'Exit Through The Gift Shop' es un documental sobre un documental nunca realizado que en realidad es la historia de un documentalista convertido en artista de éxito a base de copia y promoción. Esto que parece un trabalenguas sólo puede explicarse realmente al visionar este disfrutable documento visual realizado (¿o sería mejor decir terminado?) por el famoso artista Banksy, que además es uno de los protagonistas principales de la trama. El verdadero protagonista, además del Arte urbano, es el francés Thierry Guetta, que ha vivido obsesionado por filmar continuamente con su cámara de vídeo cualquier detalle de su vida hasta que se encuentra con una nueva fijación como consecuencia del contacto con su primo, el conocido artista 'Space Invader' (que ha plagado rincones de ciudades de todo el mundo con mosaicos de personajes de ese videojuego realizados con piezas del cubo de Rubick). A partir de ahí persiguió con su cámara a su primo y otros artistas para filmar su actividad hasta que contactó con el conocido Shepard Fairy y a través de éste a su ídolo Banksy, con el que entabla amistad y que, a pesar de su obsesión por el anonimato, le permite grabarle en vídeo continuamente. Al cabo de un tiempo reúne material suficiente como para editar un gran documental sobre parte de la mejor Historia del Arte en la calle, algo que le solicita el propio Banksy. En cambio Thierry crea un corto infumable y decide convertirse en artista callejero él mismo. Al fin y al cabo parece filmar como resultado de una obsesión y no por un objetivo concreto. El francés pronto se convierte en Mr. Brainwash, un artista de éxito rápido gracias a la labor de profesionales que producen su trabajo bajo sueldo y a la promoción y estrategia comercial, básicamente copiando todo lo que había estado a su alcance. Un claro exponente de la broma que puede ser el Arte o la vida y uno se pregunta varias veces viendo la película si lo que se cuenta es real o inventado. Genial y delirante (como casi todo) ese momento en el que Thierry decide sobre la marcha y casi sin criterio el precio de las obras (en cifras de miles de dólares que le convierten en rico en pocos días).
'Exit Through The Gift Shop' is a documentary of a never made documentary about Street Art and the story of a fake documentary maker turned into a succesful artist based on copying and promotion. This looks like a nonsense but it can only really be explained watching this visual piece made by (or should I say finished by?) famous artist Banksy, who is also one of the main characters in the plot. The main theme, as well as street art, is French Thierry Guetta, who is obsessed by shooting all the time with his video camera every detail of his life until he gets to know Street Art as a result of contacting with his cousin, the famous 'Space Invader' (which has placed in many cities around the world his mosaics of characters from that arcade game made with pieces from Rubick's Cubes). From then on he follows his cousin and other street artists with his camera shooting their activities until he meets the now famous artist Shepard Fairy and through him his true idol Banksy, with whom he becomes friends and, despite his obsession with anonymity, allowes his new friend to shoot him continuously. After a time Thierry has enough material to edit a great documentary about some of the main History of Street Art, something Banksy personally asks him to do. Thierry instead creates an almost unwatchable short film and decides to become a street artist himself. After all he was only filming as a result of an obsession and not because of a specific planning. The French soon becomes Mr. Brainwash, a successful artist himself, due to the work of professionals who produced his work under a sallary and the promotion and marketing strategy based on his own ideas and those of promoters, basically copying everything he faced in previous years. A clear statement of the big joke that Art and life can get to be, and one wonders through the film a couple of times if it's all a true story or a made up one, specially in moments like the one when Thierry is vaguely deciding the price of his artwork in thousands of dollars that will finally make him rich in a few days...
'Exit Through The Gift Shop' is a documentary of a never made documentary about Street Art and the story of a fake documentary maker turned into a succesful artist based on copying and promotion. This looks like a nonsense but it can only really be explained watching this visual piece made by (or should I say finished by?) famous artist Banksy, who is also one of the main characters in the plot. The main theme, as well as street art, is French Thierry Guetta, who is obsessed by shooting all the time with his video camera every detail of his life until he gets to know Street Art as a result of contacting with his cousin, the famous 'Space Invader' (which has placed in many cities around the world his mosaics of characters from that arcade game made with pieces from Rubick's Cubes). From then on he follows his cousin and other street artists with his camera shooting their activities until he meets the now famous artist Shepard Fairy and through him his true idol Banksy, with whom he becomes friends and, despite his obsession with anonymity, allowes his new friend to shoot him continuously. After a time Thierry has enough material to edit a great documentary about some of the main History of Street Art, something Banksy personally asks him to do. Thierry instead creates an almost unwatchable short film and decides to become a street artist himself. After all he was only filming as a result of an obsession and not because of a specific planning. The French soon becomes Mr. Brainwash, a successful artist himself, due to the work of professionals who produced his work under a sallary and the promotion and marketing strategy based on his own ideas and those of promoters, basically copying everything he faced in previous years. A clear statement of the big joke that Art and life can get to be, and one wonders through the film a couple of times if it's all a true story or a made up one, specially in moments like the one when Thierry is vaguely deciding the price of his artwork in thousands of dollars that will finally make him rich in a few days...
