Art and Craft provides a close case study of one of America’s most famous forgers: Mark Landis. The documentary traces his daily routine and his creation and donation of forged works of art, culminating in his appearance as guest of honor at the University of Cincinnati’s exhibition of his work: Faux Real: A Forger’s Story. Alongside Landis’ narrative is the story of Matt Leininger, former registrar at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, who discovered Landis’ forgeries and set out to expose and stop him. Art and Craft includes the perspectives of Landis, his social workers, the people he duped, and those who tried to stop him—these perspectives come to a head with Landis’ engagement with the public, including Leininger, at his solo exhibition. With themes of acceptance and questions of right or wrong, this documentary juxtaposes Landis’s “philanthropic mission” of forging and donating art, and Leininger’s calling to end his fraud.
Available on Amazon Prime Video
By Annie Muller