What does Exit Through the Gift Shop say about art?

Exit Through The Gift Shop is a unique documentary, a one-of-a-kind mocku-documentary. Is it a mockumentary? Or is it a real documentary? That’s the question that the viewer is left with at the end of the movie, but does it really matter? I don’t think so. The movie is a fusion of documentary and performance art. Exit Through The Gift Shop is a movie billed as a documentary that serves as the vessel for several analyses and criticisms of art, and the art world as a whole. This movie says nothing and everything.

Banksy’s directorial debut is surrounded by speculations and mystery, just like his street art. Regardless of whether this film is real or a hoax (or perhaps a mix of both), the film is a performance art piece that takes several topics of the art world and lets the viewer form their own opinions. In the film we see Thierry Guetta, also known as Mr. Brainwash become an overnight artistic sensation. We see his quick rise mostly from hype. At this point in the film we are left wondering whether Guetta is truly an artist or not. Guetta met the right people, he documented several street artists over the course of several years, often helping them with their art, and then one day he decided he wanted to be just like them, and he gave street art a try. So is Mr. Brainwash’s a real artist, even when his art is just recreated Andy Warhol and Bansky pieces? I think he is. Even Mr. Brainwash admits that he is just one big Banksy art piece (Felch). Whether his art is good or not is up to the individual to decide, but when we ask “is it real art?” that’s just jumping in a huge pool of gray. Yes his “art” is simple, and yes his “art” is close to plagiarism, except it’s not. When Warhol was around people said his art wasn’t real art, and you will find more than one critic of Bansky claiming that his street art is just mere graffiti. To me art is defined as the creation of something thought up in your head. Mr. Brainwash may have come close to copying modern artists, but that’s all he did, come close. I would never pay to go see his artwork and much certainly would not pay to keep some in my home, but just because I don’t like it doesn’t mean I can dismiss it as not art.

Overnight Mr. Brainwash becomes the new “it” thing. Before most people had even seen his art, he was the talk of the town. Thanks in large part to the buzz that his big name friends generated, Mr. Brainwash had people, and the press, lining up to have a look at the new artist in town. Eventually, Mr. Brainwash sells millions of dollars of his artwork in his first installation, and later through auctions. In the film, Bansky says that his former friend’s art is not really art, and that his methods are not artistic. Another question arises: was his success due to his actual creativity or was it due to hype? Much of the art world is driven purely by hype. Mr. Bansky knows this very well. I would be stunned if while making this film Mr. Bansky wasn’t thinking of his own over commercialized pieces. By showcasing Mr. Brainwash and his rapid rise to fame through hype, and the subsequent commercialization of his pieces, Bansky is in fact revealing the flaws of the art world.

In Exit Through the Gift Shop we never hear Bansky or anyone else explicitly say that Mr. Brainwash’s art is not real art, but they insinuate it, ultimately leaving the answer to the viewer. By extensively featuring Thierry Guetta and his over commercialized pieces, Bansky is in fact critiquing the art world’s obsession with hype instead of quality. The entire movie whether real or not is intended to present the viewer with various aspects of the art world not commonly talked about. From street art to the quality of art, Bansky simply tells a story and lets the viewer decide what to believe and what’s real and not real.

Bibliography

Ebert, Rogert. Exit Through The Gift Shop. 28 April 2010. 22 July 2012 <http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100428/REVIEWS/100429978>.

Felch, Jason. Los Angeles Times. 22 February 2011. 22 July 2012 <http://articles.latimes.com/2011/feb/22/entertainment/la-et-oscar-exit-20110222>.

Long, Tom. Review: 'Exit Through The Gift Shop' is witty fun, real, or hoax. 7 May 2010. 22 July 2012 <http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20100507/ENT02/5070323/1034/ENT02/Review---Exit-Through-the-Gift-Shop--is-witty-fun--real-or-hoax>.

Nilsen, Richard. 'Exit Through the Gift Shop'. 23 June 2010. 22 July 2012 <http://www.azcentral.com/thingstodo/movies/articles/2010/06/23/20100623exit-through-gift-shop.html>.

Walker, Alissa. Here's why the Bansky movie is a Bansky prank. 14 April 2010. 22 July 2012 <http://www.fastcompany.com/1616365/banksy-movie-prankumentary>.