Exit Through the Gift Shop

 

            I really enjoyed exit through the gift shop. I’ve never seen it before but I had knowledge of Banksy’s work, as well as others like Invader and Shepard Fairey. Personally, I have no problem with street art being considered “real” art. I understand vandalism from a certain aspect but only in certain situations, such as upholding the image that buildings and businesses have. But apart from that I think art includes all forms of street art.

            However to compare street art and art I feel like you need to define both terms, a difficult thing to do as both forms are subjective. For the purpose of this essay, I’d like to define art as “anything that is expression or application of human skill, imagination, or message.” So to define street art I think anything that falls under that is art. Even someone who just writes “F the police,” because it is expression of a message.

            Honestly I don’t consider MBW as an artist. I think the best way to explain why is by comparison. Malena Bergmann spoke on the use of the man spreading the seeds reappearing in history even through Van Gogh’s work, acknowledging other influential artists. Sampling in music, cast into public view by Kanye West, uses one’s influences to give a nod to those who came before. The renaissance focused on using the same style of sculpting as the ancient Romans, to show the history and exceptional artistry from the past.

            However Van Gogh didn’t paint the same picture. Kanye West didn’t make a cover of a song that already existed. The sculptors in the renaissance didn’t create the same exact pieces the Romans did. In the same way, MBW relied heavily (and heavily might be an understatement) on peoples previous work, tweaking small things to create his “original” work. MBW seems to barrow heavily from people like Warhol, Banksy, and Lichtenstein, both stylistically and conceptually.

            Also as an important note, almost all artists express their art themselves. Not to say that there weren’t artists who used others to paint or draw in their older years or as a teacher, it’s different because they started and developed as their own person creating their own art. Going back to my definition of art, personal creation isn’t a given, but it should be. There is not point in one person expressing the human skill or imagination of someone else then passing it along as their own.

            As far as just being artificially popular, I think most people in creative field strive for that now. Personally, I’m still figuring out the things I like but no matter how much I can discover, I still have an awareness of what’s hype. There certain attention thats given to artists, musicians, and even politicians that have some sort of hype. I don’t fault MBW on that, the only thing I fault him on is not using that hype to advertise something truly his own.

            Interestingly enough, I thought the name Mr. Brainwash seemed very intriguing. It had the potential to be a narrative on culture or a social critique, which was my initial impression. And while it wouldn’t be the first time someone had played character to promote something, seeing him interviewed in the film instilled the exact opposite of what I was thinking. In the end it seemed like he tried to create a persona (in which he started living) for some financial gain.

            But I don’t fault him on any of his financial gain. In retrospect, it seemed like a good plan but was risky as a far as a business venture goes. All the time, people make copies of art to create things, like people in myrtle beach spray painting logos on t-shirts, when art is sold as poster or copied on canvas, or even novelty gifts, wherein I think “Exit Through the Gift Shop” is very accurately titled. Go make that money just don’t pass it off as one’s original work. That is very different than art as a commodity.

            I feel art sold at market price is important because it shows an appreciation for art as something with value. Whether it is a real appreciation or inflation of that appreciation for show, it still pushes art as a high-class standard. As a weird side note to this, the Wu-Tang Clan were recently offered 5 million dollars for the album Once Upon A Time In Shaolin, their newest album which only exists in a single copy. In an interview with Pitchfork Magazine, they said “The main theme is music being accepted and respected as art and being treated as such. If something is rare, it's rare. You cannot get another,” which is a very important concept which runs through most of the art world.

            While watching the film, I liked seeing the general attitudes and atmosphere of street art in California and in the UK. Specifically I learned everyone is talented and passionate in different ways. While everyone can create art, I think pure creation of art only comes to people in certain forms. Personally, I know a lot of people that probably couldn’t spray paint a picture on anything well, but could easily do something else artistic without even knowing it. Things like calligraphy to leading others to even maintaining a house and yard are all art in my book. Thierry Guetta filmed masterfully and was an excellent learner. However maybe film editing and street art aren’t his naturally given talents. Some people are artists without even knowing it.