Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011

Exit Through the Gift Shop

Maybe a mockumentary, maybe not, either way it garnered an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary. A film illustrating the subversive form of street art…No, not just a guy tagging walls with spray-paint. Street art has become…well art. Thanks, in part, to the British artist and enigma, Banksy – who has transformed walls and bridges and Disneyland and art galleries into entertaining, public displays of social commentary. The film also spotlights other cornerstone street artists, Shepard Fairey, Zeus and Monsieur Andre. All seen through the interactions with the possibly fictional character of Thierry Guetta – who loves street art so much that he subjugates it, reduces its impact to an oversaturated mess without a message. An artistic and philosophical glance of an art form that never takes itself too seriously – worth a watch.