“Exit Through the Gift Shop” is short film depicting the evolution of graffiti as art through the eyes of cameraman/shop owner turned artist, Thierry B. The film becomes less about graffiti and more about the Frenchman’s unusual journey from avid documentarian to insane “street artist,” practically overnight. His work, involves appropriation, essentially using work from another artist directly, in order to provide insight, commentary, or satire on a particular issue or idea.
Appropriation, to a certain degree, can be effective, but when used excessively the work seems trite and meaningless. While artists like Banksy and Fairey draw from popular culture, they are still able to incorporate enough of their own personal style and taste to make their work stand out as uniquely their own, as insightful, delightful, or shocking. Theirry, on the other hand, seems to just mimic what everyone else is doing. Through his compulsive videotaping, he knows what street art looks like, how it functions, but not quite how to be creative with his endeavors. He sees someone post a sticker, so he does that. He likes Andy Warhol’s rendition of Campbell’s soup cans so he redoes that. The repetition becomes so obvious that one begins to question one’s definition of art, and whether it isn’t all just brainwashing, something to keep us complacent.
I believe graffiti (executed tastefully) has progressed into an art form in its own right, capable of evoking more sentiment in the viewer than just thoughts of petty criminality. It makes trains and tunnels and blank canvases of walls all that more interesting to look at.
