'Art and Craft': How a Master Art Forger Was Found Out

Mark Landis, one of the most prolific art forgers in U.S. history, explains why he gave away copies and used disguises.

[@HenkJanBakker]

His art isn't the forgery. His art is getting into a museum. Performance art with exceptional props.

[@ZnenTitan]

Well put. A double form of performance art.

[@kaleb7299]

Without the mind there is no picture to imagine..

[@unbroken1010]

Yeah this performance at at its finest.. there was another guy that used to actually sneak his paintings into museums and hang them up I forget his name but I love that guy too you would document how long they would stay up before somebody notice sometimes it would be months

[@stuzaza]

well said

[@PrettyinGreenn]

ehhhhhhhhhhh

[@StanleyKowalski.]

he feels lonely, abandoned. he finds comfort when he receives love and respect form museums and experts. thats his reward. he is a true artist in need of love and recognition. thats all

[@SpinningSage]

stanley kowalski send some love to him brother?

[@Jab_Reel]

He’s actually a genius. This gives his fakes value. He is a true artist.

[@paulocuento9949]

his "story" itself is the art.. in my opinion that could sell well if some "expert" says its genius

[@PrettyinGreenn]

I mean..... ehhh maybe.

[@Capeau]

it just shows real artists have no chance in the current crooked art world

[@tomasroque3338]

"The fake is of far greater value. In its deliberate attempt to be real, it's more real than the real thing. "

[@and__lam1152]

This is a sad reflection of our highly traumatised western society that preys upon people and conditions all of us to "fit in" ..... what a beautiful soul just like the rest of us, I have faith in humanity and the rising human consciousness. Bless us all. ❤

[@Gabriel-dm1du]

I love how the museum registrar thinks he's a badass 😂😂😂

[@Jennylittleprincess]

holy shit, that hits deep

[@PrettyinGreenn]

Right? LMFAO cute

[@EGarrett01]

I love how he's totally out of place in the tone of this clip too, lol.

[@Gabriel-dm1du]

@@EGarrett01 yeah 😂

[@Gabriel-dm1du]

@@Jennylittleprincess 😁😁😁

[@Impressio_Nisti]

What a lovely man.

[@dr.reidsheftalltruthinscie2007]

What an authentic man.. Contradictory isn't it? "The Authentic Forger"... Sweet guy..

[@JimmyCee123]

I worked at the MET after college. I put an abstract painting I did on the thermostat in the modern wing. It stayed up for 3 days and people would walk up and look at it. I can say my art was shown at the museum

[@classicartfoundation639]

😂 nice one!

[@keldonmcfarland2969]

Congratulations!

[@Kookoo347]

Ah! Love it!

[@Unborn-Stillborn]

A genuine original guy ... unique in the art world ...

[@deedee_audie7461]

Omg protect this man at all costs 😭 he seems so nice and he’s actually an amazing artist!

[@openeyes3195]

I like him. Humble little guy with a mountain of talent.

[@O-cDxA]

@open eye's : Calling a grown man a 'little guy' is offensive. Just as calling a man 'skinny' is just as hurtful as calling a woman 'fat'. - Thanks ( This guy no doubt reads every single comment here. )

[@michaelaldan6969]

the registrar :" oh yea...i got him" then sharpens his pencil extra pointy

[@ericdovigi7927]

Words never before uttered: "He messed with the wrong registrar."

[@Gabriel-dm1du]

😂😂😂

[@Kookoo347]

😂😂😂

[@thecaptain5300]

He’s an amazing kind person. I hope he makes lots of money from all the attention he’s now getting.

[@joncrisp85]

When they make a movie about him John Malkovich would play him.

[@yongyea4147]

Jonathan Crisp no The top KZbinr: The Report Of The Week would play him

[@manjsher3094]

He dead

[@Kookoo347]

He’d be perfect for the role!

[@cj222100]

I would actually love to hang out with this guy.

[@SpinningSage]

cj222100 cool. You shpuld say hi to him. I bet he would appreciate it so much.

[@Kookoo347]

Yes! Me too!

[@Kookoo347]

@@SpinningSagehow would we be able to message him?

[@ksuhuh]

What an awesome guy!! To me, what he did is true art.

[@OmegaF77]

Calling him a forger would be like calling your printer a conman.

[@maddaxy]

He's a true artist........@#$% what everybody thinks......amazing talent good for him!

[@MRC19468]

I consider him a true artist for being able to replicate every last detail to the point that not even the experts cant tell it's a fake. Bravo that is true talent. Lol now I want one of his art works for my house

[@markdietrich6020]

He's actually pretty cool. Humble is good!

[@ingridllinas5612]

Fascinating indeed! Loneliness, “forgery”, a master in personification, painting skills, schizophrenia, all the ingredients, to be a fascinating life story! He finally got the attention.

[@Benstephan123]

If he can paint like the great masters he IS a master misdirected. What a lovely man with amazing talent.

[@Kookoo347]

What a fascinating man. Love him. He’s like a wonderful character straight out of a really good book.

[@f7e8t9i3]

I don’t think I’m the only one who thinks that he is truly a unique character. They should make a movie out of this and like some else had said that he bares a resemblance to John Malkovitch .....he should play him.

[@wmgthilgen]

Everyone has a hobby, his stunts were nothing more. He took the idiom "Never look a gift horse in the mouth" and ran with it.

[@jaygio]

Guy looks nearly identical to former US President Dwight "Ike" Eisenhower, with the only differences being the one here being more gaunt, and his ears sticking out more lol

[@l00085504]

love this guy..pure gem ❤️🙏

[@ashleyjeffers8832]

He reminds me of John Waters. His dry humor, behind his eyes is a man who needs a hug. I hope he finds friendships and happiness in his pursuit of creating art.

[@RADIUMGLASS]

That museum registrar looks as if he came out of the backwoods. Mr. Kool.

[@zxb995511]

This guy is an artistic savant of sorts-a genius in his own right.

[@susiehudson6458]

He could have his own KZbin channel.

[@kmm2442]

Some of those paintings are beautiful.

[@wryckingbaul8612]

"Well, now I wouldn't say that."

[@markfurrer190]

cool guy he is no fool hes forging the idea for obvious reasons ..i like him and i like his mind hosg works.

[@mattnovak8692]

He's asking them to show where they're thinking of putting it before even completing the sale. Powerful tactic.

[@mattnovak8692]

I just saw where he doesn't even seek the art now. lol

[@keldonmcfarland2969]

But he didn't sell it, he donated it to the museum. It's not a crime to donate stuff to a museum.

[@BariumCobaltNitrog3n]

What a nice man.

[@nelsonx5326]

I made a locket out of silver and copper, a Christian icon of sorts, made it look old with chemicals, and an art dealer absolutely refused to believe I had made it. 'This is at least 200 years old' he insisted. What made the object convincing was the skilled craftsmanship that no longer seems to exist. I had spent 100 hours making something the size of a ping pong ball. People don't even spend that much time making something big as a living room. I kind of believe that if a piece can fool an expert it is as valuable as a great work itself.

[@tomasroque3338]

"The fake is of far greater value. In its deliberate attempt to be real, it's more real than the real thing. "

[@AF-ei5yi]

He didn't mess with the wrong registrar, he didn't even know the guy existed. He embarrassed the museums and galleries

[@doreenmitchell7596]

He hopefully will find a way to happiness with his lifes work. He is talented and his world is expanding. Good luck to him!!!

[@99thehighstreet69]

What an engaging Wizard of Oz.Hes amazing.Huge bucks for his work in thirty years.Hope he's safe and looked after.

[@broderickbrown5336]

Truman Capote vibes anyone?

[@classicartfoundation639]

He's a true artist, he's not interested in money like so many, greedy deluded artists who are just mediocre

[@mnmdisney]

Hes an amazing artist!!!

[@TheOne-ec9ku]

He's an artist but not in the painting kind of way. I think he lives his life showing everybody that we really don't know people.

[@peterrichards931]

Hahaha...even offering a blessing to the man while acting as a Priest. Gotta love Mark Landis more than any other artist around....

[@bubbles581]

I live not far from where he did, and I run a museum and I think he is extremely interesting (and not a criminal- that's on the institutions receiving the works not to do due diligence)

[@shaunsiz.itsbetterbytube2858]

What a hero the curator

[@galegrazutis964]

He is so incredibly talented

[@tfh5575]

it’s not fraud if he didn’t get paid. don’t call it fraud

[@davidwootton683]

Really great,what a special person.

[@GnomeChomsky9999]

Emphasis on 'special'

[@RADIUMGLASS]

He did a nice job with that self portrait of himself on the wall.

[@Sky_TEC_Illustraition_Systems]

Good for him.

[@christaylor2529]

He's incredible artist in my opinion.

[@DanielPierce]

If you look at the odds, there was no doubt at least one forgery in that New York art museum.

[@jacekpokrak9258]

For centuries, art has fascinated people. The sensitivity of the audience resulted from being stimulated by cultural events, social changes, wars, etc. This is how new directions in art emerged. Today's world needs something else, and that's why Compmaturism. The works of the Compmaturists relate to today's human needs; they are emotional, devoid of routine and calculation. They are filled with art juice.

[@TheFiown]

Mark is my hero

[@gv105468]

He paints a masterpiece yet he is so casual about it lol

[@olive7831]

So he forged art, not for money, but so he had something fun to do. What a lovely man! Shame though that he has to put on a disguise to get any respect but it is the art industry.

[@maximusaugustus6823]

I have seen 4 art forgers on TV and all of them were considered the most successful, so which one is it?

[@LavendrHoney]

This man is a genius. A man of taste he not only steals from the elites who have money to spend idiotically. But the irony he creates in making high class fakes themselves become masterpieces of deception. That in itself is art at its highest form. If you can be so skilled to go under the radar that the FBI comes knocking on your door you have a talent. Imitation is the highest form of flattery. Picasso once said "Good artist copy great artist steal" Tarantino said 'Great artist steal they don't do homages' good for him not to put his name on this oxymoron of skill.

[@judithpritchard1115]

He is a genius 👏

[@zekehooper]

love this! Just shows hoy the "art world" is itself a scam.

[@jin4368]

Cutest thing i saw in a long time

[@lucygirl4926]

I hate how the interviewer is trying to make fun of the guy....to laugh at him. Interviewers should remain neutral. Plus, wtf is up with that "he picked the wrong registrar" guy lol???

[@radhikapatil1986]

Poor guy just wanted to get his art in the museum 🥺

[@Gabriel-dm1du]

I love him hahaha

[@jordangroff8978]

Not really an artist, more like a craftsman. Still talented though.

[@StephenMortimer]

can you explain to me the diff ??

[@jordangroff8978]

Stephen Mortimer the best way I can describe it is this: basically a true artist is someone who creates something original, something from nothing. A craftsman is someone who copies the works of that artist (which is what this man is doing). Another visual art example is the tradition of Japanese printmaking, specifically something like Hokusai's "Great Wave". Hokusai's job as the designer/artist was to create a composition which was his own, the printmakers job is to replicate that design on wood, and then transfer it to paper. The craftsman puts in the time and skill, but the final piece will always be Hokusais' original image.

[@rayallison681]

What a fucking great smart man. He is the art.

[@lindapindabelinda3570]

Is there a way to watch the movie on KZbin? I don’t have a television. The gentleman is an incredible artist and I’m looking forward to seeing more of his work in the future.

[@Sm0k3y707]

I feel bad that this very talented artist takes his time to copy other people’s art instead of making his own

[@eccentricdetectorists9754]

Good for him!

[@finbah5706]

love this guy Landis.

[@rabwoody264]

Feelings and vibes of R Crumbs brother, nice but strange and you wouldn't want him as your babysitter..

[@dnlvrlls]

Didn't know that Eisenhower was a great painter.

[@VIncentSunflowers]

He's an impostor! A fake! Lol!

[@ficationsare6552]

2:50 The nature of documentary sure sounds a lot like the nature of exploitation.

[@albinakemet]

that guy looks like former world war II the second great war general and former president Dwight D. Eisenhower “Ike”

[@rapier1954]

Just exposes what kind of bullshit artists some with fancy degrees are posing as so-called experts at these museums. In one sense, this man has done us all a service, and I think he may have set out to expose these fools.

[@kneehigh9861]

His paintings will go up once he dies...

[@asperbergers7136]

They showed Wichita Art Museum in the beginning.. ahh fuck!.. my heart! xD

[@randyrose4743]

Isn't it slander to call him a forger if he's only "making copies" as they put it?

[@SpinningSage]

We need to open a museum for all his artful copies. That'd be so beautiful a legacy for him. Weird to be so deceptive...must have got a crazy rush from it. Just wow... Don't know how to feel. Kind of sick but awed

[@franzgrabe1]

what a pleasure!! go for it MARK!!! well done!!! a lot of fakes and fools run the so-called ART WORLD!!

[@_S-O-S_]

Good for him!! I LOVE it when the uber rich get scammed... And they have to cry on their money! EAT THE RICH!!!

[@OmegaF77]

Scammed? more like they get to launder money that's what.

[@RenzoColameoIrlanda]

Genius.... 💙

[@signalfire6]

Someone is missing the boat - almost every museum has up to 50% forgeries, copies and fakes; please, someone open up a 'forgeries only' museum and show not only how good this stuff is, but how it's done. I for one would be fascinated and oh boy, the characters involved! Look up videos on art forgers, they're fascinating. Not just for the 'how' but the 'why' too. If your 'fake' can fool most of the people, you've got talent if not originality. Filling a museum full of Fakes would be a lot cheaper than 'real', less pretentious, and the ticket sales would pay for the whole thing.

[@wordforger]

Closest thing to that I've heard of is the Museum of Bad Art. Their one rule is they aren't allowed to pay more than $25 for a piece. Some of it has actually been rescued from the trash. That said, it's a museum for BAD art. A museum of FORGED art would necessarily be pretty good art and might, if you drum up enough interested collectors, become more popular and valuable over time.

[@ObscuredbyOranges]

"yEah nah I dId HAvE thE IdEa to Be A JEsUiT PrIesT." Hahahahah

[@elizdonovan5650]

So the Great & the good of established museums and galleries were fooled by his work. Ok. So why does his work not have extraordinary value? So, the only thing that makes valuable paintings 🖼 valuable is the signature of the artist 👩‍🎨 and not the painting itself. What a pretentious lot are the elitist experts! Well, I would love to have one of his paintings with his genuine signature. 🌲🌝☘️

[@Blueberry_Koi]

u gotta understand if you look at it from a space-time prespective, only the original contains information and only the original has increaced entropy by creating new forms. This is also believed why human kind always likes the original

[@samallardyce2522]

he is an artist and a very good too

[@kevinoverbeck4250]

I want to give him a hug and buy him a meal.

[@bobweber2127]

Cool story!

[@LQOTW]

Anyone else see John Malkovich playing this guy in a movie?

[@broderickbrown5336]

...Or this guy playing Truman Capote in a movie?

[@kulio212]

I like this guy 🤣

[@WatchTashi]

Lol. The registrar. What a joke.

[@beakittelscherz5419]

thats a cool plot 4 a moviescript!

[@MyChilepepper]

If you can master art copy like the real master, mannn you have got it. If I could only scribbled a sunflower, never mind a Van Gogh.

[@caleblarkin9228]

Not the attention he craves but the attention he deserves tbh

[@mincao8003]

His looks reminds me of Van Gogh. His "sense of humor" reminds me of David Sedaris. He said "I got treated like royalties and listen, I liked it." David Sedaris said "I like attention. That's all I ever wanted." I watched "Art and Craft" in full on Amazon first, read the FT article, and came to youtube in search of more information. I was listening to David Sedaris when I was cooking dinner. Then I saw "Art and Craft" when I was eating my dinner. I couldn't stop laughing and thought of the David Sedaris I was just listening to: For example, when he flipped through his medical documents around 40 minutes into the documentary, he said "I got this ... I got that ..... Incoherence...well, wait a minute, I didn't mean to laugh, gee, that's awful .... oh, I didn't have that...." Incidentally, I find him to be coherent and intelligent besides the fact that he is a great artist. I wish some school could hire him as a professor or instructor. (Another bit to share for the humor I perceive from the documentary: a nurse was typing and asking these routine questions "do you have good appetite?" "do you have thoughts of harming others?" when such a skinny and mild-mannered person was sitting there. I understand it is the nurse's job to ask these questions but still I couldn't help but notice the irony and wish he could have someone who really cared for him, interested in him and chatted with him. I guess, as Mark himself said, at least people are interested in him now.)

[@MrJohnisthename]

Who knew Ross Perot could paint?

[@mosteller2889]

I like Ike! He looks just like Dwight Eisenhower

[@Lapsey]

I'm only here because of Adam lol