Art and Craft

A fascinating and compelling documentary, Art and Craft profiles the career of Mark Landis, a serial art forger. Rather than sell his convincing fakes, he creates an intricate backstory and donates his forgeries to museums. To date, he had 100 pieces on display at one time or another in 46 museums in 20 states. Frail, soft-spoken, and suffering a laundry list of psychological problems, the shrewd, drowsy Landis imagines himself a philanthropist. The duped curators feel otherwise. Living in his deceased mother's cluttered apartment amidst her luxurious belongings, piles of xeroxed artwork, and fakes-in-progress, Landis sips booze from a Milk Of Magnesia bottle and eats TV dinners from silver platters. An intriguing and thought-provoking film, Art and Craft is psychologically complex and remains as dispassionate about the issue of art forgery as its central character.