My head is spinning after this film

THIS GUY.

I find the name Mr. Brainwash to be ironic as I observed the human behavior displayed in the film, "Exit Through the Gift Shop". Mr. Brainwash himself seems brainwashed into believing that he is still an artist by the time he names himself. The beauty of this film lies in the vast questions it poses in regards to what art is and what defines an artist. Originally, Thierry seemed to be creating something artistic and raw in his filming, but it was by accident. The accident that is Thierry's obsession with capturing life on video tape is a "happy accident" which lends itself to a mostly genuine film about street art. It is very interesting to analyze Thierry as an artist this early in the film. I cannot condone that Thierry is absolutely producing the film because he has a passion for street art. Most of his passion still lies in simply carrying a camera around with him. He somewhat unintentionally captures a masterful assortment of artistic footage. However, if the footage was captured instead by someone who had an absolute interest in street art and none in film, then the capturing process may have suffered. One must also consider most film makers, whose passion lies in actually producing videos. They are considered artists even when they have no interest in the subject they are shooting.
These considerations led me to create the beginnings of definitions of what art is and what an artist is in my own opinion. I believe the best artists have a passion for the images/messages they create as well as a love for and a mastery of the process of creating their images.
Near the end of the film, we see Thierry attempt to become an iconic street artist. However he seems to lack passion in any category of art-making. His passion at this point seems to be focused on becoming an icon using others' methods. He is able to take credit for other artists' work which is mass produced. He comes up with strange ideas for images which imply some deep concept, but truly are just strange mixtures of other artists' iconic images and topics of pop culture. His strategy disgusts me as a fine artist and yet he is praised by all of his brainwashed followers. His story is not unlike many famous artists, actors, filmmakers, and others.
Why is it that people so easily give their attention (and money) to icons rather than true artists? Perhaps having a piece of art made by a well known figure is validating to buyers. Many buyers know nothing about the piece of art, but rely on the fame of the artist as proof that there is something extraordinary about the piece. Modern art criticism and museums seem to go along with this ritual of iconography. But who is to blame? Scam artists or the  gullible population that pays outrageous amounts for bad artwork?
Street art in general is based on iconography, but as we see in the film, there are true artists who push to make political statements to promote change. In my Street Art class I  hope to learn to find the beauty in graffiti which I never truly appreciated before.