Review: Exit Through The Gift Shop
Street art fascinates me -- although I can't recall seeing an artist in action, I've often wondered about the process of late-night tagging and wheatpasting. How did someone manage to paint the Roman symbol of Venus on the train trestle over Lady Bird Lake? The most well-known street art in Austin has to be Daniel Johnston's "Hi, How Are You?" mural with Jeremiah the Frog on the Drag, and the Flickr: Austin Street Art documents the vast and diverse street art on our city streets. Many people discredit this art as street vandalism, but a new documentary shows a different view of this fringe art form, including the hypocrisies and controversies surrounding street art.
Narrated by actor Rhys Ifans (Greenberg, Pirate Radio), Exit Through the Gift Shop is the first film from infamous street artist Banksy from the Bristol underground scene. Although his name might not be familiar to most, his reputation has spanned the globe. In 2004 in the Louvre, Banksy hung a picture he had painted resembling the Mona Lisa but with a yellow smiley face. In June 2007 Banksy created a circle of plastic portable toilets -- nicknamed "Portaloo Sunset" -- to resemble Stonehenge at the Glastonbury Festival, not far from the "sacred circle." Deemed inappropriate, his interactive installation itself was vandalized before the festival even opened. Most recently, an artistic feud developed between Banksy and his rival King Robbo after Banksy painted over a 24-year-old Robbo piece on the banks of London's Regent Canal. "Team Robbo" retaliated by painting over several Banksy pieces in London.
Despite his notoriety, Exit Through the Gift Shop isn't all about Banksy -- the central character is Thierry Guetta, an eccentric French vintage-shop owner turned documentary filmmaker. Guetta becomes obsessed with locating Banksy, to complete his documentation of graffiti artists at work. With the aid of Shepard Fairey, creator of Obey Giant, Guetta enters the street artists' night world and over the course of eight years he documents their work through interviews and on walls around Los Angeles.
Through a stroke of luck, Guetta meets and helps Banksy when he comes to Los Angeles and is looking for some walls to make his mark upon. Guetta befriends Banksy and becomes his personal documentarian. However, when Guetta finally makes a film out of the hundreds of hours of footage, it's disastrous. That's when Banksy turns the camera back on the filmmaker in another of the film's strange twist, and Guetta emulates Banksy as he takes on an alter ego of pop artist Mr. Brainwash.
Exit Through the Gift Shop is easily one of the most provocative films of the year. There's been a lot of speculation about whether Guetta is a real person, or a prank -- or is he Banksy himself? Why would a street artist who's protected his anonymity for so many years let someone he barely knows follow his every move with a camera? Although I found myself questioning the authenticity of Guetta at the beginning of the film, by midway I was convinced that no one could make this stuff up. Banksy is credited as the director, but interestingly no one is credited with the cinematography. Editor Chris King seamlessly ties rare footage of street artists working and dealing with local law enforcement with personal narratives from Guetta, Banksy, and a few other infamous artists. Watch for cameos of celebrities at the street art exhibits, some of whom paid thousands of dollars to own a Mr. Brainwash oeuvre.
Exit Through the Gift Shop was well-received by audiences at the Sundance Festival. True to his stealth tactics, Banksy allegedly snuck into Park City overnight and left his spray-painted mark on several walls, deepening the mystery even more. I highly recommend checking out this intriguing documentary, which has limited screenings at Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar and Arbor Great Hills.