Banksy and the Rise of Outlaw Art

I have watched several films about Banksy, the best of which is still Banksy´s own ¨Exit Through the Gift Shop¨. The title of this one is a bit misleading. Rather than ¨Banksy and the Rise of Outlaw Art¨, it might be more accurately called ¨Banksy and the Normalization of Outlaw Art, or: The System Will Eat You, Eventually¨.

Art in the twentieth century became highly commodified, and there are several insightful films around on that topic, in particular, independent of the case of Banksy. This feature seems to me more informational than artistic, which is fine, if you happen to be looking for a lecture on the history of graffiti and how Banksy became a part of the art world which he once spurned.

I think there is a hidden concept cleverly used by Banksy that is being explained in the film.

Some very good footage and interesting characters.

Plus a different perspective on art.

On the surface, this film is a truly enjoyable walk through the history of "outlaw art" from its humble beginnings as street graffiti, through gushing acceptance by the "art world" and to subsequent commercialization / corruption with the arrival of big money speculators and wannabe cool celebs.

However, an interesting and almost casual feature of this film is how Banksy -- who has clearly collaborated with the film-makers -- deliberately allows those who care to triangulate his true identity. By naming names and including detailed interviews with many of his early collaborators, the film casually unmasks our anonymous hero to anyone who know or cares about him or this corner of the art world.

Certainly that would include the many art auction houses who deal in his work and elitist art collectors who pay millions of dollars to hang a piece of public street art in their private mansions.

So, even as the film concludes that Banksy's anonymity is part of his legend, and an important piece of folklore that drives up prices for his art in the private market -- the exact opposite of what a street artist like Banksy desires -- by revealing his identity to anyone who cares, Banksy is pulling off the ultimate prank on the art world speculators and collectors, who now have to shut up about this identity, or risk losing value in their precious collections.

So, brilliantly, Banksy uses the art world's unbridled hubris as the means to reserving his anonymity and legend for the masses, for whom he truly produces his art anyway.

Amazing! Brilliant! And just Banksy (as usual).

At least with "¨Exit Through the Gift Shop¨" it was a story of intrigue questioning who was trolling who, this one is just platitudes about the value of street art which is questionable by default. A picture is shredded at the end of an auction, how shocking, is it really? Farce participating in farce, which goes along with the lie that most of this is art, if graffiti were as great as the people touting it, they would invite the spray painters to tag their houses.

Well, being a native Bristolian and fan of street art since the days of 3D I found this to be very interesting and a powerful insight into Banksy. Haha.. I know many of the people mentioned in this documentary and possibly even the man himself! 10/10!