Exit Through the Gift Shop

Posted by will on December 23, 2010

Directed by renowned street artist Banksy, Exit Through the Gift Shop is one part documentary, one part farce, and two parts that comprise an intimate glimpse into the worlds of a handful of the most well-known street and graffiti artists.

The fact that Banksy is the director should already hint that the whole premise of the story is concocted, falsified, and simply a ruse. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have to be entertaining as well as critical.

The plot of the story chronicles a particular time in the life of French expatriate Thierry Guetta; father, eccentric thrift store owner, obsessive personal historian outfitted with his trusty video camera. After a visit abroad to see his cousin, the mosaic street virtuoso Invader (a personal favorite of mine), Thierry becomes moved and consumed with street art. The film plods along as Thierry gains more and more access to the somewhat secretive process, onsite bombings, and culture of some of the most prominent street artists including the likes of Shepard Fairey, Borf, Swoon, Dotmasters, and eventually, the reclusive and secretive Banksy. All the while, Thierry is mining some pretty remarkable and unique footage.

You would imagine that the nature of this film would invoke some type of badass, street urchin, holier-than-though punkish character and would be, to some extent, inaccessible to the most viewers. Street art is not very glamorous, for the most part, and is a very controversial subject in regards to its process, its locations, and really, its legality.

Yet, Exit Through the Gift Shop is almost whimsical. It’s light-hearted, it’s funny, it’s ironic, and it is a very engaging and interesting film. Thierry is such an blasé free spirit that he is almost slap-your-knee comical to watch at times. He is his own Don Quixote and yes, he is on his own personal quests (armed with his video camera).

Not to be lost in the high spirits of this film is what I perceive, a very pointed and prime statement on art and what it is and what it can be. To me, the film asks the age old question, “What is art?”. To narrow it down, “What is art and does it work in regards to merchandising?” (e.g. Jeff Koons, Shepherd Fairey, Andy Warhol, etc.). Of course, the answer is to the viewer’s interpretation but it does force you to look at artists, in this case in particular, the purveyors of spray paint, stencils, and wheat paste, in a very different light.

The Verdict:

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