Banksy film - The Art of the Prank

Update April 19, 2010: The question of whether or not this film is a hoax keeps coming up. The answer seems extremely obvious to us, but here’s some fodder from Web Concepts:

Here”™s Why the Banksy Movie Is a Banksy Prank

Riddle? Yes. Enigma? Sure. Documentary?
By Melena Ryzik
The New York Times
April 13, 2010

Is there an art-world equivalent of crying wolf? If so, Banksy has probably done it.

Banksy”™s film follows the efforts of Thierry Guetta at being a filmmaker and an artist.

Banksy, the pseudonymous British street artist, has built his reputation on stunts “” like inserting his own work among the masters”™ in museums “” that taunted the market in which his pieces sold for millions. But with his latest project, the documentary “Exit Through the Gift Shop,” he is laboring to convince audiences that he”™s playing it straight. Continue reading “Banksy — Laughing All the Way to the Bank?”

As seen on TheFilmStage.com, January 21, 2010:

Graffiti Artist Banksy To Debut Mysterious New Film. by Raffi Asdourian

banksy_museum_exit_through_the_gift_shop-200 Banksy, the renowned British graffiti artist, whose artworks are often satirical diatribes on topics such as politics, culture, and ethics, is shocking the independent film world with what may be the greatest film prank of all time. “Exit Through the Gift Shop,” billed as “A Banksy Film“ , will have its world premiere Sunday night at the Library Center Theater as part of Sundance”™s Spotlight Surprise.

“Sundance has shown films by unknown artists, but never an anonymous one,” said festival director John Cooper. He described the film as “part personal journey and part expose on the art world, with its mind-altering mix of hot air and hype.”

Source Reuters

This explains odd Banksy art popping up around Park City. You can view the trailer for the film below and attempt to decipher the mystery to what the film is all about. Check out some of his graffiti art below as well.

Continue reading “Banksy Film “Exit Through The Gift Shop” to Premiere at Sundance”