Awesome documentary

[Miss Silly]

My tattoo dude (also a graffiti artist) got me hooked on street art and the subculture of it all a couple years ago and I am thrilled over this documentary. It's definitely worth watching (there is a very interesting twist of focus) and also fascinating as it is also a peek into this underground world of controversial art.

Exit Through the Gift Shop

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0b90YppquE

[nii]

Never understood 'street art'. Defaming property that isn't yours for the sole purpose of feeding your own ego?

Why don't i take a shit on an 'artists' chest and see how much appreciation he would have for that.

Grab a canvas, do your own thing, then have viewings. Why go and shit on other pp's property?

[Feenom]

Not a fan of graffiti either. I have seen some nice organized art where a business pays for some artwork. I liked that.

[Miss Silly]

I'm guessing the fact that it is low-level criminality is a large part of the appeal. Especially when it comes to making political statements. An example being the "art attack" on the controversial West Bank wall (which according to International Court of Justice, breaches international law). When this happened, awareness was brought on a global level. If Banksy did this in a canvas in his home or studio, it would not have generated the same stir.

I don't personally endorse defaming people's property. However I am fascinated by this art (and i'm referring to thought-provoking images that are politically charged or challenging to sociocultural idioms... not random spray-painted tags that are meaningless). It's very provocative documentary.

[LonelyBedouin]

You really have to have a interest in this type of art. I tried to watch it but couldnt. Some of the art in it is sweet though.

[scubadiver]

Great documentary. Although it's more about the person as well as the street art, there are a few underlying messages. art is in the eye of whoever is paying for it, the same poster, spray painted with random doodles to make it unique is art? is it worth $18,000 if someone is willing to pay that much for it? Is the movement really 'underground' if it is 'pop culture' and mainstream to the point of work being worth thousands of dollars?

In essence I thought
1 - kudos to the guy for making a million bucks from selling his street art, considering he has no training in art but could hire people who had photoshop skills, construction skills, paper mache skills etc and put his ideas to fruition. Sure he copied others but he took it and made it a business venture, put his house, business, family savings on the line and it paid off.
2 - There must be a LOT of street artists who probably think he shit on their art movement and made a joke of their work.

It was a good documentary and I found it entertaining. He found a good wife too. In this day and age it's hard to find a woman who will let you go out all night every night and not say a word.