Whatever You Think About Mr. Brainwash, He Probably Just Confirmed It

Anyone who saw last year’s riveting Oscar-nominated documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop (available to watch instantly through Netflix) will want to check out the Huffington Post Arts article on the Mr. Brainwash Art Show 2011, which took place recently in Los Angeles.

The street artist turned gallery cash cow is really one of the most fascinating film characters to come along in the last few years. And he’s (supposedly) a real person. His intrigue is built around the myriad debates that he sparked as people try to define him: He’s a genius, he’s a fraud, he’s completely clueless and staggeringly lucky, he’s the beneficiary of illogical art world trend chasers.

The content of his latest show probably won’t do much to un-blur all the fuzzy characterizations of him. The article explains the odd scene:

Aside from that debacle, Brainwash was still in the process of putting the show together, after it had already opened. As he threw stuffed animals onto a giant Mike Kelley-esque mountain, press were snapping away. It is unusual for an artist to so blatantly flesh out their ideas in front of an audience, unless the performance was the final product.