Banksy in Chicago II + Rodan benefit for Elisa "Pooper" Harkins

Having studiously ignored yesterday's Banksy blitz, I was not pleased to see the street artist's supposed contributions to Chicago mentioned on the TOC blog this morning. TOC senior web editor John Dugan encouraged me to explain why instead of ranting at him. "We obviously thought the same thing," John IM'd. "I just went in a different direction with it."

Why doesn't a shitty stencil of a pram on a staircase make my soul soar? The answer can be found in Banksy's movie Exit Through the Gift Shop. After watching Banksy add a dummy dressed as a Guantanamo prisoner to Disneyland's Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ride, it's hard to get worked up about an Untouchables reference that looks, as John put it, "subpar."

My favorite parts of Exit Through the Gift Shop are the moments when Banksy's antihero Thierry Guetta or artists such as Shepard Fairey explain why they love street art: because creating it is a thrill; because stumbling upon a cool piece changes the way you see your everyday surroundings.

I didn't stumble upon the Chicago Banksy; I got a press release about it from Maxwell Colette Gallery, which sells his work. The timing of its appearance suggests it's an ad for Exit Through the Gift Shop, which is still playing at Landmark's Century Centre Cinema. Wow, an ad: There's something you don't see every day.

Banksy's well aware that some people consider him a sellout. His movie's largely about what happens when street art is commodified. It mocks those who line up to buy it without considering whether it's good or whether they like it. Oohing and ahhing over every rat that shows up in Chicago makes us just another punch line.

On another note, if you're a local fan of street art, you might be familiar with Elisa "Pooper" Harkins. Heaven Gallery sent out an e-mail yesterday saying that Harkins was injured in an accident April 4, but is "recovering beautifully and amazingly." Rodan is hosting a benefit for her May 12 at 10pm. "Most of the proceeds from the evening will be donated for her living and hospital expenses. And donations will be accepted at the door," according to the e-mail.