Art and Craft Review
By David Kempler
Artsy, Crafty, and Sweet
Co-directors Sam Cullman, Jennifer Grausman, and Mark Becker have combined to put out a portrait of one of the oddest and most compelling people I have ever seen on screen. Mark Landis is a slightly built and balding man. He speaks barely above a whisper. No, that is usually not the stereotypical description one associates with compelling, but believe me, I was totally riveted by him.
Landis lives alone in a small apartment in a small town in Mississippi. He spends a good deal of his time watching old movies on television and he moves slowly, in almost a drifting sort of way. No doubt that most who live near him think he leads a totally non-descript life. Hardly.
What makes Landis stand out is that he might be the best forger of art in the world. His specialty is religious art. What makes him even more amazing is that he is not in it for the money. He gives his creations to museums. However, he is not quite above-board about his philanthropy. Landis has bundles of made-up stories that accompany his gifts. He has many aliases and uses them, particularly for fooling some of the leading art experts of the world. For over thirty years he has assumed multiple identities and given himself an endless array of backstories, even pretending to be a priest. The fact that Landis must suffer from at least some form of mental disease is lightly glossed over by the filmmakers, because whatever it is, he still functions quite well.
The results of Landis' efforts are that many of his forgeries were hung in some of the biggest museums in America. Every so-called expert seems to have fallen prey to Landis, and as the story unfolds, you can't help being damn glad about it. The pretentiousness of a lot of people in the art world is fun to lampoon and I can't imagine that anyone has ever done a better job, even if it is somewhat unintentional.
The key to all of this is that there appears to be no malevolence on the part of Landis. He shows no anger or distaste for anyone. He is just locked in on his task, while maintaining the most even and sweet demeanor you could ever hope to encounter. The other appealing part of Landis is that he is enormously talented. Sitting at his dining room table, he produces works of art. Okay, he is a copycat, but he is a very talented one.
Every story about a good
criminal needs a pursuer and in this case it is Matthew Leininger, the University of Cincinnati curator of art. Leininger is onto Landis and he is obsessed with stopping him. Leininger isn't a bad guy here. He is just overwhelmingly frustrated by Landis.
The truth about Landis comes to light and, oddly enough, it turns him into an art world celebrity and leads him to have his own exhibition. The sequences that surround his exhibit are marvelous. One can't help but be struck by his gentleness and his oddly normal way of dealing with his turn of fame.
"Art and Craft" is a delight because Landis is a delight. It is absolutely impossible to root against this man. When it draws to a close, you will hopefully be as enchanted as I was by him. The innocence that accompanies the forger is endearing as can be, and this helps make "Art and Craft" a work of art in its own right.
