Kahn and Selesnick
Encyclopedia
Kahn & Selesnick, Nicholas Kahn and Richard Selesnick, both born 1964, are a collaborative artist team who work primarily in the fields of photography
and installation art
. They specialize in fictitious histories set in both the past and future. The artists have participated in over 100 solo and group exhibitions worldwide and have work in over 20 collections including the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art
, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
and the Smithsonian Institution
. Portfolios of their work have appeared in fine art and photography magazines worldwide. They have lectured extensively at many institutions including Brown University, the Fogg Museum at Harvard University, the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, Princeton University, and San Francisco Art Institute.
The Artists have also published three books with Aperture
Press, Scotlandfuturebog, City of Salt, and The Apollo Prophecies. Scotlandfuturebog was named best photography book of 2002 by the New York Book Show and was also named quirkiest photo book of the year in the Village Voice’s annual top 10 list.
In their 2007 project Eisbergfreistadt, the artists created documentary evidence of a large iceberg turned into a fictitious city-state off of the coast of Lübeck
, Germany during the great hyperinflation
of 1923. An exhibition at the Overbeck-Gessellschaft Museum in Lübeck in Spring 2010 told the story of the iceberg using a variety of media including photographs, postcards, architectural models, banknotes, period clothing and marzipan.
Their most recent project, Mars: Adrift on the Hourglass Sea, recently debuted in Boston, and is scheduled to appear in New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, and in Chicago at the Museum of Contemporary Photography.
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
and installation art
Installation art
Installation art describes an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called Land art; however, the boundaries between...
. They specialize in fictitious histories set in both the past and future. The artists have participated in over 100 solo and group exhibitions worldwide and have work in over 20 collections including the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest art museums in the United States. It is located at the west end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. The Museum was established in 1876 in conjunction with the Centennial Exposition of the same year...
, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is an art museum in Los Angeles, California. It is located on Wilshire Boulevard along Museum Row in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles, adjacent to the George C. Page Museum and La Brea Tar Pits....
and the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
. Portfolios of their work have appeared in fine art and photography magazines worldwide. They have lectured extensively at many institutions including Brown University, the Fogg Museum at Harvard University, the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, Princeton University, and San Francisco Art Institute.
The Artists have also published three books with Aperture
Aperture
In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture of an optical system is the opening that determines the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. The aperture determines how collimated the admitted rays are,...
Press, Scotlandfuturebog, City of Salt, and The Apollo Prophecies. Scotlandfuturebog was named best photography book of 2002 by the New York Book Show and was also named quirkiest photo book of the year in the Village Voice’s annual top 10 list.
In their 2007 project Eisbergfreistadt, the artists created documentary evidence of a large iceberg turned into a fictitious city-state off of the coast of Lübeck
Lübeck
The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
, Germany during the great hyperinflation
Hyperinflation
In economics, hyperinflation is inflation that is very high or out of control. While the real values of the specific economic items generally stay the same in terms of relatively stable foreign currencies, in hyperinflationary conditions the general price level within a specific economy increases...
of 1923. An exhibition at the Overbeck-Gessellschaft Museum in Lübeck in Spring 2010 told the story of the iceberg using a variety of media including photographs, postcards, architectural models, banknotes, period clothing and marzipan.
Their most recent project, Mars: Adrift on the Hourglass Sea, recently debuted in Boston, and is scheduled to appear in New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, and in Chicago at the Museum of Contemporary Photography.
External links
- Kahn & Selesnick (official website)
- Eisbergfreistadt
- Mars: Adrift on the Hourglass Sea
- Yancey Richardson Gallery
- Voom documentary
- Reality Sandwich Interview
- Aperture