The Artist Persona

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to introduce persona studies and development, and apply this development to the performance and visual artist. This will be done through psychological and philosophical theories, comparisons on the subject, and through discussion regarding the possible motivations and reasons behind persona development. Some of the terminology addressed within this thesis includes role theory, type theory and aesthetic theory. This thesis will relate to the classical definition of the word persona, and apply it to the current understanding of the word. Within this thesis, there will be a differentiation between three types of persona development: those developed through physical transformation, those developed through adopting a different name or names and those developed through both physical transformation and name adoption. Historical accounts of visual and performance artists will be discussed at length to showcase the historical development of the artist persona and to demonstrate the ways this development has evolved with the utilization of new technologies. Through these evolutions, it will be shown that persona development has shifted from something rare and unknown by the public to something more accepted (and even expected), and also utilized by the public. This shift in dynamics will be highlighted by addressing the evolution of technological vessels utilized to develop and enhance one's persona and by discussing marketing and branding strategies, with the spectator in mind. It will also discuss the advantages and disadvantages to persona development, and apply these to the performance and visual artist, as well as to the layperson. This thesis will be drawing from various sources that are well versed in performance art, postmodern theory, branding and marketing development, or technological advancements. Within these sources, there appears to be a lack of connective tissue binding these categories together under persona development, which this thesis hopes to achieve.