Hustle & Floe

Are history-twisting artists pulling our leg with this giant iceberg stuff?

Comments (0) By Sloane Burwell Thursday, Apr 3 2008

Ever wonder why there's no History Channel equivalent of MythBusters? There should be, because it's not that hard to pull off a pseudo-historical sham. Sure, we could have paid more attention in history class, but that would have meant missing out on prime note-passing time. So dangle some black-and-white photos and an appealing back story in front of us, and we'll bite -- hook, line, and sinker.

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This makes us easy marks for the Kahn/Selesnick “Eisbergfreistadt” exhibit at Lisa Sette Gallery. Puckish artists Nicholas Kahn and Richard Selesnick are famous for their invented history, and this show documents an allegedly true event from 1923. According to the artists, a monstrous iceberg ran aground in Lubeck, Germany, and the scaredy townsfolk prepared for the Apocalypse by writing manifestos and maudlin lyrics. The Royal Conservation Corps caught the whole shebang on film. Or did it? Other (official?) ephemera used during this historic expedition will be on display as well. At least we think it's official. And authentic. Don't ask us for independent confirmation, because we skipped class that day.

Tuesdays-Saturdays. Starts: April 3. Continues through April 26, 2008