Exit Through the Gift Shop

The mysterious Banksys' 2010 "documentary" Exit Through the Gift Shop documents the life of one Thierry Guetta as he works to establish himself as a legitimate street artist. Gueretta finds out that his cousin is Invader, an infamous street artist known for making mosaics of characters from the classic game Space Invaders (good game...). Guetta, who already has a habit of filming seemingly his entire daily life, is newly fascinated with street art and eventually comes to meeting the infamous street artist Banksy. After filming some of Banksys exploits, Guetta assembles a horrible 90 minute film deemed as "unwatchable." Guetta takes on the role of being a street artist, adopting the name "Mr. Brainwash." The film ends with Guetta opening an art exhibit and selling hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of his newly created art. Guetta's credibility as an artist is a topic of dispute considering he has no original style (he rips off of the various street artists he has watched do their work) and had his paid assistants create much of his ideas as well as the gallery he exhibits.

Street art is illegal in nearly every place it exists, and I believe that its illegal status strengthens the meaning of the work. As shown in Exit Through the Gift Shop, a lot of street art shows rebellious cultural or political themes. A lot of street artists are anonymous (such as Banksy) and work in the cover of night, which I think adds a mysterious element to them and their artwork. The fact that street art is mostly illegal, especially works that are politically or socially suggestive (the series of "OBEY" works) give the works a sense of rebellion and any attempts to remove them reinforces the point(s) that they are trying to make. Banksy's Guantanamo Bay prisoner at the amusement park's roller coaster was a very disruptive work that despite posting no obvious safety hazards caused Guetta to be interrogated by security, possibly because prisoner treatment there is a controversial issue. Additionally, street art is a unique form of art; it is more of a low-production value form of art as opposed to a professional sculpter, drawer, or painter. It's something that almost anyone can do (as long as you are willing to deal with the consequences if caught).

Banksy's anonymity I feel adds two certain elements to his work. The anti-war themes he exhibits in his work and his anonymity combine to give a feeling that he is staying anonymous because he is afraid of getting into trouble with the law (metaphorically speaking, as there is nothing wrong with the messages he conveys due to freedom of speech). The fact that he is anonymous also suggests that any one of us can be Banksy. There doesn't need to be any form of art school or professional training or artistic talent inside of us, all we need are some materials, an idea, and a building to put it on for us to be Banksy. He is a powerful voice without an identity.