Exit Through The Gift Shop

I wake up. I stand somewhere near the cabinets and grab at cereal and tea. I settle into my chair for the day and punch a clock. While most of us are suited for the daily grind, some are woefully ill-equipped and flounder. Others skip the grind altogether and create an alternate landscape in the streets, mining the contours of their imagination as they map out an entirely different route. Thanks to the internet and 21st century networking, their gallery literally becomes a global stage. Far be it for me to imagine what a street artist virtuoso feels, but I felt like for 90 minutes I had an honest look. Banksy, as a character and filmmaker, is mesmerizing. I found myself drifting between different thoughts:

The celebrity endorsed, cool branded power of the cosmopolitan art world. The price tags on modern street art have both everything and nothing to do with the social value of that work, everything that becomes important does so without qualification…it just happens. This movie deconstructs the artist and then just leaves him there in pieces.

Without a doubt, watch the bonus features. I would recommend the 14-minute LIFE REMOTE CONTROL (Lawyer’s Edit).

Banksy directed this Simpsons opening. Fox agreed that if they chose to run it, they could not edit one frame. This makes me like both Banksy and The Simpsons so much more.

Just remember as you watch the first 40 minutes of this movie that Banksy created this documentary. Banksy had final edit. Thierry shot all the street footage. Let that soak as Mr. Brainwash makes his first appearance. The characters change places and yet we never see a metamorphosis. It’s a tremendous, unfolding plot. I loved every turn.

Banksy and Thierry’s trip to Disneyland is CRAZY. Although, I was disappointed that the waterboard didn’t make an appearance.

I love quick, throwaway celebrity cameos. No lines, no real purpose, yet attached to the credits. Watch for Beck in the first five minutes. He’s trying on clothes in the vintage store. Then there is Pitt/Jolie and Jude Law posting up at Banksy’s London show. Christina pops in. It’s like quotational wallpaper.

Jay Leno makes stupid faces for a living. I like seeing him participating in a human moment with a (seemingly) crazy man who accosts him with a video camera outside a restaurant. When pressed, he smiles like a clown, then exits stage left. Just seemed fitting I suppose.

Be sure to read up on Shepard Fairey before you watch this. I think his poster got some play in 2008. Street Art as Commodity. Street Art as Expression. The scene with Wendy Asher is subtle, but I feel central to the film. She is a collector of notable art, some falling into the street art variety. Her musings on her collection shaded the “street art consumer” as a hollow, hoarding sort that used the creativity of others to fuel their own image. Money vs. Art. Hype vs. Art. Cluttering your hallway with blitzkrieg of famous outsiders. That really flipped the switch for Thierry’s final act. Fascinating journey from start to finish.

Come February 27th, Exit Through the Gift Shop

should get some hardware at the Oscars for Best Documentary.

:::Murmurs through the crowd:::

"Banksy is SO hot right now."

Go