Art and Craft

For the past 30 years, master art forger Mark Landis has donated hundreds of fake works to more than 40 museums across the country. The forgeries range from classic impressionist paintings to cartoonist Charles Schulz drawings. It wasn't until 2008 that his capers were uncovered by former art registrar Matthew Leininger. Perhaps the strangest element of all in this bizarre story is that Landis did none of it for money, therefore no real crime was committed. The documentary follows Landis in his cramped Mississippi apartment as he demonstrates how he created his works using simple supplies from an arts and crafts store and slowly reveals elements of his troubled past (he was diagnosed as a schizophrenic at the age of 17 and spent one year at Houston's famed Menninger Clinic). Landis's story is segmented by that of the equally obsessive Leininger, who was determined to expose Landis's fraudulent antics to the art community. Interviews with art museum curators and an FBI agent are also included.