How far would you go to get your artwork out in the real world and viewed by thousands of people everyday? Many street artists go to extremes, climbing on poles to get to top of signs above highways, stand on roofs of buildings and risk getting in trouble with the law. The documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop was an interesting look into the life of street art and focuses on Thierry Guetta and Banksy. Guetta captured every bit of Banksy’s artworks and eventually wanted the world to see that Banksy’s art is not for money but for what he sees. Unfortunately, Guetta was not good as making film, so Banksy told him to focus on art work and that’s what he did, Banksy then directed this movie. The movie had some successive aspects and some parts that were not as compelling.
I thought I would get more information about graffiti and its status in the art world but there is not enough information they give out about the background of the art. We were shown different artworks for a couple of seconds but not enough time to sit there and actually take it in and see what’s happening. That’s what disappointed me the most in the film. If they could have given the viewers more history on the work and why they chose to place it in spontaneous places all over the city of Los Angeles it would have captured my intention more.
I liked the dangerous side to the documentary, Guetta fearlessly followed other graffiti artist out onto ledges and helped them carry supplies putting themselves at risk of a sticky situation. With Guetta being there he was able to keep an eye out for cops because to let’s not forget this is illegal. Meanwhile, Guetta is telling his life story and showing off different artistic views of street art. One artwork that popped out the most to me in this film was when Banksy and Guetta went into Disneyland to display one of Banksy’s artworks. Banksy placed a figure wearing a bag over his head in a red suit tied against a fence for all to see. Eventually security had caught this figure and started following Guetta as he was walking around the amusement park and they took him in for questioning but before they looked at the footage he deleted everything, so he no longer had any evidence. I liked the sense of adrenaline these artists get from displaying artwork all over, it makes it fun.
It looked like the producers were trying to get across the point that art is everywhere,and it is so easy to express the way you feel about art in the public view. This documentary spanked many questions in my mind such as, have any famous street artists been caught by the cops while displaying their artwork outside and if so, what were the consequences? Was Guetta’s film of Banksy’s work ever released?How long did it take to create the paintings especially since you didn’t want to get caught in the act?
This movie shapes our understanding of street art and of Mr. Brainwash and Banksy. With the two-street artist getting together we were able to get more history about graffiti in the streets of Los Angeles. The Movie also gives off a sense of environment, all these paintings are done outside for everyone to see unlike other artist are painting things they see on paper. Graffiti is outside on buildings, walls, signs and even on the street!
The opening of the film is interesting, it shows all different street artists and the different type of street art they make. When Guetta or “Mr. Brainwash”which is his street name becomes a subject in the film it gets more interesting with all of his artistic designs. “Art has no walls. Anybody can be an artist,” he says. “Art has no rules. There’s no manual.” He also states “I don’t look at people, what they do. I am completely outside of the art world. I know a couple of names—Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons. But I don’t know anything. I have my own little world.”
Overall, I would rate this film a 6/10. I think they could have done a better job of explaining more about street art and the meanings behind the paintings, but I did like to see how they were placed onto buildings. The movie started with Guetta being a maker film then realizing he was able to make artwork too just as anyone else.
