B Movie: A Short Film About Banksy

A little bonus documentary (one of two) comes bundled with Exit Through the Gift Shop -- B Movie: A Short Film About Banksy. Quite good. It follows Banksy's arc and initial ethos ("you wanna make your mark"); his coming upon the pragmatic idea of using stencils for his graffiti/street art. "I never thought there was anything bad about it," he says of the lifestyle. Paraphrasing: There should be some kind of response to advertising and other stuff imposed upon people in public spaces. There needs to be an interaction, not passivity. His street art does respond, often with humor and also expressing horror at atrocities.

As an all-around creative agent and aspring painter, he muses "if you were waiting for them to come to you you'd be waiting a long time," them being anyone paying attention, including the artworld.  

We next see Banksy hanging his own paintings in the "blank spaces between the art" at galleries and museums (hilarious). Then on to his warehouse events "Turf War" and "Barely Legal." They are circuses, complete with live animals. Another scene: Banksy and crew hand-manufacture Paris Hilton CDs with customized messages, then drop them in stores for people to acquire, "reverse shop-lifting," as he puts it. "What can they do, catch me for littering?" 

The Barely Legal event proves popular. Whereas he'd been used to making enough cash for a haircut and food, suddenly he's making $50,000 at a pop.

What has Banksy and his peers done?  They've bypassed galleries, utilized streetscapes, industrial buildings, parks, warehouses and the internet to create their own system. 

Banksy: "Maybe all art is just about trying to live on for a bit . . . I mean, they say you die twice: one time when you stop breathin,' and the second a bit later when somebody says your name for the last time." 

Today's Rune: Signals.