Incident Energy: Jacob Pander and Marne Lucas

September 20th – October 13th, 2013

Incident Energy is a multi-channel video installation filmed with heat-sensitive Thermal Imaging (infrared/IR) cameras, exploring themes of nature, culture and the body. By utilizing Range Phenomenology technology usually associated with military, border, or aerial surveillance, we aim to inspire awe and contemplation by framing the luminous energy of the human body and offering a glimpse into visual worlds that are ever-present yet hidden from our perception. IR footage details the subtle changes in heating and cooling surface temperatures, revealing the changing light in corporeal and inanimate objects; heat appears white and cold becomes black.

By visualizing changing heat-signatures radiating from the body, one senses a glimpse of the temporal coalescence of ancient matter and energy (stars) in the form of living beings, a startling new way of perceiving the Self. We share a mutual fascination with the aesthetic of the human body and the intersection of technology within art and science; and how the advancement of surveillance technology continues to change cultural and human interaction -for better or worse- in practical, philosophical and creative ways. Contrasting the stark IR imagery with primal human movement, choreographer Jim McGinn and other dancers appear as eerie, translucent primitive humans: their veins, cold hands and breath are visible (in real time, no special effects) in segments filmed in nature and in contemporary settings. Scenes that reflect events and emotions of community, love, conflict, decay and death are juxtaposed against NASA solar imagery, black snow-covered forests, barren desert landscapes, drone footage and urban culture. Bodies appear to be living Rodin-like sculptures in a futurist realm while the literal heat of industrial culture is expressed in footage of glowing jet planes, cars, freeways and wind turbines.

Opening Night Performance:
Contrasting the video with primal human movement, choreographer Jim McGinn will perform live at the opening reception in conjunction with the installation, silhouetted against simultaneous live thermal image projections that echo his movements and light the body. Thermal imaging details the subtle changes in heating/cooling surface temperatures, revealing the changing light in corporeal and inanimate objects. What appears white depicts heat, while objects undergoing rapid cooling turn black.

Jacob Pander is a filmmaker and visual artist and has directed music videos for artists Fantastic Plastic Machine, Howie B., and Spacer. A strong sense of storytelling and visual art background drives Pander’s distinct cinematic style, his work garnering top awards and featured in film festivals nationally and abroad. Recent films include the feature length documentary, “Painted Life”, a personal look at the life and work of his father, Dutch immigrant artist Henk Pander. Working with his brother Arnold extensively as the Pander Brothers, their feature film debut, “SELFLESS”, is a sexy psychological thriller about the corrosive nature of ego and obsession. 

Marne Lucas is a photographer and multi-disciplinary artist living and working in New York City. Using photography, video, and installation, she explores nature, pop-culture and sexuality to present social, aesthetic and eco-based philosophies about humanity while pushing personal, political and visual boundaries. Lucas is known for her intuitive, stylistic photographic portraits celebrating the body. She exhibits nationally and internationally, is a recipient of RACC Project Grants, an Oregon Arts Commission Pubic Art residency & grant, participated in national residencies, most recently in the Mongolia 360 ? Land Art Biennial.

Jim McGinn, a dancer and choreographer living in Portland Oregon. He serves as the Artistic Director of TopShakeDance, a company that he founded in 2010. Jim has danced for a variety of choreographers in the Portland region including Linda K. Johnson, Linda Austin, Angelle Hebert of tEEth, Carla Mann, and the late Keith V. Goodman. He danced 7 seasons with Tere Mathern Dance and 12 seasons with Oslund+Co/Dance. His recent choreographic projects include ‘Exquisite Corpse’ with Carla Mann, 2009, ‘Blown’, 2010, ‘Gust’, 2011, and “Jamb” 2012. Since June 2012, Jim, along with TopShakeDance have been working toward the November 2013 premiere of “Float”, an evenings’ length work inspired by hypothermia and out of body experiences.

Incident Energy is funded in part by a 2012-13 RACC Project Grant.

News and press coverage of Incident Energy here.