I have to say Exit Through the Gift Shop wasn't what I'd expected. I thoroughly enjoyed this film but would have appreciated more aggressive editing. This documentary follows the efforts of Thierry Guetta with a handheld camcorder, aspiring to make a film about urban street arts. After 10 years of footage and thousands upon thousands of miles around the globe, Thierry realizes he doesn't have the resources to finish his project. The highlight of the film was his chance meeting with most notorious London street artist, Banksy.
Unfortunately after meeting Banksy, Theirry decided to follow his own artistic career making a mockery of the entire California art scene. Hiring a variety of studio artists, Theirry successfully created a body of work that he admittedly borrowed from a combination of Banksy, Wharhol, and other successful pop artists. Without ever being represented by a gallery or selling art on his own, Theirry marketed a one-man show in Los Angeles, selling over 1 million dollars of his work in just under a month. I don't know what kind of cruel joke this was, but I bet there are a few art collectors out there who aren't laughing.
The nicest thing about having the film premier at Sundance was having him tag our city. It's an amazing piece with a cameraman filming a flower. I give his painting 5 Queens but his film gets a 2.5 Queen rating. I'd like to apologize in advance for the citizens of Park City who will most likely cover it up. Pretty strange that a community so concerned with appearances and fame would actually paint over an original Banksy. His original paintings sell for $100,000.00. It's a shame someone wouldn't work with the city to do something worthwhile for a much-needed charity instead of painting over it.
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