In an artistic intervention known as culture jamming, Wassmann has also intertwined his work with contemporary literary conceits. In 2006, Rohan Kriwaczek created a sensation with his publication of An Incomplete History of the Art of the Funerary Violin (Overlook Press), which purported to trace the lost history of the funerary violin. Shortly before publication, the book was exposed to the New York Times as a hoax by a book buyer at Prairie Lights Books in Iowa City, Iowa.Bosman, Julie. "British Author Espies a Funerary Violin Vacuum and So Fills It," New York Times, October 4, 2006. Retrieved October 5, 2014. Wassmann stepped in to confuse matters further by using an additional character, a German curator, to defend Kriwaczek in online literary blogs and discussion pages, claiming that as a child in Leipzig, August Wassmann (the character's father) had known one of the funerary violinists Kriwaczek cites, further proof of the funerary violin. Wassmann had been sent an advance copy of the book by the owner of Prairie Lights Books, Jim Harris, allowing him to comment with apparent authority on the book's contents prior to publication."Tonight: McNally Robinson's, Halloween, Funerary Violin & Rohan Kriwaczek," Overlook Press blog, October 31, 2006. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
