
Ken Okiishi
E.lliotT.: Children of the New Age, 2004
Digital video (color/sound)
19 minutes 28 seconds
Edition of 5 plus 2 artist's proofs
Further images
E.lliotT.: Children of the New Age (2004) excavates the television universe c. 1984-1997 in the present (c. 2004). It follows the banal evening narrative of suburban life—dinner, T.V., hygiene, going...
E.lliotT.: Children of the New Age (2004) excavates the television universe c. 1984-1997 in the present (c. 2004). It follows the banal evening narrative of suburban life—dinner, T.V., hygiene, going to sleep—with intervening dialogue, imagery, tropes and soundtracks culled from the Vegetarian Cook Book of The Los Angeles Lodge of The Theosophical Society (c. 1919), Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone (c. 2000), Alice Bailey’s Treatise on Cosmic Fire, the Scientology website, esoteric alien literature, “holistic medicine” advertising, Rudolf Steiner’s lectures on Waldorf education, memories from the artist’s childhood, Raëlian scriptures, Reality T.V., Who’s the Boss? (late 1980s-early 90s sitcom), the consumer ‘crisis’ over food purity, cooking shows, Heaven’s Gate and Jonestown, the New York Times, MSN News, collective memory of hippies and “life-reformers,” and the initial launching pad for the video: Steven Spielberg’s E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (and Michael Jackson’s audio retelling).