Banksy, Street Art, and “Exit Through the Gift Shop”

View the film “Exit Through the Gift Shop” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqVXThss1z4

(URL may not work. Search youtube for free version of the movie if necessary).

There is a lot covered in this movie. Pick one of the five prompts below and give your opinion.

1. Shepard Fairey (maker of the Andre the Giant / Obey images)

“Even though the Andre the Giant sticker was just an inside joke and I was just having fun, I liked the idea of the more stickers that are there the more important it seems. The more important it seems the more people want to know what it is. The more they ask each other and it gains real power from perceived power.”

2. Banksy on Thierry Guetta

“…maybe Thierry wasn’t actually a film maker and he was maybe someone with mental problems who just happened to have a camera.”

3. Banksy on Thierry Guetta

“I don’t think Thierry played by the rules in some ways. But then there aren’t supposed to be any rules. So, I don’t really know what the moral is. I mean I always used to encourage everyone I met to make art. I used to think everyone should do it. I don’t really do that so much anymore.”

4. Shepard Fairey about Thierry Guetta’s LA show

“… a lot of suckers buying into his show…maybe it means art is a bit of a joke.”

5. Thierry Guetta (aka Mr. Brainwash, aka MBW) on his LA show

“I came up with the idea that the whole movement of art is all about brainwash. Obey is about brainwash. Banksy is about brainwash…with time you’ll see my creativity. You’ll see if I’m a real artist or not.”