Exit Through The Gift Shop

The film “Exit Through the Gift Shop” encounters a variety of street artists in the making of their very own street art projects. The film directed by Banksy focuses on a French immigrant in Los Angeles, Thierry Guetta as he follows the world’s best street artists and captures their work throughout the film. Thierry made a comfortable living owning a vintage clothing shop while sharing a strange obsession of carrying around his camera constantly filming what went on around him. While in France for the holidays he runs into his cousin Invader who is an internationally known street artist. Fascinated by this, Thierry began to follow around Invader and his friends documenting the adventures they embarked upon in the world of street art.

Guetta was still in search for one of the more prominent street artists by the name of Banksy, who is also the director of the film. Banksy was very secretive about his work which made it extremely difficult for Guetta to get in touch with him. Finally after meeting Banksy the two head off to England so Thierry can film him in his homeland. The two become close friends leading into the process of creating the documentary “ Exit through the gift shop”.

         The film shows how street art was not just a hobby but also a lifestyle for those who took the time to portray their artwork for everyday people to view. This type of art was very attention grabbing, which is why many of these street artists became notoriously known through their work. Many of their tasks were extremely dangerous because they had to climb great heights while trying to avoid being seen by the police. I find street art to be even more interesting then ordinary artwork because of the risks and skills put into each individual project.

         The fact that any type of street art is illegal almost everywhere goes to show what great risks these artists are taking. In my opinion I feel that most street art is just as unique as any art you may find in museums. Most of the big name artists make a living off composing artwork and putting them on the streets. Although it is illegal to put up art in the street I feel that it gives the art more power and meaning. Any ordinary artist can make decent art and pay for it to have it put up in a museum or store, but these street artists go above and beyond limits risking their lives to do what they love.

         Thierry’s obsession with street art sparked his intrests in creating his own type of art that he put out on the streets. Many may argue that he isn’t an actual artist because he did not in fact make the art instead had aritists produce pictures for him to post on the streets himself. This may be true but his dedication and obsession for street art pushed him to basically live the life of a true artists. His passion for filming allowed him to form friendships with some of the more famous street artists that have become notoriously known through anonymity. These street artists could only claim their fame through the work itself therefore their faces were never known.

         The film is a great indication of how different the life styles of these street artists are compared to the average everyday artists. The risks they undergo in order to pursue their individual goals have driven them to be who they are today. The consensus may say that these projects are no where near to as valuable as a Van Gough or a Picasso but the hard work and quality of the artwork can be very comparable. Banksy’s documentary gives us insight into what street art is all about concluding that anyone can make art and express there feelings for others to see.