Although we have addressed the basic interactions between Internet and individual that creates a cyborg, there are more complex real-life cyborgs envisioned by artists as a means for expression and promotion. Cyborg personae in the media range in style from subtle combinations of self with technology to full humanoid robots. MF Doom, whose real name is Daniel Dumile, is well-known for adopting a super-villain mask and stage persona in his music and performances. The mask he wears, a modified Roman Gladiator helmet with a riveted front, combined with his album cover for Doomsday (1999) (named for the villain who kills Superman), indicates a machine component in his performance art. MF Doom’s supervillain persona, which he adopts for his music, culturally identifies with the strength and anonymity of technology for the dissemination of art.
[Born Like This – DOOM’s 2009 album]
Daft Punk, also noted for their superhuman stage persona, wear robotic helmets in performance that both conceal their identity and create cyborg identities. Culturally, the popularity of Daft Punk indicates that their fans and listeners identify with the hi-tech, cyberpunk elements of their performance art (which also extends to their music – they were made famous in the U.S. by a song called “Technologic”).
Their combination of human body and technology provides anonymity and adds a subtle anti-establishment tone to their performances and music. In choosing to wear their masks, Daft Punk is able to criticize culture from the perspective of outsider cyborgs.
Rammellzee, who died in June 2010, was noted for wearing armor in his everyday life of found-object pieces of metal, technology, and Japanese samurai equipment. His Transformers-like persona would influence such mainstream artists as Cypress Hill and Beastie Boys.
Excerpts from Rammellzee’s Iconic Treatise (1979)
His full cyborg persona ostracized him from his artistic peers but also marked him as futuristic and an evolution in art and style. Cyborgs as full cultural persona of real human artists, then, can be seen as both pushing the boundaries of art and appealing to consumers as new and different statements of self and music.
[Rammellzee interviewed in the early 2000s]
Cyborgs 