"Exit Through the Gift Shop" is a Banksy film and documentary about an aspiring artist named Thierry Guetta, also known as Mr. Brainwash, and his rise to fame in the art community. Intrigued by Banksy, a famed street artist, Thierry attempts to befriend him, following Banksy around with a video camera and filming him as he works. Eventually, Thierry decides that he wants more and becomes a street artist himself. He does this extremely quickly. One day he's an amateur videographer, and the next, he's creating a street art persona for himself (MBW) and printing out stencils to paste in alleyways and on sides of buildings. Soon, we see him hurriedly putting on a solo art show with hundreds of works.

As I watched "Exit Through the Gift Shop," it made me wonder why Thierry was in such a rush to integrate himself into the art community. It dawned on me quite quickly that he merely wanted his name to be out there; he wanted to be talked about and admired. This realization was further supported by the fact that he essentially used his connections to his famous acquaintances (e.g. Shepard Fairey, Banksy) as advertisement for his show.

If Thierry had any passion for art, it didn't show at all. For one, much of his art was produced by people he hired and ordered around. Moreover, most of his art was often heavily inspired by other established artists. In "Exit Through the Gift Shop, Banksy stated that "Most artists take years to develop their style, Thierry seemed to miss out on all those bits." To me, it seems a bit like Thierry is disrespecting artists. I suppose it's not a sin to rise up and build a name for yourself as quickly as he did, but the fact that he seems so dispassionate about his work is unsettling.

Thierry's determined nature proves that anyone can be an artist. However, the way one goes about the process though, is what matters most.