Exit Through the Gift Shop- He said

“Exit through the Gift Shop” is movie that isn’t quite a movie but much more. Depending on who you ask, it is either a film by the enigmatic street artist Banksy, or it’s a Charlie Kauffman-esque, meta commentary on the state of art and its culture. I must admit that the film was one of the most entertaining and inventive pieces of cinema I have had the pleasure of seeing. The fact that anyone that has ever cared about any form of art NEEDS to see this film.


The movie follows Thierry Guetta, the eccentric owner of a “vintage” clothing store in one of the hippest parts of LA. He has the most ridiculous moustache that I’ve seen in a long time. He constantly carries a camera around with him in order to capture all of life’s precious moments. This turns into a creative endeavor when he is introduced to street art by his cousin, Space Invader. When he returns home, he seeks out other street artists and starts to follow and communicate with some of the more famous ones in the scene, such as Shepard Fairey, for a supposed documentary about street art.

Eventually he meets Banksy, who is a famously reclusive street artist that has painted street art all over the world. Banksy decides that Thierry is more interesting of a subject for a movie than he was, so the movie becomes about the man, Thierry, trying to make a movie. It’s at this point that the movie becomes more about Thierry’s quest to become a street artist himself at the behest (and annoyance) of Banksy. This is partly due to the fact he had years of raw and unorganized footage from his time filming artists, and the fact that his documentary was incomprehensible. Starting from the creation of a sticker in his own image to the opening of his art show in LA, we see Thierry’s quick rise in fame

As a “documentary”, Exit through the Gift Shop is a well-paced with an entertaining story, as well as a good introduction to the new sort of art form that not many people know about. But the movie really works well as the commentary on art itself. Seeing as how there has been speculation, since the movie was released, that Banksy created all the works of art that were credited to Mr. Brainwash (MBW), aka Thierry. And Thierry just pretended to be MBW as a part of an elaborate years long prank. Whether you believe that theory or not is up to you.

This is the part of the movie that is brilliant to me; it spends the first half of the movie showing you street art, and then it bastardizes the movement in the last half. Thierry Guetta is not a person; he is a symbol about all the bull (shit) that goes into art and what happens when it goes wrong. Beginning with his first sticker, he creates nothing original. It is a picture of him holding a camera symbolizing the narcissistic tendencies of a lot of artists in all forms of media. In the events leading up to the opening show of his gallery, he buys an art house factory with hired guns photoshopping and helping with the creation of his art, and most of it, which is repetitive and horribly colored (and unless I’m missing something) says absolutely nothing. This is a great contrast to the works of Shepard Fairey and Banksy, who all have done something to speak about social equality and peace with their works. Instead Thierry makes Spock look like Madonna.

As the deadlines for his big show approaches, Thierry asks Fairey and Banksy for quotes to help hype up his show. He becomes one of those eccentrics that you see in the reality TV shows. He has no vision or creativity instead he chats with the TV crews instead of setting up his own gallery. He becomes a super famous artist, but has not had to establish a reputation, which is unorthodox even in the world of street art. One of the most cringe worthy moments was when all of these LA’ers were being interviewed about the exhibit, and they talked about the greatness that was MBW, and how he is innovative. These people obviously had no clue what they were talking about. It’s something that happens to all forms of art, you have the types are there to see and be seen.

For all of the ranting on my part, this movie actually brings about a lot of healthy discussion amongst people. Whether they believe that the whole movie is a prank, or that maybe the prank is that people believe the movie itself is a prank. Who knows? Banksy obviously knows the art of satire and social commentary. Even seen as a simple documentary about art gone wrong, it still is a hilarious and engaging story that won’t leave you bored.

Exit Through the Gift Shop- She said

Most of us modern people know the term “street art” by it’s more common and illegal term, graffiti. But there’s a whole underground culture of street artists, and some of them are making money, and LOTS of it. Now, from what I understand, like any form of art, you’re not suppose to get into it for the money. You enter into the world because you’re passionate about making art and/or making a statement (whatever that may be). In Exit through the Gift Shop, we meet “Banksy”, a legendary street artist from Britain, making a documentary of the man, Thierry Guetta, who was making a documentary about street artists.



Now the rumor surrounding this movie is that it’s a hoax, that maybe Guetta and Banksy are pulling a farce on the audience. No one really knows, and to be honest, I think it makes the movie more intriguing. Guetta is a quirky, cartoonish character who will drop whatever he’s doing if it means getting a good shot for his documentary. He is able to catch some of the most prominent street artists in action: Banksy, Invader, and Shepard Fairey. He records 1000s upon 1000s of hours of footage and dumps his tapes into random, unmarked boxes. Eventually, he tries to make a movie, but as Banksy puts it, “It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before…” Banksy then plants idea in Guetta’s head to become a street artist, thus Mr. Brainwash is born.


Guetta puts together his first art show, and it’s huge. However, he didn’t have to “pay his dues” as most artists have. He gets Banksy to put a quote for his art show, and BAM, Guetta has upwards to 7,000 people the first day. He makes millions of dollars. Now, is his art good? One could argue he’s not really an artist. He blatantly takes ideas from other artists, like Warhol. Some say he finds inspiration; others say he’s rip off-wannabe.


At this point is where the question comes in…did Banksy and Guetta create “Mr. Brainwash” to prove a point about art? Was this an elaborate hoax to show how fake and superficial some artists could be, and how blind the masses are?


Or is it a true story? Did Guetta become inspired by the culture he followed for so long and discovered he had a natural gift? Was he just at the right place at the right time and knew the right people? Is he just a lucky guy?


None of these questions are answered, and that’s what makes this film so great. The debate that happens afterwards between members of the audience is why I loved this movie so much. I stayed talking with people for at least half an hour discussing the validity of Guetta, his art, and his sudden success.

Personally, I think it’s a hoax and a brilliant social commentary on art and the passion behind it. The movie is very entertaining and keeps the audience engaged throughout. The world street art that we’re able to scratch the surface of is inspiring and brilliant. The artists like Shepard and Invader do this because they love it and want to make a statement. Guetta…he seems to be in it for the money, which completely goes against the unwritten morals of this culture.


If the truth ever comes out and Banksy and Guetta has pulled one over on the world, I will be impressed. Banksy proves that he can delve in to the subconscious of a culture, create a mess of an artist, and come out clean and brilliant on the other end.