Banksy On His Film and The Art World

What is art? And who gets to make it? Wired.com reports that for nearly two decades, enigmatic British street artist Banksy has challenged the rarefied art world, transforming public spaces into culture-jamming spectacles. The hoodie-sporting, spray-can–wielding Scarlet Pimpernel makes his directorial debut with Exit Through the Gift Shop, a documentary billed as “the first great art-disaster movie.” And what a brilliant disaster it is. The film centers on the relationship between the elusive Banksy and Thierry Guetta, an amateur French filmmaker who owns a store in Los Angeles. Guetta begins recording the clandestine antics of Banksy (and other street-art luminaries, including Shepard Fairey and Space Invader) with a mix of bumbling awe and utter incompetence. As the film project stalls, Banksy begins to realize Guetta isn’t really a filmmaker at all, but a Warhol-y mess in the making, with big plans to become the Next Big Thing. Below, Banksy talks to Wired.com in an e-mail interview about the film (which opens Friday in select cities), his secret identity and why Guetta, aka Mr. Brainwash, is the quintessential artist of our times. Wired.com: After watching Exit Through the Gift Shop, I still couldn’t figure out if Guetta, the director-turned-artist, is for real. He doesn’t seem to know anything about art, yet you allowed him to make a film — and then he turned the tables on you. What do you think about him now? Banksy: As far as I’m aware, Mr. Brainwash doesn’t know very much about art, especially his own. He seems to mainly judge the success of an art show by how many square feet it covers and whether it makes any money. This probably makes him the ultimate artist of our times. Wired.com: You keep your identity secret — ostensibly because of your methods. Your appearance in the film suggests you will at some point unmask yourself. Is this documentary a small part of some greater burlesque theater, with your identity as the ultimate reveal? Banksy: The film is the end of my public life rather than the beginning. This is the most you’ll ever see of me, if I can help it. Wired.com: Your work explores power, tests power and is therefore revolutionary, encouraging people to subvert the powers that be. Mr. Brainwash kind of did this to you. He looked at the power structure around him (you and Fairey) and exploited it for his own ends. Does that make him a student — or a con man? Banksy: Thierry essentially trespassed into the art business, and even in the wild world of vandalism there’s a lot of conservatism — people don’t like to see the rules being broken. The story of Mr. Brainwash should be inspirational, and in the hands of a more cheerful director it probably would’ve been. The film might come across as a bit cynical, but it’s important not to forget these are revolutionary times in art. There’s a whole new audience out there, and it’s never been easier to sell it, particularly at the lower levels. You don’t have to go to college, drag ’round a portfolio, mail off transparencies to snooty galleries or sleep with someone powerful. All you need now is a few ideas and a broadband connection. This is the first time the essentially bourgeois world of art has belonged to the people. We need to make it count. (For full source and full Wired.com Interview click the Headline). Irish Art