ExittixE

Bat Papi by Mr. Brainwash

Banksy's Exit Through the Gift Shop is up for an Academy Award. Nice. I haven't reviewed it before, which is odd, considering I review pretty much anything I watch more than once. And seeing how this film is currently free on Netflix, and was a big hit in Norfolk last summer when it played The Naro, I'm just gonna chalk this one up to laziness.

For anyone who hasn't seen the documentary, the biggest question really is, "is this a documentary or an elaborate work of fiction?" I think it's a documentary. If it is fake, it's worlds above that drivel Joaquin Phoenix tried to push on us in I'm Still Here. 

The idea is that a man with a camera (shop owner Thierry Guetta), but no real talent, clumsily embeds himself in the infamous Banksy's entourage, by explaining to everyone he's making a documentary on street art. The tables get turned when Banksy realizes the guy can't edit his way out of a paper bag and, in order to make all the footage salvagable, he agrees to take over the project. Meanwhile, Guetta's reinvented himself as an actual street artist (feel those tables turning?) and dubbed himself Mr. Brainwash. 

Banksy

His first show, for which he doesn't produce anything himself, but rather hires an army of assistants to assemble, create, and install, sells hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of art. Banksy is left scratching his head at the little Frankenstein art monster he created. 

I find myself wondering, this: if Guetta had enough money to hire his huge staff for the Mr. Brainswash stuff, he would have had that same opportunity to hire someone to put his film together in a nicer format for Banksy...but he didn't. Why? Is it psychological? Or maniacal? Or really dumb luck?

The mainstream news is already buzzing about whether Banksy will show up for the Oscar's. Um...no? It's already won several awards around the world and no Banksy. The man's anonymity is his gimmick. It takes nothing away from his talent, but, if we knew who he was, a bit of the exclusivity goes away. He did release a statement, though: 

"This is a big surprise. I don't agree with the concept of award ceremonies, but I'm prepared to make an exception for the ones I'm nominated for. The last time there was a naked man covered in gold paint in my house, it was me." 

Nice.

For the sake of art, street art, pop art, young art, gimmicky art, and so on, I'm rooting for this to be a winner. The more talk it generates, the more projects supporting street art (pun intended) pop up.