Exit Through the Gift Shop
There is a debate going on in the world of art regarding whether or not street art should be considered an art form. The term street art in itself is very broad and can encompass a large variety of work. Whether the preferred medium is spray paint, large prints, or chalk it must certainly be categorized as art, shouldn’t it? It seems to be just like any other act of self-expression, a statement from the artists themselves—well most of the time. If we look at the examples of Banksy’s work, they are intriguing and done with great detail. His examples of street art vary greatly from those who simply spray paint a figure on walls throughout a city. However, even the tall slinky, stick figure character painted on a brick wall reflects someone’s creative mind at work. Art has an audience, it is meant to be views and to evoke a response from those who see it. Street art definitely attracts the attention of people, in both positive and negative ways. When Banksy drops off the telephone booth piece people immediately become intrigues in it and take pictures. His show was a huge success; people want to view his work. In this sense it is art. There is a large audience. Do street artists always do their work for the purpose of showing something or making a statement? Or sometimes is it simply for the rush of climbing a building late at night and breaking the law? Does that fact that street art is illegal and considered vandalism make it so it can’t be an artistic act? There seems to be the common association between street art, as graffiti or a bunch of reckless teens spraying every surface they can find with paint in senseless and hard to read lettering. Even in this instance, it may not mean much to us, but to the artist or the creator it had meaning, even if it is for just a moment. Street art is an act of expression and therefore should be considered an art form.
At first Mr. Brainwash is an artist in his own way. He is like any other aspiring artist, wanting to produce his own work and be creative. Mr. Brainwash does come up with some ideas for pieces, yet I don’t think he understands what he is created or that they have any meaning to him. The film depicted him as simply taking a painting or older work and editing it. Can we consider this art? I think maybe we could if there was meaning to his editing process. However, it seemed as if it was a careless act of cutting and pasting, copying other artists’ styles and ideas. Mr. Brainwash’s work looks very similar to Banksy’s. Another reason why I don’t think his work fully qualifies as art is that he doesn’t do the work himself. He hired a team of workers to assemble and create his works for him. Part of being an artist is developing your skill and craft over time, something Mr. Brainwash never did. He simply jumped right in and started. It is odd because his work still has an audience and people lined up hours before his show opened, even paying for it. Is this because his work is good, or did he do what his name suggests and brainwash people into thinking he is a legitimate artist? I do not think that Mr. Brainwash should be considered an artist, despite his work appealing to a large audience.
Art has been bought and sold for centuries. As a society we always seek to buy art, or look to find out what it is worth. Watch any episode of Antique’s Roadshow and you’re guaranteed to see someone who brings in a small painting that was passed down through the family. We always look to put a value on art, perhaps sometimes we wish its worth more than it actually is. To the artist their work is priceless, it takes time and energy, thought and many resources to create. The creative mind does not have a price. Yet people all over the world collect art in the hopes that some day, usually long after the artist is dead, that it will be worth something. Why don’t we buy art for the reason that it is meaningful and we like it? Without a doubt people do this, however is that enough? Art is more of an investment, something not only to look at, but if need be could pay for itself down the road. It is a way to show off one’s wealth, to become a patron of the arts has been a symbol of wealth since the Renaissance. Art is valued in our culture because it shows what great things the human mind is capable of doing. If we can buy it, support artists, and be their patrons we become a part of that greatness too.
Exit Through the Gift Shop is an intriguing film about what constitutes art and brings up this great question. I believe that this film has shown me that what is viewed as art, depends on the perspective it is viewed from. To the many people who heard of Mr. Brainwash for the first time, his work was new and exciting. To them it was art! But to Banksy and us, who saw the truth behind Mr. Brainwash, his work is not as qualified for the term art as we might want to think. Some people will say its not art because they simply don’t get it, or it just seems senseless to them. I think this is the case for some street art. If people don’t get it or they don’t see the point then, it’s just another act of vandalism. However, to the people who really look at it and see the creativity in it, street art is art, intriguing and mysterious.
At first Mr. Brainwash is an artist in his own way. He is like any other aspiring artist, wanting to produce his own work and be creative. Mr. Brainwash does come up with some ideas for pieces, yet I don’t think he understands what he is created or that they have any meaning to him. The film depicted him as simply taking a painting or older work and editing it. Can we consider this art? I think maybe we could if there was meaning to his editing process. However, it seemed as if it was a careless act of cutting and pasting, copying other artists’ styles and ideas. Mr. Brainwash’s work looks very similar to Banksy’s. Another reason why I don’t think his work fully qualifies as art is that he doesn’t do the work himself. He hired a team of workers to assemble and create his works for him. Part of being an artist is developing your skill and craft over time, something Mr. Brainwash never did. He simply jumped right in and started. It is odd because his work still has an audience and people lined up hours before his show opened, even paying for it. Is this because his work is good, or did he do what his name suggests and brainwash people into thinking he is a legitimate artist? I do not think that Mr. Brainwash should be considered an artist, despite his work appealing to a large audience.
Art has been bought and sold for centuries. As a society we always seek to buy art, or look to find out what it is worth. Watch any episode of Antique’s Roadshow and you’re guaranteed to see someone who brings in a small painting that was passed down through the family. We always look to put a value on art, perhaps sometimes we wish its worth more than it actually is. To the artist their work is priceless, it takes time and energy, thought and many resources to create. The creative mind does not have a price. Yet people all over the world collect art in the hopes that some day, usually long after the artist is dead, that it will be worth something. Why don’t we buy art for the reason that it is meaningful and we like it? Without a doubt people do this, however is that enough? Art is more of an investment, something not only to look at, but if need be could pay for itself down the road. It is a way to show off one’s wealth, to become a patron of the arts has been a symbol of wealth since the Renaissance. Art is valued in our culture because it shows what great things the human mind is capable of doing. If we can buy it, support artists, and be their patrons we become a part of that greatness too.
Exit Through the Gift Shop is an intriguing film about what constitutes art and brings up this great question. I believe that this film has shown me that what is viewed as art, depends on the perspective it is viewed from. To the many people who heard of Mr. Brainwash for the first time, his work was new and exciting. To them it was art! But to Banksy and us, who saw the truth behind Mr. Brainwash, his work is not as qualified for the term art as we might want to think. Some people will say its not art because they simply don’t get it, or it just seems senseless to them. I think this is the case for some street art. If people don’t get it or they don’t see the point then, it’s just another act of vandalism. However, to the people who really look at it and see the creativity in it, street art is art, intriguing and mysterious.