Once again, Banksy has turned the joke on us.
His new film, Exit Through the Gift Shop, is sure to initiate a flurry of speculative theories about who protagonist Mr. Brainwash is. This conundrum is a parallel and a complement to the existing and more important mystery: Who is Banksy?
Banksy is perhaps the best-known graffiti artist of his time. His works have acquired global recognition and revolutionized the reputation of street art. In essence, he made graffiti a legitimate art form, albeit an ephemeral one. He works mostly with stencils, usually large in scale and often with a political or social message. For example, on the Israeli West Bank barrier, he painted images including one where a ladder goes up and over the wall.
He’s had projects in New York, Los Angeles, New Orleans and his (supposedly) native Britain. His works, along with other street artists, are now collected and sold as legitimate art pieces. Banksy has made law-abiding citizens realize that graffiti’s function can be more than just making a place look dilapidated. Part of Banksy’s appeal is his anonymity — his real identity is kept closely under wraps by his friends.
Exit Through the Gift Shop follows the French videographer Thierry Guetta’s foray into street art. After just filming the exploits of street artists such as Shepard Fairey at first, Guetta soon discovers the existence of Banksy, whom he idolizes and eventually films.
Later, Banksy encourages Guetta to pursue street art himself. Under the name Mr. Brainwash, Guetta takes his advice to heart and produces a massive show largely based on pop art, thanks to a team of underlings.
Through the depiction of Guetta as a foolish copycat whose work is massive in quantity but insignificant in quality, Banksy pokes fun at the modern art world. Guetta’s paintings and works, which are largely based on the works of pop artist Andy Warhol, are still sold for thousands of dollars despite their unoriginality.
This goes to show the power of hype, which both Fairey and Banksy unwittingly provided. Another aspect of the art world the film seems to criticize is the depersonalization of art. Guetta, like other artists such as Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst, enlists a team of minions who produce the art in his place.
Never before has the world seen a film that gets up close and personal with graffiti greats like this one does. It’s a film that highlights an increasingly important movement that is changing the way people view art. Banksy himself stays mostly in the shadows, so viewers who see this movie in the hopes of getting a better glimpse of the elusive artist may be a little disappointed. His face is always censored, and when he talks directly to the camera, he is in the dark, and his voice is garbled.
Nevertheless, one does get a peek under the shroud of mystery. It is interesting to witness the dangers involved in producing graffiti, what with the hard-to-reach places one tags and the constant threat of the police. The film is thankfully full of classic Banksy humor: dry, British and unexpected.
The film’s focus on Guetta provides a deliberate contrast to the genius of Banksy. While Guetta is rolling in his newfound fame and fortune, Banksy sits on the sidelines and is passively amused by the hullabaloo.
If the entire character of Guetta is a hoax, it’s a very expensive one — thousands must have been spent in creating Guetta’s artwork, and this movie was probably planned very far in advance. However, it would be a move not unfathomable for Banksy. His works have proven his unfailing cunning, and he is obviously steadfast — who else could have eluded being fed to the media for so long?
Banksy has never before been seen this up-close and personal. He has succeeded once again in stumping us on multiple levels. After all, what’s the fun in knowing?
wildman@umdbk.com
