Now I will say that there are those that think this film is a mockumentary and an amazingly elaborate prank by Banksy. I don't buy that. Such a prank would require remarkable secrecy and coordination of stories of everyone involved in the film as well as remarkable acting on the part of Thierry to sell that he is a step above a tragically cute halfwit with strange obsessions. Thierry's character is too rich for that and interviews with producer's and editors about the making of the film yield pretty detailed stories about the challenge of sifting through Thierry's tens of thousands of hours of 90% useless footage to create the documentary. Plus the film that was made by Thierry remote control's trailer has existed on youtube since 2006 which would indicate that if this were an elaborate hoax it is one that is so elaborate it was prepared in years of advance and well that's just crazy. The hoax claim seems more like an attempt to protect vanity and this ivory tower notion that art elitism can't be momentarily hoodwinked by hype and trend as the film presents that it was. Also there are likely plenty of fools who bought Mr. Brainwash pieces for upwards of tens of thousands of dollars who wouldn't want to believe that they hold the brainchild of an obsessive possibly retarded mind that was constructed largely by other people. It is obvious to such victims it would be more alluring to fantasize that they actually hold the ultimate satire pieces by Banksy himself. Such is the delicious irony of vanity based art purchases.
Anyway none of that discusses what exactly is Exit through the gift shop. Well it started as a documentary by Thierry, a man who obsessively records every moment of his life on video, who by dumb luck of association begins exploring the world of street art that was growing at the dawn of the 21st century. It morphs into a satire about art and vanity, as Thierry after filming his last subject comes to his icon, Banksy, with his completed documentary called remote control life which is a jump cutting, David Lynchian, insane, stream of conscious, horror show of disjointed clips that is as unwatchable as it was unsettling. Banksy seeing that the street art footage is valuable says hey thierry why don't you entertain yourself with some street art for a while at let me have a crack at it. So Thierry does the logical thing. He mortgages his house and leverages himself upwards of hundreds of thousands in debt to hire a bunch of artists to construct his mr. brainwash art and rents out a defunct cbs studio in L.A. to host a gigantic art show. He spends all his time hyping the show through name dropping, grafitti displays, and using lukewarm endorsements of both Banksy and Fairey to obtain an eventual L.A. weekly front page story that heralds the art show as an unmissable event. Before Thierry's art is even displayed shallow collectors are calling to be the first to get their hands on an original Mr. Brainwash before even seeing one.
Even more comical was that Thierry himself can't really explain any of his pieces as they are obviously inexplicable derivative image salads. Listening to the shallow art "enthusiasts" who went and tried to make sense of it themselves was very entertaining. Thankfully there was one gay man (of course it would be a gay man) who spotted right away how horribly derivative, uncreative, and batshit insane the whole hype was, describing the art and artist, as a one trick pony and flashpan phenomenon. But others, especially ones who ponied up money to purchase these photoshop nightmares remained undeterred that they were part of and supporting a creative phenomenon. The ending is bittersweet. You didn't want Thierry to lose his shirt as he was highly at risk to do, but you saw very quickly how the vanity went to his head. In the crucial hours before the show, he spends his time doing self congratulatory interviews while his workers set up the entire expedition on their own with no direction from the artist who knew nothing of what he made or what he was trying to accomplish. Anyway this documentary is really interesting and poses great questions in the debate about art and vanity and how they intertwine. It actually makes sense of why banksy himself is so reclusive as a sort of purist. Perhaps other than the worry of being charged with vandalism it also arises from a desire for his art to be free of the vanity of his identity.
Anyway talk about the movie, the hoax debate, banksy or art in general.