I love the MBW concept which Banksy brings to life in his documentary "Exit Through The Gift Shop". A movie about street art... or is it? This movie makes you think a lot and without giving too much away (go watch it). We see a character, Mr. Brainwash, whose real name is Thierry Guetta, an eccentric French-born ex-pat living in L.A. become a famous artist over night.Guetta had been attempting to make a documentary about street art when he met Banksy. The outrageous plot of the film is that Banksy was so horrified by Guetta's potential movie - there's even an over-edited, shamelessly shocking "first cut" of the movie shown - and so fascinated with Guetta, that he turned the cameras on him, only to be completely blindsided when Guetta rips off his style launching a huge exhibition in L.A via a factory style, churn and burn rips offs none of which is are created by himself. That's what the movie says anyway.
But what really happened when Banksy encountered the filmmaker? Did he convince Guetta to pose as a budding graffiti artist wannabe so he and Fairey (Obey) could "direct" him in real life - manufacturing a brand new persona that both celebrates and criticizes the over-commercialisation of street art (and gives them a persona to sell their own art under in the process?)
The movie brings to life all the flaws in modern society beyond what's articulated on a canvas through the intangible demonstration.
Branding can influence what we think and also what we believe is the experience. We know that people are so influenced by hype that they'll believe food tastes better, cigarettes smoke better and art IS better (worth hundreds and thousands in fact).
So are we merely sheep? Who's the biggest joke here? Is it art? Is it society? Is it Banksy/Obey? Is it MBW? If art is a visual representation of where we are today - what does this say about the world we live in? I think Mr. Brainwash nails it sadly... and I hope Banksy and Fairey do something damn good with the money.
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