes him any more or less interesting. In fact who has even heard anything from him in the last couple of years? There are tons of other public figures I could cite who have pseudonyms (say, the ENTIRE cast of Jersey Shore) but that does not mean that all these people are enigmas of society whose art or music has mystified people. What makes a pseudonym powerful is not the name, rather it is the actions of that person which are made more mysterious or interesting by their lack of identity.
ReplyDelete