Urban Art and Artists featured in Documentary -- but is it for real?

Posted by Gil Roeder

Feb 7, 2011, 12:58 AM

If you are interested in Urban Art, you must see Exit Throught the Gift Shop. This movie features appearances/"performances" from Banksy, Shepard Fairey, Mr.Brainwash and many others. 

Exit Through The Gift Shop is first feature film tobe made by Banksy. 
Banksy is a graffiti artist whose work can be seen on walls around the world. He protects his privacy to avoid prosecution and has so far resisted all attempts to be captured on film.

The movie is the story of how a French shop keeper named Thierry Guetta began to make films of urban artists and in the process attempted to locate and befriend Banksy.

But Banksy encouraged the artist turn the camera back on himself. There is rare footage of Banksy, Shepard Fairey, Invader and many other famous and infamous graffiti artists.

"It’s basically the story of how one man set out to film the un-filmable. And failed". - Banksy

Famed street artist Banksy stars in this new documentary, a collaboration with Terry Guetta (akaMr. Brain Wash), called "Exit Through The Gift Shop." We had the chance to check out the film, a result of unprecedented access to the artist over the last ten years, and loved the new insight into Banksy's work, as well as learning how it evolved from street art to collective works.

Here is a trailer for the movie from bankskyfilm.com.

After leaving the movie, my first response was to go online and try to verify if any of it was real. Both Banksy and Thierry Guetta are pretty unreliable narrators. I wasn't even sure if Thierry actually existed or if he was Banksy or if he was working together with Banksy.

So is it true? I verified that Mr.Brainwash does exist and thtat the monumental art exhibit shown in the movie did exist and that Mr. Brainwash generated a huge amount of cash form himself in the process of creating "art".

Shepard Fairey who is in the movie said “Of course the more I try to say it’s all true, the more it sounds like I’m somehow perpetuating the conspiracy,” 

Let us know what you think.

And you can see some urban art from Boston, New York other locales here.