The Residents

The Residents are an avantgarde music and visual arts group. They started performing in the early 1970s and released their first album in 1974. They are best known for the fact that they have never revealed their identity nor any other information about themselves and their private life. Since 1978 they wear characteristical eyeball and skull masks while performing on stage. It is, therefore, impossible to tell if the present members of the group are the same ones who started the project.

The reason for keeping their indentities secret is the belief that the artist has to be completely isolated from his audience and his fans. Otherwise he or she might be put under pressure or influenced in such a way that might render all artistic efforts useless. This might be seen as a way of protesting against the way popular music and culture have evolved in the late twentieth century, where the artist and his personality have reached a cult status and have gradually become more important than the contents and the form of his work.

Links:
http://www.residents.com -- RzWeb
http://www.smelly-tongues.com -- Unofficial Fanclub

/Talk