Forging Distinct Paths Towards Authentic Identity

Abstract

This article demonstrates how boardwalk artists who arrive at Venice Beach through various biographical channels adapt to an informal market context by learning economic skills that enable them to present themselves as “Venice Beach Artists.” Although the boardwalk market blurs original biographical distinctions between people who come to share the same market identity in the eyes of visitors, individuals also pursue different versions of authentic identity as Venice Beach Artists. Interlinking studies of outsider art, public interaction, and identity transition, I examine how artists forge distinct paths towards the achievement of authentic identity. Some artists create standards of local authenticity by prioritizing their attachment to the context of Venice Beach and immersing themselves into the neighborhood counter culture. Others manufacture cosmopolitan authenticity by prioritizing their attachment to their perceptions of a successful art career.