Philadelphia Weekly

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In the red: The artist uses resin to seal in the odor and retain the pigment's rich hue.

PETA's going to go apeshit when Jordan Eagles makes his Philadelphia debut at Qbix Art Gallery in Old City this Friday.

The group will abhor the fact that after Eagles pops 'round the local slaughterhouses to retrieve the blood of mammals, he mixes it on a palette, coats his paintbrush with the vivid red liquid, and then creates brilliant light-refracting art. But if they didn't know beforehand, they'd never guess the glimmering 3-D images are composed of blood mixed with metallic powder and glass pigment.

"Ten years of blood," answers the bewildered 28-year-old artist when asked how long he's been working with it.

Jordan Eagles was in his NYU dorm room when his friend inadvertently introduced him to the idea of painting with blood. While looking through a medical encyclopedia, Eagles was struck by the emotional void in pictures representing the birthing process. He decided to create an image of birth infused with feeling. As Eagles struggled to generate his vision, he kept referring to the red paint as blood.

"Jordan, it's not blood," his friend impatiently protested. That was all the encouragement Eagles needed.

He went to New York's Chinatown-"where they sell blood in containers," Eagles says-and then hopped the train back to his dorm room and made a bit of a mess. The odor was pervasive. Fortunately he didn't have a roommate.

But after nearly 10 years Eagles has perfected his technique. Though he lives in Lower Manhattan, he now gets the blood from slaughterhouses near his parents' home in Short Hills, N.J. In the warmer months he's forced to work in their backyard due to the "toxic stink" of his materials.

Eagles uses resin not only to seal away the odor, but also to retain the blood's uniquely rich hue. (Without the resin it turns a murky brown.) Furthermore, the resin became a tool unto itself when Eagles discovered its layered ability to refract-and in some instances retain-light. And this is fitting, since Eagles believes his work invites dialogue about the linked nature of the spirit, body and brain.

"By default, are we supposed to be flying? No, of course not, but we are," he argues. "So why can't I preserve the body? And if the body and the spirit are linked, does that mean I'm also preserving the spirit?"

Despite such assertions, Eagles is the first to admit he hasn't the foggiest idea about the exact order of things. He does feel that using blood enables a rebirth of life, but most people will simply focus on the fact that he's spreading blood over Plexiglas and calling it art.

But what if you don't know at first that it's blood? Does that make Eagles clever-or sneaky?

The artist lets the artwork speak for itself first. If an offhand remark tips you off that he paints with blood, your view of the artwork is suddenly changed-an experiential conversion Qbix gallery director Sharon Niv underwent.

"There was a whole transformation when I knew what it was," says Niv. "I was shocked, but I knew it was something that should be felt."

Eagles and Niv urge viewers to see the artwork before making any assumptions. But Eagles has no undue expectations regarding the reaction.

"Whatever people get from the show will be great," he says. "Even if they're disgusted, at least they feel something."

"Jordan Eagles: Alive"
Opens Fri., Dec. 2. Through Dec. 21. Qbix Art Gallery, 211 Arch St. 215.625.2521. www.qbixart.com