Daniel Garber talks with Sam Cullman and Jennifer Grausman about their new doc ART AND CRAFT
Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.Art theft and forgery is hot right now: there’s the TV series called White Collar with Matt Bomer; a Pulitzer prize-winning novel, the Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt; and countless heist movies about how to steal the world’s masterpieces… and get rich doing it.
It’s also in the news: Qian Pei-Shen ring a bell?
But what about an art forger not motivated by greed, with no ulterior motives, just a need to have his fake paintings seen? Well, as they say, Truth is Stranger than Fiction. There’s a great new documentary that looks at a real case, involving real people…
It follows an eccentric forger named Mark Landis who donates his paintings to 
well-known museums; and a curator named Matthew Leininger who is fooled by him and begins an obsessive campaign to uncover his forgeries.
well-known museums; and a curator named Matthew Leininger who is fooled by him and begins an obsessive campaign to uncover his forgeries.The movie’s called ART AND CRAFT, and it’s playing at Toronto’s Hot Docs Documentary Festival. I interviewed the film’s directors, Sam Cullman and Jennifer Grausman, in studio. They talk about art, hobbies, mental health, authenticity, forgery, music… and a mysterious letter.
culturalmining.com 
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