Today, prominent artists no longer fear persecution, and their works are valued at thousands or even millions of dollars. But for many, anonymity has become a principle, a manifesto and an important part of their image. Often, a pseudonym becomes a part of creativity or a spectacular hoax, which has always been a popular creative technique. 

But how and why do artists, writers and musicians hide their identities? Why do they want to mislead us? In a joint project by The Village Ukraine and Hennessy, we look at this phenomenon in more detail.

The first anonymous masters were in the distant past, so their names, real or fictitious, simply did not come down to us. The tradition of working under a pseudonym has also been known for hundreds of years. The motives can be different: a fictitious name can reflect the author's ideas, facts from his or her biography, or simply sound more beautiful than the real name. Sometimes a fictitious name has to be taken under pressure from circumstances: gender stereotypes (Georges Sand), political persecution (Alexander Green), or the need to stand out among your namesake. For example, Chekhov had dozens of fictitious names, and Romain Gary, thanks to his pseudonym, became the only writer to win the Goncourt Prize twice - under his real name and as Emile Azhar.

With the development of technology, a pseudonym is no longer enough to maintain incognito. Many contemporary artists avoid appearing in public, hiding from cameras and not giving interviews - for example, the soloists of the popular 90s band Enigma did this. Others go further and make a hidden face a part of their stage persona: Daft Punk musicians wearing helmets, DJ Marshmello wearing a marshmallow mask, or guitar virtuoso Buckethead with a KFC bucket on his head.

Unnamedness, impersonality is one of the leading themes in the works of Martin Margiela, a prominent deconstructivist designer. There are no names or logos on the tags of his clothes, the faces of his models are hidden by various masks, and his first fragrance was released under the name Untitled. Martin himself also does not appear in public, even after he left the management of the brand.

Contemporary artists also often address the theme of anonymity and masks. Gillian Wearing, one of the key representatives of British art, presented a series of self-portraits in silicone masks of her own relatives in her project Album. The duo of artists Broomberg & Chanarin collected balaclavas as a symbol of privacy protection and counteracting state repression. In the project Checking Invoices, a stylist and a photographer appear on the streets in fashionable outfits with their faces hidden.

Anonymity is a special tradition of street artists. Here, hiding your face and signing with a pseudonym is the first rule. From the very beginning, street art was a provocative and rebellious genre. Anonymity is a way of avoiding responsibility because the works of such artists usually deal with complex social and political topics, and harsh criticism of society is hidden behind humor and vivid imagery. Anonymity also works in favor of freedom of expression.

The most famous example of a street artist is the artist who goes by the name Banksy. He is also the most expensive and most mysterious. There is still only speculation about his identity. It is believed that the artist was born in Bristol, according to one version his name is Robert, or Robin Banks, according to another - Robin Cunningham. Banksy's stencil graphics have a sharp social connotation. The artist has many imitators around the world, and some of his works cost more than a million dollars. The most famous example is "Girl with a Balloon", which was sold last year at Sotheby's for a million pounds. Immediately after the sale, the work self-destructed using a shredder built into its frame.

Belgian artist ROA also does not reveal his name and does not give interviews on camera. His works are black and white images of animals, fish and birds. Sad and even creepy, they make us think about the fate of wildlife and the destructive activities of humanity. JR is a French artist who combines photography and street art. For example, in his Portraits of a Generation project, he placed black-and-white portraits of low-income suburbanites on the streets of Paris. Another work by Face 2 Face is a series of photographs of Israelis and Palestinians facing each other. They are placed in Palestinian and Israeli cities and on both sides of the Israeli separation barrier.

However, not all artists are inclined to criticize and condemn society. Alec Monopoly is the son of a successful financier and the author of the famous character with a moustache and a cane from the economic game. The theme of money is one of the leading ones in his works. He does not show his face, but he does not condemn capitalism. On the contrary, he successfully collaborates with Swiss watch and car brands.

Felipe Pantone is an artist who explores modern technology in his work. "I hide my face so that when people search for me on Google, they see my projects, not me. It makes a lot more sense than the appearance I didn't choose," says the artist. Pantone is the author of the world's largest graffiti in the form of a QR code, as well as the Configurable Art project, in which anyone can become a co-author of an artist and create a work using an online constructor. Pantone also created the Hennessy installation, consisting of one hundred fragments of different shapes.

The artist under the creative pseudonym Kinder Album (in honor of the "Children's Album" by musician Sergey Kuryokhin) shares her thoughts: "It's convenient when people don't know you by sight. You don't have to dress up for social events, don't have to do photo shoots, don't have to say hello to your Facebook friends, and don't even age because no one has seen you when you were young. She notes that anonymity gives you freedom. Other people are met "by their clothes," while she is met by her work. She also had two street art projects for which anonymity was required for security reasons.

Every artist has their own reasons for hiding their name, and we should respect them. To paraphrase Andy Warhol, we can say that everyone has the right to their own 15 minutes of anonymity.