Really interesting piece of art criticism. Possibly also a documentary.
At one level, Exit Through The Gift Shop is a documentary about famous street artists including, most famously, Banksy. On another level its about Thierry Guetta, a failed filmmaker turned superstar artist. At yet another level, it is a critique on the way art is made and then consumed. There is debate whether the events in this film are real, or if the entire thing is an elaborate hoax by Banksy and company. Really, I'm not sure if it even matters. If its real, then the joke is on those who seriously believed a fraud to be the next big thing in art. If its fake, then the whole thing is a fraud and the joke is on everyone who takes street art too seriously. Either way its an interesting comment on exploitation and branding in the art world that will hopefully be more enduring than the art it depicts. Well worth checking out.
2 comments:
Thanks for writing about Banksy. I love him, I know its cliche for a 24 yr. old growing up in the 'burbs to like Banksy and feel he oh so portrays the angst I've had to endure growing up in elitist liberal white MA...I even know that he is written up in Stuff White People Like, but hell, I like him for all the "mainstream alternative avante/garde whatever" he is or is trying to be. That is the longest sentence ever. I shouldn't teach English.
I like Banksy too. I think this movie is probably sort of a joke about how famous he is now... which makes me like him even more.
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