Friday 25 February 2011

exit through the gift shop

Well, will Banksy get an Oscar? We watched 'Exit Through the Gift Shop' last week and the hype is really mounting now before this weekend. I guess we're getting a bit more coverage here in Bristol, home of the aforementioned Bansky - at least we like to think so, but you never can be sure can you?
Anyway, I loved the film. I'm a fan, so approached it biased, but I guess the fact it's been nominated for an Oscar does suggest I haven't lost all objectivity. The film tells the story of a French filmmaker who follows graffiti artists and eventually meets up with Banksy. Banksy, apparently tells it as 'the story of how one man set out to film the unfilmable - and failed.' It tells the story of a LA T-shirt printer called Thierry Guetta who becomes obsesssed with street art and attempts to make a film about it, only to have Banksy, on seeing the catastrophic results, turn the camera on Guetta.
I already think the guy's a brilliant artist and social commentator, but now he's added film-making to his reportoire. Amazing.
It really is very cleverly done, well made and loaded with typical subversion.
I'm not aware of any Banksy work on church buildings and the reaction would be interesting - but not as much as the message behind the art - if you're reading this banksy, I can give you some addresses! Think what that would do for our street cred! What I'd really love, though, is a sit down chat over coffee in a Bristol independent.

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