This unmissable Kafkaesque documentary presents the figure of the artist as he is hounded by “the system” and banality of art. Initially we believe we’re watching a documentary made by Thierry Guetta, a French immigrant in LA obsessed with video who documents his every waking moment on film (though he never watches it), at the request of world-renowned graffiti artist Banksy. Later, it turns out we’re watching a film made by Banksy himself on the unknown Guetta, who becomes a famous artist overnight. Through the Guetta protagonist, who some believe is Banksy’s own creation, a history of graffiti and the world of street art is told: its entrance into mainstream galleries as well as its commercialization, dilution and imitation. Whereas in F for Fake by Orson Welles the imposter is credited with the act of artistic “creation,” here it is pure art consumerism that drives it.
The DVD also contains Guetta’s supposed original documentary on graffiti, reassuring us that he hasn’t decided to become a director, and that in the world of art, anything is possible. You can also follow Guetta’s footsteps, whose style has been described as “a mix of the American pop art of Andy Warhol and a Dadaist street art, which gives his work a contemporary, countercultural touch, just like Warhol in his day.”
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