Thanksgiving Dinner in 5 seconds is
an apparatus for cooking a Thanksgiving meal using rocket-triggered
lightning.
Critical of the American fascination with cutting corners to save time, the notion
of a
‘lightning-fast’ dinner to the tradition of erecting a plastic Christmas tree:
both present a quick fix to fulfill a social obligation.
Thanksgiving Dinner in 5 seconds employs a do-it-yourself amateur
aesthetic to recall fragments from American history: Native American
totem poles as monuments to kinship, Thanksgiving as an event marking
the first meal between indigenous people and European settlers, the wild
turkey as a symbol of an American frontier, Ben Franklin’s experiments to
harness lightning for ordinary household use, and the controversy over
Franklin’s attempts to redirect lightning.
|
|
above: Thanksgiving Dinner in 5 seconds at
the MIT Museum, 2009
below: signage in front of installation (click to see larger version)
Through the years, Americans have gotten used to the convenience of preparing
Thanksgiving in 2 hours, then 30 minutes. Now you can cook a Thanksgiving
meal in your own backyard— in just 5 seconds!
Simply place the contents of your meal into the containers — seasonings
and all. Launch the rocket and take cover. The specially engineered
nose cone of the rocket will trigger lightning and send an electrical
charge down the copper wire to the lightning rod. Your meal will
be ready in no time!
Gone are the days of toil and tears — with Thanksgiving Dinner in
5 seconds, you no longer need to slave in front of a hot stove
all day to show your family you care! |
| Support provided
by The Council for the Arts at
MIT and Friends of the MIT Museum. |
|
Marisa Jahn & Steve Shada
Thanksgiving Dinner in 5 seconds
Marisa Jahn & Steve Shada
2009
mixed media
venues:
MIT Museum (Cambridge, MA (March 19- Sept 13, 2009)
