Mr. Brainwash: Creative Fraud or Original Genius?

Written by Charity Lantz

Who is Mr. Brainwash? Mr. Brainwash is the alias of Thierry Guetta, a filmmaker/street artist gaining recognition in urban art culture for various negative and positive means. Although Guetta was born in France, the majority of his life is based in Los Angeles pursuing filmmaking, and eventually art making. Guetta had his debut show in 2008 titled “Life is Beautiful” at the CBS Studios in Los Angeles. The show included numerous paintings and prints, along with colossal installations and sculptures. The reception was a huge success, and jumpstarted his career. Commissioners of his work included Michael Jackson and Madonna.

Guetta’s story begins when he left his clothing business behind in order to create a film that documented graffiti artists at work. His interest in graffiti can be contributed to his relationship with the street artist Invader, his cousin. Invader introduced Guetta to such graffiti giants as Banksy and Shepard Fairey. The process of filming exposed Guetta to countless ideas and inspirations for his own work, which he started producing before finishing the film.

Mr. Brainwash’s work includes stencil work, paintings, and sculpture. Guetta’s subject matter categorizes him as a Pop artist. Most critics may negatively associate Mr. Brainwash with Andy Warhol due to his popularized subject matter and method of art making. Rather than traditionally creating the artwork himself, Guetta actually employs numerous artists to carry out the work, while he oversees them. This method is highly reflective of Warhol, and in turn allows more art to be made. Guetta is similar to Warhol in his movement and style. Warhol is known for his repetitive silkscreens, distinguished from each other only through varied arbitrary color. Though not as repetitive, much of Mr. Brainwash work is in this same style. A difference between the two would be how Warhol did not appropriate other artists’ work, rather he just took popular icons to create his own work. The same cannot be said for Mr. Brainwash.

Revolutionary graffiti artist, Banksy, created the documentary, Exit Through the Gift Shop, which illustrated the initiation and development of Guetta’s artistic career. The 2010 film’s success likely amplified Mr. Brainwash’s already increasing reputation. However, Exit Through the Gift Shop did not paint Mr. Brainwash in a very flattering light. The documentary suggested Mr. Brainwash exploited other artists’ intellectual ideas and styles.

Exit Through the Gift Shop has been received and analyzed in various ways. Some go as far to speculate that Mr. Brainwash is actually a controversial concoction created by street artists Banksy and Shepard Fairey in order to promote their own work. However, these accusations have been apparently disproven. Theories hold that Banksy is himself Mr. Brainwash, because of the similarity in their artistic styles. This idea cannot be completely dismissed considering Banksy’s identity is still unknown.

Let us return to our initial question. Who is Mr. Brainwash? Is he an artistic genius capable of making highly accessible and relatable art? Or is he more so an entrepreneur of sorts, taking advantage of popular culture and ideas in order to turn a profit? Is he an artistic embodiment of popular culture or merely a faux avant-garde icon? I’ll leave it to you to decide whether or not to be Brainwashed.

The Thumbprint Gallery in La Jolla features local artists that have been influenced by the street and graffiti art scene. More about the artists and their art can be found on the Thumbprint Gallery website. It is located at 920 Kline St. #104 in La Jolla, San Diego. The gallery exhibits contemporary, urban, lowbrow, and graffiti art from local artists, and it is open on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 12-4pm.

Sources:
http://www.mrbrainwash.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Brainwash
http://www.forbes.com/sites/hannahelliott/2012/05/02/in-the-studio-with-mr-brainwash/

Elton John's Car Collection- Urban Art: Christie's Auction House Sells It All

Christie's Auction House

Written by Samantha Tutone

The sale and trade of art and valuable objects is as old as commerce itself. The formulation of auction houses began mostly after the French Revolution, as London became the major center for international trade. From the world record-breaking sale of a Bugatti Royale automobile in 1987 to Impressionist paintings by Monet, Christie’s Auction House has made some amazing sales since it opened its doors.

Christie’s Auction house was first established in 1766 in London, England. Founder James Christie made the first sale on December 5, 1766. Today, Christie’s has 53 offices in over 32 countries. An amazing assortment of art and memorabilia is sold in the 450 annual auctions. Christie’s Auction house is one of the largest in the world with annual profits of over $3.5 billion. Private and public sales are all part of the extensive services Christie’s offers. The auction house prides itself on having impeccable quality and impeachable provenance for all of the items it sells, including the antiquities. Christie’s has a longstanding rivalry with the other global art auction house: Sotheby’s.

The list of objects Christie’s Auction sells is enormous. There are over 80 categories and departments. Urban art, interior furniture, African art, musical instruments, and fossils are just a few of the types of objects they sell. Some of the most unusual things have come up for auction and sold for a small (or large depending on how you look at it) fortune. Elton John sold twenty of his own cars £2 million. In 2006 a model of the Star Trek Starship Enterprise Class D sold for a half-million dollars. Not two years later an ink and wash drawing of a Gundam by artist Hisashi was auctioned as well. Traditional art objects like photographs, Old Master paintings, and sculpture are also for sale.

Rare and expensive wines have their own market at Christie’s Auction. The house even has art storage facilities for rent or purchase, for proper atmospheric and environmental housing of delicate collections. Christie’s also has an international realty department, selling and renting exclusive properties around the world at the most spectacular locations. The auction house also offers appraisals for all manner of arts.

Even with the recent downturn of the world economy, Christie’s Auction still manages to make a serious profit off the art that it sells. Some aspects of the market took a serious drop, however. Urban art, especially works by the urban art movements’ most famous member Banksy, struggled to sell through 2009 and 2010. On average, the price and demand for Banksy art dropped 30 percent. Nevertheless, change is in the wind. Contemporary art specialist, Ben Hanly said, “Banksy will come back. He’s the one member of the urban art movement who will last” (Reyburn, Bloomberg). Sales of urban art and contemporary art at Christie’s Auction will continue to rise as the world economy begins to recover.

To learn more about contemporary and cutting edge art visit Thumbprint Gallery. It is located at 920 Kline St. #104 in La Jolla, San Diego. The gallery exhibits contemporary, urban, lowbrow, and graffiti art from local artists. It is open on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 12pm to 4pm.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christie's
http://www.christies.com/about/company/index.aspx
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a7k5jl05o0i0

Banksy: Street Art in the Shadows

Written by Jocelyn Saucedo

No one knows for sure who Banksy really is, but his work has achieved a cult status in the world of modern art, and brought recognition to street art. His elusive personality garners him both love and hate from the public. Some call his work vandalism or annoying, while many regard him as an artistic revolutionary hero. But regardless of public opinion, the artist has been in the world of street art since the 90’s, and has made a brand of himself through his mysterious nature.

Although interviews with him are rare, Banksy has revealed he was born in Bristol, England and that his beginnings in street art first came through graffiti. He admits it would take him far too long to write out letters with spray paint, which increased his chances of being caught. This is why he opted to use stencils, which he says are accurate and efficient. Often satirical messages and use of slogans characterize his work. Other common motifs are paintings about politics through the use of animals like rats. He also incorporates human figures like policemen, soldiers, or the elderly.

Upon moving to London, he used his street art as a way to counter all of the advertising and billboards that he saw in the city. He “always felt that it was all right to answer back a little bit, I suppose. That the city shouldn't just be a one-way conversation,” Banksy said in an interview with The Sun.

Although his work often sells for millions, remaining anonymous helps him to be humble and to focus on his work. He also prefers to showcase his art prints and other works in a warehouse instead of a gallery. To the artist, graffiti has “always been a temporary art form. You make your mark and then they scrub it off…most of it is just designed to look good from a moving vehicle.”

On his own terms, Banksy has managed to have his art prints displayed, albeit briefly, in some of the world’s finest museums. Dressed in a trench coat and fake beard, the artist himself walked in and hung up some of his own art prints alongside famous modern art prints at the Museum of Modern Art, and even the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He has also placed some of his art prints at London’s Tate Modern art gallery, in an attempt to officially display them and avoid anyone copying his work.

Last year, a mural of a mouse flying a kite surfaced in Oceanside, California and was believed to be by the famous artist, but it was later confirmed that it had not been painted by the artist. However, Banksy’s influence on street art, and the awareness he has brought to the movement, has inspired many other artists in San Diego.

At Thumbprint Gallery, graffiti and stencils are important mediums for Michael Mahaffey, N.O.M.A.D., Enosh, Grandlarsen, Keemowerks and Jason Feather. Artists like Mahaffey had similar beginnings to Banksy, and later ventured into galleries as their own style developed. “I started working on stencils with a friend of mine, and we would hit the streets of Tucson late at night with our stencils and spray paint,” notes Mahaffey. You may check out urban art available at Thumbprint Gallery by clicking here.

See more Thumbprint Gallery artworks available in our online store here.