I have the pdf of the article if anyone wants it. Email me offlist and I'll send it to you.
Matthew On Fri, Sep 6, 2013 at 3:17 PM, Newyorkbrad <[email protected]> wrote: > (cross-posted from > > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Newyorkbrad/Newyorkbradblog#Forgery_and_Wikiality > ) > > FORGERY AND WIKIALITY > > We've all read about people manipulating their, or their friends' (or worse > their enemies') biographies on Wikipedia. We also all heard about people > molding Wikipedia to fit the world as they wish it were, rather than the > world as it is—what Stephen > Colbert<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Colbert>, > in exaggerated form, calls "Wikipediality." > > Alex Wilkinson <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Wilkinson> reported an > interesting example of this phenomenon in his article "The Giveaway" in > last week's *New Yorker <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Yorker>*. (A > link to the *New Yorker* article is > here<http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/08/26/130826fa_fact_wilkinson > >— > full text for > *New Yorker* subscribers, the first two paragraphs for others. I recommend > it.) > > The article is about a 58-year-old man named Mark Landis. Mr. Landis lives > in Laurel, Mississippi <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurel,_Mississippi > >. > For a time during his childhood, he attended St. Mary's Town and Country > School <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Mary%27s_Town_and_Country_School > >in > London <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London>. > > According to the article, dozens of times over past 25 years, Mr. Landis > has walked into a museum and donated what he described as a valuable but > previously unknown artwork. He describes the pieces as the work of a > reknowned artist, though not one of the very best known artists (Paul > Signac<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Signac>, > Stanislas Lépine <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislas_L%C3%A9pine>, > Hans > von Aachen <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_von_Aachen>, Alfred Jacob > Miller <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Jacob_Miller> are examples). > And every time, it turns out that Mr. Landis created the artwork himself, > and used classic art forgers' techniques to make the piece appear older > than it was. > > This sort of art forgery raises well-known questions ("is this work of art > the less meaningful or beautiful because it was created by Shlabotnik > rather than Renoir?"). But certainly the museum world sees quite a > difference between the work of a great or near-great artist and even the > most faithful re-creation or simulation of one, and does not appreciate his > contributions. Since Landis never requested or accepted any payment for his > donations, and apparently never even took a tax deduction for them, he > hasn't been charged with any crimes. Wilkinson discusses Landis's > motivations, but he workings of his mind remain unclear. What is clear is > that Landis wants very much to be thought of as an art dealer, and as a > philanthropist. > > The relevance to Wikipedia? We have an article about this individual, Mark > A. Landis <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_A._Landis>, which details > his > history of art forgeries—but Wilkinson's *New Yorker* article doesn't > mention that article. What it does mention is this: > *One of the things [Landis] likes to do is check the Wikipedia article for > Laurel, where he was described as a notable resident, and the one for St. > Mary's, where he was an art dealer and a philanthropist. Late in 2010, he > saw that the listing under Laurel had been altered, "to something > derogatory," he said....* > > And Wilkinson's article concludes: > *After lunch ... Landis was in good spirits. I'd seen him happier only > once, a few days before, when we checked the Wikipedia page for St. Mary's. > He hadn't looked for some time. He almost winced as he scrolled down the > page. Then his face broke into a grin. "Hey, I'm still there," he said. > "Art dealer and philanthrophist."**He turned the computer toward me so that > I could read the entry, then he leaned over to be sure his printer was on > so he could make a copy. "Otherwise, somebody might say something bad about > me and change it," he said. "And then I won't be an art dealer and a > philanthropist any more."* > > Food for thought.... > > Newyorkbrad > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list > [email protected] > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > <mailto:[email protected]?subject=unsubscribe> -- Matthew Roth Global Communications Manager Wikimedia Foundation +1.415.839.6885 ext 6635 www.wikimediafoundation.org *http://blog.wikimedia.org/* _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:[email protected]?subject=unsubscribe>
