THE GENIUS AND THE IDIOT

What really is “Exit Through the Giftshop?” A funny and smart movie? A breathtaking documentary about the street art scene? Or just the last artistic hoax orchestrated by Banksy? It’s probably all of them.

Everything starts with Thierry Guetta, a freakish French guy that out of the blue decides to videotape everything that happens in his life. With his absurdly goofy personality he gets close to the most important graffiti artists of the new century, following them through their illegal adventures. His camera records the spreading of the Space Invaders pixel art in Paris, the sneaky overnight performances of Shepard Fairey with his Obey stencils, and many more. 

But the turning point of the movie (and of Thierry’s whole life) occurs when he can finally gain the trust of Banksy, the most famous and mysterious street artist ever. Following him through the streets of London and above the buildings of Los Angeles, Thierry became the first human being who captured a fleeting glance of the British artist’s glorious actions.

His camera drives us everywhere Banksy fanatics have always dreamed of being: from his clustered underground studio to the outrageous performances at Disneyland and the Tate Gallery, to the first Banksy exhibition in Downtown LA attended by thousands of people, including celebrities such as Jolie and Pitt. We can’t spot him, but we can feel his power. And the ridiculous amounts of money he makes.

Then the focus moves to Thierry and to his weird attempt at following the artistic path of the graffiti-heroes he taped. We see the process of building an artist from scratch, and enjoy the awkward way he presents his own “art,” giving the clear impression of not even knowing what he’s talking about. The over-the-top promotional campaign anticipating the first LA show has Banksy as a spokesperson: he describes Mr. Brainwash (the dull artistic alter ego of Mr. Guetta) as the one who took Pop Art icons “and definitely made them meaningless,” referring to the trivial and quite childish style of Thierry’s art works.

And here is where our big doubt starts: is Mr. Brainwash real, since he had exhibitions and works sold all over the world, or just a clever and entertaining prank born out of Banksy’s mind?

A must-see for those who want to understand the sheer genius of the most smart-ass artist of our time.

Seen at the Landmark Theatre‬,  Los Angeles, CA 

By Guido Ghedin