Hello, Science! + Movie Review

When is a piece of art not a piece of art? Does an image have to be committed to canvas before it is beautiful or meaningful? Need an artist be professionally trained, or can a hoodlum with a stocking on his head create something worthwhile? For years, the world of street-art has existed all around us; disenfranchised individuals taking to the cities, using spray cans, stencils, stickers – whatever they could – as a means to express themselves wherever they could. But the question still exists: are they creating art? Exit Through The Gift Shop is the documentary with the opportunity to answer that question, as well as to showcase some of the most talented individuals in an industry flourishing just outside the law. Like the very best pieces of street-art, the film is spectacularly original, ironically funny, defiantly independent and effortlessly cool, and the fact that the whole thing might be nothing more than an elaborate prank by the world’s most renowned street-art not only makes the movie that much more interesting, but also reflects better than anything the elusive and rebellious art form that it supposedly documents.