“Exit through the Gift Shop” is a documentary (or possibly a mockumentary?) that was initially started by a French immigrant with a passion for filming, Thierry Guetta. Fueled by his accidental discovery of the underground world of street art, Guetta begins focusing his time on capturing the essence of graffiti artists and their works. He fully immerses himself in the new and exciting domain, dedicating his life to following prominent artists. The artists cautiously embrace the quirky “filmmaker” and Thierry learns more and more about what goes into the illegal act. Eventually, Guetta’s journey leads him to the infamous Banksy. It is here where the tables turn.
Thierry, inspired by one of Bank’s shows, now wants to be a part of the action and decides to become a street artist himself. Banksy decides to take the footage Thierry gathered and begins to put the documentary together. The once offbeat, but loveable, Frenchmen has now becomes the money-driven “Mr. Brainwash.” He sets up his own gallery exhibit in Los Angeles and through some questionable advertising methods, creates a great sense of suspense and luster around his makeshift show.
Though his show was an instant success, with his work selling for hundreds of dollars apiece, he would never be fully apart of the “true” world of street art again. The artists he once studied under have since renounced him for being a sellout. Mr. Brainwash’s works were far from original, borrowing techniques and styles from the artists he shadowed. The mas- produced works took away from the taboo nature of the art.
The fact that street art is illegal empowers the methods and makes it truly meaningful. Street artists are willing to face legal actions to express themselves, making their work much more risky. This helps to weed out those who don’t belong in the field. Guetta’s works were done in a gallery setting and broke no laws. Because of this, much of his work, in my opinion, is of very little or no value. He faced no risks and did not give a legitimate part of himself to his “art.”
