The documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop follows the story of a French immigrant Thierry and his adventure as he follows different street artists and learns the craft himself. Directed by Banksy, a notorious street artist, this film gives light into the art of street art.
After Thierry follows his cousin, the street artist Invader, he becomes highly interested in the culture and ideas behind street art. What makes Thierry interesting however, is his constant need to film everything. He has a camera permanently glued to his hand all throughout the film. Audiences are shown that filming is Thierry's obsession. He has boxes and boxes full of tapes because he just always has a camera in his hand. So as Thierry follows these artists, he gets everything they do on camera.
The film focuses around Thierry's adventures with Shepard Fairey and his pursuit of the elusive Banksy. Thierry is not afraid to scale large buildings or climb up scaffolds to get the shot he wants, as audiences see early on. But soon, Thierry is not only there to film, he is there to help. He starts assisting with making the art and gets even more entrenched in the whole process. This is where Thierry seems to turn from film-maker to street artist. Soon, not only has Thierry hunted down and made friends with Banksy (a feat no one thought possible), but he himself started to make art for the streets.
At this point in the documentary, the focus shifts from Thierry's journey through the street art world and becomes about his journey as part of it. Taking ideas and themes from the artists he had observed, Thierry puts together a whole gallery full of work to open his own show. Calling himself "Mister Brain Wash," Thierry hopes to use his name and art to show people exactly what street art represents; a subliminal message against the system.
However, as Banksy and Fairey comment, it seems Thierry has basically become a sell-out because of them. Banksy is quoted in saying, "we've created a monster." And the new question becomes, who's this joke on now? It does not seem like Thierry is in the street art world for the reasons most are. He has taken this art and made it into more of a science than an art. Step one. Take a popular picture. Step two. Make it about 20 times bigger. Step three. Add something that wasn't there before. Step four. Convince people it's art. The last step seems to be the trickiest, but Thierry found his way around that with the help of a small verbal endorsement from his dear old Banksy. Thierry made the street art world into a business for his own gain. He may have been talented at it, but he wasn't doing it for a way to portray a message. He seemed very focused on getting his name out there and getting fans, which one could argue that this isn't the way of street artists.
If you look at Banksy and Shepard Fairey, anonymity was part of their game. It was part of the street art world. Yes, people know they are the ones who put up the art, but they don't know exactly who they are. This type of mystery could be said to be a whole part of the street art movement. It almost adds another layer to the art. Take Banksy for example. Even throughout the whole documentary he was kept blurred and darkened and distorted so he could stay hidden. This is part of his art. Even when Thierry says he wants to find him, everyone told him it was impossible because no one knew who he was. Think about what that says when matched with his art. It gives a whole other level and gives him more authority in the field.
When someone sees a Banksy work, they're immediately drawn to it (especially those in museums) because it has a level of mystery behind it and it's human nature to be curious. So then take Thierry's way of throwing himself into the public eye. While yes people seem to love his work, just imagine the amount of hype this would have gotten had it been Banksy's show.
