An installation and live performance based on the fictional filmography of James O. Incandenza as described in the 8-page Endnote #24 of David Foster Wallace’s novel Infinite Jest.
From the press release for the April 2012 performance at EMPAC (Experimental Media + Performing Arts Center): “Infinite Jest lives both as an installation and as a live handmade film inspired by the complex and remarkable novel of the same name by the late author David Foster Wallace. The evening begins with the audience experiencing the performance space as an installation centered around a half-size tennis court augmented by dual video projections and a text-based soundtrack. The ten short films projected at either end of the tennis court are all inspired by (and titled from) the filmography of James Orin Incandenza — one of the novel’s lead characters. The audience is invited to play tennis or a game of Pong during this time.
For the second half of the evening the artists will present a re-creation of what is known colloquially as “the deadly entertainment.” Set in a slightly futuristic world, the film is an attempt to create and re-create what character James Orin Incandenza, optics expert and filmmaker, considered his life’s major work. After many unseen failures, his “film” Infinite Jest is eventually released, and proves to be fatally seductive — ensuring the demise of the entire United States of America if released into the wrong hands.
With this as a jumping off point, long time audiovisual collaborators SUE-C and AGF explore the expression of seduction in sound and image. The film is brought to life through the lens of a live camera that follows the manipulation of photographs, textures, diskettes, and various reflective or translucent objects by visual artist and performer SUE-C, along with the live lush electronic soundtrack and vocals by AGF. “
Curator: Kathleen Forde
PRESENTATIONS: Marco Museum / La Boral / EMPAC
