Documentary Analysis: Exit Through The Gift Shop

The use of technology has catalyzed society into an era that is increasingly interconnected yet impersonal at the same time. Despite technology’s endless list of assets, many fail to acknowledge its shortcomings when mentioning what is lost as a result of using it. Although in “Great to Watch” by Maggie Nelson, she is not afraid to share her skepticism of technology, as well as the role it plays in desensitizing individuals on a day-to-day basis. The internet is an invaluable resource to many because it is a public domain for sharing ideas, opinions, and knowledge that any and everyone can have access to. In a sense, it does not restrict what someone may see or do, and this can either be a good thing or a bad thing. The booming use of new media

Exit Through the Gift Shop is critical of how our culture values and judges artwork because of the degree to which expectations and others’ beliefs manipulate our interpretations of reality. The documentary demonstrates this phenomenon concerning art, but it also applies to all subjective experiences. Through Thierry’s opening gallery Life is Beautiful, Exit Through the Gift Shop shows how expectations and conformity manipulate our experiences.

Whether it is painting, drawing or sculpting, marginal art forms have become commodities. In addition, artists are becoming more popular for their fame rather than the content of their pieces. As artists have gone from creators to celebrities who happen to create, they are able to use their artwork to their own selfish benefit. In the Banksy film, “Exit Through the Gift Shop”, these issues are brought to life and help viewers realize that art as a commodity is not necessarily a good thing. When a marginal art form becomes commodified and a cult of celebrity emerges, the art loses its value and the genuine purpose and priorities are altered.

In order to fulfill Women & Religion’s fourth hour credit justification – I attended Spelman College’s Denim Day screening and discussion of the documentary film, “The Hunting Ground.” This free screening was sponsored by Feminist Theory: Dr. Beverly Guy Sheftall, Women, Values and Law: Dr. Cynthia Neal Spence, and the Student Commission on Gender, Discrimination, and Sexual Violence. This seminar was held on Wednesday, April 20, 2016 from seven until nine o’clock, post meridiem. It was located at the Camille Olivia Hanks Cosby, Ed.D. Academic Center at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia.

Exit through the gift shop is a 2010 documentary based on street art. The film was released on April 16th 2010. Directed by a notable street artist by the name of Banksy. The film tracks film maker turned street artist by the name of Thierry on his quest to success. The opening begins with many images of street artist displaying their work then; it cuts to an interview of Bansky who discusses what the film will be on. Thierry Guetta a French man was clothing store owner who picks up a camera and begins to film his everyday life. What we now know as vlogging. One day, Thierry visits his cousin who is making images similar to the monsters you would see chasing pac man and becomes engrossed in his art. Thierry begins following him around, filming his cousin putting his art work up all around the city on walls and building. Thierry then meets other artist and begins filming them the same way that he did his cousin. Thierry leaves his family to follow street artist around different cities as they try to make their art known to the public.

Through a formal analysis and investigation of the subject matter in Diane Victors, “Strip” (Image A) , “Tease” (Image B) and “Leda and the white backed vulture” (Image F) one will be able to see that, her choice of an unsettling and taboo subject matter supports the meaning behind her works. While in “The Butcher boys” (Image C), created by Jane Alexander, three monstrous figures sit on a wooden bench. These three deformed figures provoke feelings of alienation, distrust, anxiety, and curiosity while symbolising the culture of Apartheid. Whereas, Marcel Duchamp's form of art - the readymade- leaves viewers grappling with the conceptual idea instead of focusing on technical skill, in his work, “Fountain”(Image D). Benon Lutaaya uses the medium

Every time my family and I go grocery shopping we end up having numerous plastic bags after unloading the food. For the most part we save these bags, keeping them underneath the sink in case we need to use them for something else later on.  However, we have done such a great job at saving these bags that they have begun to take up space. As such we have recently started throwing most of them in the garbage.  After watching the Bag It documentary in my English class I begin to realize how much plastic we actually end up throwing away just in these plastic bags, and how wasteful it is.

The history of the Situationist movement is critical into understanding how street art can be used as a political weapon to enact social change. Like Banksy, the Situationists believed in superseding art, which abolishes the notion of art as a separate, specialized activity and transforms it into the cultural fabric of everyday life. Street art accompanies an element of surprise and culture shock because it can appear anywhere. People do not have to visit a museum or gallery to see art. Moreover, he adopts the Situationist’s methods of detournement, which is the act of taking an existing form of media and creating a new piece of art with a different message behind it. In particular, Banksy’s Les Misérables' mural is a representative form of deceptive detournement, which takes an intrinsically significant element and places it into a new context. Tear gas surrounds her and the French flag is torn to signify the values of liberty and freedom being destroyed. This is one of several Banksy’s murals that are reminiscent to the Syrian refugee

In this ambitious work, Sarah Thornton opens to doors to the art world and anyone is welcome to enter. The organization of Seven Days in the Art World allows the reader to easily follow Thornton as she experiences the art world from buying, selling, to creating art. Seven Days in the Art World delivers an entertaining account and perspective on the art world. This book is an excellent resource for not only students, educators, and art enthusiasts, but also those who don 't know a thing about the art world. In reviewing this book, the principal criteria included detailed information on each location Thornton visited giving any reader a sense of belonging through detail, explaining art terminology, and connecting the locations she visits one another in various ways. Although Thornton changes her tone toward the middle of the book and an artist contradicts himself making parts of the book confusing, these problems are only a minor distraction to the story being told.

On Saturday October 4th Nuit Blanche Toronto’s annual celebration of art, drew crowds of spectators to the streets of downtown to experience the awaited installations. Many pieces referenced strong messages on topics ranging from cultural differences, environmental concerns, and social issues. The night was divided into four main zones: Before Day Break, The Night Circus, The Possibility of Everything, and Performance Anxiety, each zone was located in a region of downtown Toronto. We started our night at Spadina Avenue viewing the exhibition Everything is possible and walked all the way to Fort York finishing our night with the exhibition Before Day Break. In total I was able to view 31 installations consisting of video, sculpture, and performance. The piece that stood out to me the most during the night was located in Fort York in the exhibition Before Day break. This themed exhibition consisted of 12 installation pieces that focused on the “evoking complexity of life itself” with topics ranging from social politics, human relationships, cultural diversity, and religion. The piece that moved me the

Summary: The book is about the collage-style paintings that were done by Jean-Michel Basquiat that sprouted to fame in the 1980s as a cultural phenomenon. This art was like no other art the world has ever seen in the recent past. The book introduces young children to the powerful message that is sent to the society through art.

With help of Thierry Guetta, a French boutique owner turned freelance videographer, the world of graffiti and its artists are exposed in Exit through the Gift Shop. Well-known artists such as Shephard Fairey, Invader, Borf, and many others are captured by Guetta’s camcorder. Guetta captures the art chronologically from beginning to end all while avoiding law enforcement. His efforts led to following around the extremely talented, Banksy.

In a busy town of England, the weather was becoming windy and cold. The roads were busy as horses galloped and squashed the dirt on the ground, leaving their hooves dirty and moist. Citizens of England walked to their destination: ladies to a seamstress's shop and gentlemen to their business workplace. Many shops were open but there was one shop in particular that caught attention. The compact building was a art’s and craft’s shop, allowing artists to come in and buy their supplies. The shop went by the name of, “Archie’s Art”, and was own by an elderly male painter. There was even a small room in the back of the shop where artists could visit to practice painting or drawing. But why was this art’s and craft’s shop so interesting?

Ingeniousness has always been pushed to the inhibitions in the media. In the film, “Exit Through The Gift Shop,” street art is the life-style. This film shows certain artists, but does not give full identity of these artists, aside from one, Banksy, the filmmaker. Which gives us the question, is this film a hoax or not?

Banksy once said, “Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” Banksy, the director of Exit Through the Gift Shop, a documentary that goes through the heart of street art strongly emphasizes that art is not about money, but rather about expression and passion. He supports his argument mainly through his strong visual and audio tactics. Visuals are much stronger than any other sense. A reoccurring factor that influences the viewer’s thoughts towards the argument is where Banksy focuses the video.