Exit Through the Gift Shop

It's winter and Jarred and I seem to be hooked on movies because it is dark all of the time and we seek a mental break from our school program. Over Christmas break we watched Exit Through the Gift Shop and were so confounded and impressed by the thought evoked in the movie, we recommended it to our friends who then watched it and made further comments on the movie which evoked further discussion, hence the blog.

Exit Through the Gift Shop was directed by Banksy. Banksy is one of the more popular street artists who has been able to keep his anonymity (and out of jail) for quite awhile despite having global popularity. Google him. I'm impressed with the thought he puts into his art. It seems that many street artists come up with one or two images and those images become their "face" but their work never goes beyond the basic images. I also like Banksy's street name. Seems that most street artists have pseudo-names to protect their identity- unless your parents named you Shephard Fairey- then you're covered- but some of the street names seem to transition into the rap world which, to me, is a world of superficial identities. Take Mr. Brainwash or Pursue or 123Krew or TATS CRU...really these guys are generally small white guys toting spray paint cans.

Back to Exit Through the Gift Shop....the documentary idea got rolling because Thierry Guetta decided he wanted to document street artists and his ultimate subject was Banksy. The weird thing about Thierry (who is also Mr. Brainwash...more later) is that he wasn't a documentary film maker nor did he ever intend to be. He calls himself an artist, once owned a clothing shop and likes to videotape any and everything, hence the documentation of street artists. After spending months following these artists around (no small feat in-itself), Guetta finally meets Banksy. Banksy trusts Guetta as Banksy had never allowed anyone to videotape him working and Banksy liked the idea of a documentary on street art. What Banksy soon learns is that Guetta never intends to make a documentary, he didn't care what happened to the thousands of hours of tape he made. But Banksy did, so Banksy gets ahold of Guetta's footage, tells Guetta to go off to LA and make some art, and begins creating the documentary. A few months later Guetta calls Banksy with news that he's making art and will soon have an art show. Banksy decides to flip the focus and begins to document Guetta's street work and other art as well as his shows. The results are surprising.

Street art intrigues me. I feel most good artists- not just amateur taggers- add beauty to the starkness of a wall or sidewalk. I wish more street artists would hit up the side of Wal-Mart or Target. I appreciate walking through an industrial area while being bombarded with colorful images but wouldn't Wal-Mart be much more enticing with a color ridden wall?

The idea of "what is art?" also intrigues me. When Banksy tells Mr. Braniwash to go off and make some art, the maniac does. But, to me, Mr. Brainwash doesn't make art, he uses images and ideas around him, combines them, re-colors them, and wha-la- art. No. Not in my book. Taking images of others has already been done (Andy Warhol), using animals to evoke message...been done (Banksy) using utilitarian objects in sculpture, done (Jim Dine). I'm no art critic nor do I know squat about art history, but Mr. Brainwash wasn't making art. I guess I'd call him a graphic designer, not an artist.

The funny thing about Mr. Brainwash? His shit sells. When Banksy documented Mr. Brainwash's first show, it was a hit. Nearly all his work sold, and there was a lot of work to be sold. Now Mr. Brainwash has his own (really well done) website: www.mrbrainswash.com and more shows where he sells more art.

Which brings me to my next point. Do Americans think? All these people came to Mr. Brainwash's show, they ranted and raved about his "art." When they ranted and raved, the rant caught on. Prior to this, no one had heard of Mr. Brainwash, but he had the thought and foresight and some bad-ass marketing gurus to make him instantly big. It was like American Idol for artists. At no point did anyone, besides Shephard Fairey or Banksy, question this guy's validity, the reason he did what he did or his originality...which of course leads to other questions.....

Who decides what art is worth?

Does being an artist mean one has to be original?

How do products become popular? Take Shephard Fairey's Hope image of Obama. Instant popularity. Good art or good marketing?

I love a good move that provokes thought and discussion.