Pics: Banksy in Detroit

This weekend, Banksy’s movie Exit Through the Gift Shop premiered in several cities, including here in Detroit. Sightings of Banksy’s art were soon reported here as well as in Chicago and Toronto. In Detroit, there are three pieces:

• Diamond Girl is at Circle Cleaners on Van Dyke near McNichols (between Milton and Palmetto) [pics]
• “I remember when all this was trees” at the old Packard Plant [pics]
• Tightrope Rat is on a big gray industrial building in Warren, on Van Dyke just south of 12 mile (between Anna and Gerald)

Tightrope Rat just happens to be right down the street from where I work. As soon as I saw the rain let up, I ran out to see it up close.

He has gold glitter on his glasses!! I felt like I was rewarded for going out in the rain and seeing it in person. I was honked at, I kneeled in a puddle without thinking and my hair looks like, um, a wet rat. But it was worth it.

We saw Exit Through the Gift shop on Friday night, and it was a really thought-provoking movie. It definitely sparked a debate between Dennis and I on the way home. It’ll challenge you to try and define what constitutes art and what doesn’t, and whether or not an artist’s success is earned or bought.