Tony Oursler: Hoisted from the Pit

From the Cardiff Giant to Fake News

The "Cardiff Giant" is still one of the most incredible scientific forgeries in the history of North American archaeology. The stone figure is named after the place where it was found in New York State. At a Methodist meeting, the atheist George Hull learnt the biblical passage from the book of Genesis 6.4: "At that time, and also later, when the sons of God went in to the daughters of men and they bore them children, they became giants on earth." Hull then had the oversized stone statue made and buried it on the property of his accomplice William Newell. They arranged for a well to be built on the same site a year later, and the giant was "discovered" by chance during its construction in 1869. The supposedly sensational discovery of the prehistoric giant was reported nationwide. The plan worked, attracting numerous onlookers who were allowed to take a look at the giant for a fee. Although the figure was soon exposed as a fake, a momentum of its own developed around the story of the giant, which even led researchers to develop theories about the early days of the USA based on the hoax. Tony Oursler, born in New York in 1957, researched the story and its background and used the results to create a multimedia installation that combines historical facts with specially produced artefacts in a stage-like theatre and fairground aesthetic. It transports the audience into a fantastical world full of illusionist tricks, which, like a cabinet of curiosities, is a delightful shudder. We are now all too familiar with the mixture of historical research, scientific facts, targeted fraud and the seduction of the masses. Crises of faith, fake news and conspiracy theories are omnipresent and the role of (social) media is an important factor in the success of fraudulent businesses. With his appropriation of the "Cardiff Giants", internationally renowned video artist Tony Oursler creates a parable about double standards and the loss of trust in the grand Western narrative of science and progress that is as entertaining as it is abysmal. His detailed essay in this book not only penetrates the fake worlds of the USA, it also demonstrates beyond doubt that the idea of the land of the free today seems to be a chimera for a reason.
Exhibition:
Kunst Museum Winterthur, 24/5 -10/8/2025