Close your eyes and picÂture a philÂanÂthropist.
LikeÂly you enviÂsioned a fat cat with a designÂer checkÂbook. It’s the acceptÂed image, but not every beneÂfacÂtor fits the mold.
Take Mark LanÂdis, a genÂtle soul who’s spent three decades surÂprisÂing the staffs of small AmerÂiÂcan museÂums with artÂwork preÂsentÂed out of the blue. Not just any artÂwork, and cerÂtainÂly not the nineÂteenth-cenÂtuÂry origÂiÂnals they were repÂreÂsentÂed as—in every case, donor LanÂdis was evenÂtuÂalÂly revealed to be the artist.
In TerÂri TimeÂly’s docÂuÂmenÂtary glimpse, “Father PhilÂanÂthropy” (above, with a deletÂed scene below), LanÂdis obligÂingÂly guides viewÂers through the mulÂti-step process by which his forgÂeries are creÂatÂed, but he reveals litÂtle about his motiÂvaÂtion, beyond a desire to honÂor the memÂoÂry of his parÂents (MothÂer looms large here.)
His fakes don’t add up to a grand conÂcepÂtuÂal piece, a la artist J. S. G. BogÂgs’ incredÂiÂbly detailed, far-more-valuÂable-than-the-items-they-were-used-to-purÂchase banÂknotes. He seems indifÂferÂent to the posÂsiÂbilÂiÂty of high proÂfile, if ill gotÂten, presÂtige. He is, quite simÂply a givÂer. His gifts cost the recipÂiÂents proÂfesÂsionÂal pride and unexÂpectÂed fees assoÂciÂatÂed with ferÂretÂing out the truth, but they seem malÂice-free. “About all I’ve got is an abilÂiÂty to draw and paint,” he states, “So natÂuÂralÂly it led me to give away drawÂing and paintÂings.”
via The Atlantic
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Ayun HalÂlÂiÂday keeps things real @ayunhalliday