exit through the gift shop

u.k street artist banksy is definitely an acquired taste.
love him or hate him- and people tend to pick one of
the two, passionately, you can't argue the fact he is
one of the most prevalent and prolific contemporary
art figures of our time.

in his recent foray into the film world banksy looks at
the life of thierry guetta- the frenchman who made a
fortune selling crappy clothing with couture price-tags.
guetta made a name for himself in the street-art world
by filming his cousin, french mosaic artist 'invader.'

given banksy's history as one of our generations greatest
pranksters, the question has been raised that he himself
is in fact guetta. conspiracy theories aside this film gives
a true insiders view into one of the biggest, continuously
evolving area's of contemporary culture and should not be
missed.

opening april 14th, 'exit through the gift shop' addresses
some of the most well known avenues of street art (stencil,
wheat paste and traditional graffiti) but also causes us to
think about the exploitation, from both sides, the artists and
the art elite that are keen to jump on the bandwagon and
make a few bucks off another underground movement that
has come up. hence the clever name.

make up you own mind, love or hate banksy, but if you are
interested in contemporary, accessible art then this is something
you shouldn't miss.

watch the trailer here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTlm6dU2xHk

** image sourced from juxtapoz.com
** video link from youtube.com