What is outsider art? Graffiti has long been considered the work of criminals, but the art world is perverse in its attempts to co-opt them. They’re happy to turn the anonymous or damaged into superstars, launching them into a world of art shows that sell prints for thousands upon millions of dollars. With Exit through the Gift Shop – Banksy’s one of a kind documentary – two of the main subjects are the popularity of outsider art and the meaningless of such attention. The credibility of the film has become a subject of discussion, and how much of the film is a prank is hard to know. But even if the whole film is lying to you, that too creates a truth. Heady questions for one of the best films of the year. My review of Exit through the Gift Shop follows after the jump.

There’s really not much reason to watch The Simpsons anymore so you may have missed the inspired opening that was done by the brilliant street artist known as “Banksy”.  Not only did he leave his tag on the streets of Springfield, but he handled the storyboards and directed an opening credits and do one of the couch gags that is easily one of the darkest in the show’s history.  I don’t think the show is particularly good any more, but they deserve credit for what they let him to do.  Hit the jump to check out the intro.

At this year’s Sundance Film Festival, one of the last films to get announced was also its biggest: Exit Through the Gift Shop.  Focusing on the graffiti art movement, the film was directed by Banksy and it featured many of the biggest artists in the field on camera and explaining how they work. It was my favorite film at this year’s Fest and it’s now playing in limited release.  Go see it.

Anyway, if you’re a fan of Banksy (and you should be), you know the mysterious artist produces art all around the world and you never know where the next one will be.  But with his movie premiering at Sundance, many suspected he would show up in Park City…and he did.  Around the time of the premiere, many Banksy pieces appeared around the city.  While everyone thought we’d seen it all, with the snow melting in Park City, a new piece has been revealed.  Hit the jump for more:

A 5 minute clip from Exit Through the Gift Shop, the first film by graffiti artist Banksy, has been released.  You may not be familiar with the name Banksy, but you’ve almost certainly seen pictures of his street art before.  His style – which is based mostly on creating graffiti through the use of stencils – is very distinctive, provocative and often beautiful.

Exit Through the Gift Shop is a documentary about a video-obsessed Frenchman named Thierry Guetta with a love for street art who tried to make a film about the secretive Banksy.  Bansky, however found Guetta to be more fascinating than himself and turned the cameras around on the would-be filmmaker.

The resulting movie – which has no credited director – debuted at the Sundance Film Festival this year.  It is narrated by Rhys Ifans.  You can watch the five-minute clip after the jump.

One of the best films I saw at this year’s Sundance Film Festival almost wasn’t shown.  That’s because when the schedule was released, Exit Through the Gift Shop wasn’t listed.  Instead, the documentary by the renowned graffiti artist Banksy about the underground street artist movement was added at the last minute.  Since I’d heard positive things from a screening the other day, Peter from Slashfilm and I decided to check the film out earlier today and then do a video review.

If you’re not familiar with Banksy and his art, here’s his official website. Here’s a bit about him:

“with a global reputation whose work can be seen on walls from post-hurricane New Orleans to the Palestinian segregation wall in the West Bank. Fiercely guarding his anonymity to avoid prosecution Banksy has so far resisted all attempts to be captured on film.”

Trust me, the guy is an amazing artist and someone who deserves all the press he gets.  And after watching the documentary, I’m even more impressed.  Hit the jump to hear Peter and I gushing over this film.  Also, you can watch the trailer:

The 2010 Sundance Film Festival isn’t heating up-it’s heated.  The Festival kicks off tonight and will run through January 31st.  Steve will be there (as soon as his flight stops getting delayed) and will bring you loads of interviews and his thoughts on the films making their debuts.  I’ll be here in Atlanta, seething with jealous rage.  This rage is exacerbated when I see clips from Mark Ruffalo’s directing debut, Sympathy for Delicious, the rock biopic The Runaways, and the trailer for Exit Through the Gift Shop, the first film from brilliant street artist Banksy.

After the jump you’ll find nine clips (in one player) for Sympathy for Delicious, starring Ruffalo, Juliette Lewis, Laura Linney, Christopher Thornton, and Orlando Bloom.  We’ve also got a clip from The Runaways starring Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning (you can also check out the eight high resolution images from the film that Steve posted yesterday).  Finally, we also have the trailer for Last Exit Through the Gift Shop.  I’ve also included the official synopsis for each film.