Editing Anonymity (section)

==Anonymity and pseudonymity in art==
Anonymity is directly related to the concept of [[obscurantism]] or [[pseudonymity]], where an artist or a group attempts to remain anonymous, for various reasons such as adding an element of mystique to themselves or their work, attempting to avoid what is known as the "[[cult of personality]]" or [[Apotheosis|hero worship]] (in which the [[charisma]], good looks, wealth or other unrelated or mildly related aspects of the people is the main reason for interest in their work, rather than the work itself) or to break into a field or area of interest normally dominated by males (as by the famous [[science fiction]] author [[James Tiptree, Jr]] who was actually a woman named Alice Bradley Sheldon, and likely [[JT LeRoy]]). Some seem to want to avoid the "limelight" of popularity and to live private lives, such as [[Thomas Pynchon]], [[J.&nbsp;D. Salinger]], [[De Onbekende Beeldhouwer]] (an anonymous sculptor whose exhibited work in [[Amsterdam]] attracted strong attention in the 1980s and 1990s<ref>Depictions, text in Dutch [http://www.buitenbeeldinbeeld.nl/Amsterdam_C/borst.htm Retrieved 23 June 2017.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101101115146/http://www.buitenbeeldinbeeld.nl/Amsterdam_C/borst.htm |date=1 November 2010 }}</ref>), and by DJ duo [[Daft Punk]] (1993-2021). For street artist [[Banksy]], "anonymity is vital to him because graffiti is illegal".<ref name="spray">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2003/jul/17/art.artsfeatures|title=Something to spray|last=Hattenstone|first=Simon|date=17 July 2003|work=The Guardian|access-date=29 January 2018|location=UK}}</ref>

Anonymity has been used in music by avant-garde ensemble [[The Residents]], [[Jandek]] (until 2004), costumed comedy rock band [[The Radioactive Chicken Heads]], and DJs [[Deadmau5]] (1998–present) and [[Marshmello]] (2015–present).

This is frequently applied in fiction, from [[The Lone Ranger]], [[Superman]], and [[Batman]], where a hidden identity is assumed.