Genpets will be on display in amsterdam Dec 16th 2009 - March 7th 2010.

the show is titled Niet Normaal

Damrak 329 - K24

NL - 1012 ZJ Amsterdam

full details here

http://www.nietnormaal.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4&Itemid=21⟨=en

REMINDER! Genpets and flesh shoe at Ars Electronica 2009 in just 11 days!!!

 (AND ME!) Linz Austria...

I just started following Ars_electronica on twitter and it's gotten me really excited for the festival. Here's a posting from WIRED magazine... http://www.wired.com/beyond_the_beyond/2009/08/ars-electronica-human-nature/

The show is going to be amazing to see, here's another link showcasing just a few of the works that will be there http://blog.ponoko.com/2009/08/22/ars-electronica-festival/

I don't want to downplay the honor of getting to show my work there, but honestly, I'm just bouncing up and down to go see all the other work. It really will be inspiring and I'm curious as to who I'll ultimately meet and talk with.

I was pretty stressed repairing and packing work and dealing with paperwork, but that was all done on Friday when Jochen saved my butt, so now I can actually just focus on going and seeing amazing artwork and projects. WOOO!

I can't wait to go and talk shop with a  slew of artists, scientsists, tinkerers. I won't be able to stop talking for 8 days ;)

I've been invited to show not 1, but 2 works at this years ARS Electronica art festival titled "Human Nature". So Genpets, Flesh Shoe, and myself will be in Austria this year for 2 weeks, but the show is September 2-8.

If you're going or if you're around you should drop by and say hello!

if you're unsure of what ARS is... well, it's a rather important festival in the art world, so I can't wait to go see all the amazing work!

this is the show description

http://www.aec.at/humannature/en/

and these are direct links to my work in the show..

http://www.aec.at/humannature/en/human-nature-exhibition/animatronic-flesh-shoe-moving-twitching-pulsating

http://www.aec.at/humannature/en/human-nature-exhibition/genpets-series-01

this is a video of the ARS building at night. the entire building lights up and flashes. it's pretty neat http://blog.drwoohoo.com/?p=900

PETA apparently gets a lot of emails about Genpets as they're fast to respond, but I don't think they even bothered to read about it. funny.The entire project deals with animal rights, but they don't get it. doesn't surprise me.... 

"This is a hoax, you’ll be glad to know. In very poor taste.    – Martin, PETA".

Apparently stirring up debate and making people think is poor taste. Throwing red paint at people wearing fur is not though.... right. PETA, the glowing example.

never been a fan of PETA.

all emails originally sent to genpets.com also go to my database. (replies from me or them don't). November 2008 had 3017 emails alone. and I tried to reply to most of those!!

if you're stumbling accross this site and are curious, check out www.brandejs.ca/gp_emails.php

New show at Powerhouse Museum in Sydney Australia. Late notice but oh well, those of you not in Australia probably weren't going to go anyways right?

Info: August 24-26th+ possibly a few extra days on top of those 4. It's a quick show happening during ultimo science festival.

Genpets will be in the window of the Museum shop though, so basically every single person coming through the museum will see them. Much better than saying, "oh ya, they're on level 3 around the corner then down the hall, yadda yadda". So it's great and also allows Genpets to be in the museum without being in the museum context, which was the curators idea to my glee. I love it when people get it.

If you go, you'll see em. Trust me. No worries.

More info? Check powerhousemuseum.com for more info like address, and.. the museum logo?

Over at Slate.com Amanda Schaffer has done an article on artists dealing with bioengineering. link

This month as I desperately figure out how I'll pay rent (as I'm involved in multiple web projects where the designers aren't pulling through on their end in a timely manner and thus bringing me down with them...) I feel a little funny.

"Adam Brandejs' recent work mounts a more successful critique of biotechnology without actually using it. Genpets (2005-06) presents a fake biotech company, Bio-Genica, which purports to sell genetically engineered pets in convenient clamshell packaging. Genpets come in a variety of color-coded personalities and are kept in a "hibernation state," with a "fully functional heart-rate monitor." A "fresh strip" ensures quality until you take them home. "They are living pets, but better, modified to be as reliable, dependable and efficient as any other technology we use in our busy lives," the Web site explains. Brandejs' parody is full of imagination and benefits from some creative distance, making it a sharper commentary than Kac's or Catts and Zurr's more-technical efforts."

kind words indeed, and ones that while they won't go to my head, do make me feel better about not knowing how the hell I'll afford rent this month.

I'm 25 and just being mentioned along side the big boys is honor enough, never mind opinions on how my work may or may not compare (that is of course in the eye of the beholder, ---... doesn't mean I won't gloat though!!!).

This coupled with my possible inclusion on a possible upcoming project where my name is along side other artists like Chris Landreth (created the oscar winning short "Ryan") and others blows my mind.

When Sam and Allanah came in to interview for a quick clip to be used for the project (that shall not be named..) and Sam not only knew Genpets but apparently all his friends had messaged him about it etc when it was first out,... well, I guess I don't see that side of it, I don't realize that people have actually seen it, I see the stats, the millions of hits, but numbers aren't people, it's hard to wrap my head around the fact people might actually know my work. it's hard to fully understand that it's being shown in university lectures, or that the press articles/magazines it's in are being read by people (or at least flipped past...)

Tying that into being included along side Oscar winning or governor general award winning artists, and being talked about along side the big boys like kac or catts, I don't feel like I'm quite as much of a failure.

I'm not sure how professional it is to say "I feel nice not being ignored and being mentioned along side the famous artists" but screw being professional, I'm 25 and that's pretty great.

If I can actually ever pay my rent I could actually get back to creating art and possibly make it even further... (or possibly not, who can say)

anyone wanna buy a genpet? now with 32% more love from Adam Brandejs?

News script online!

Ever wonder what sort of emails I get to Genpets.com? wonder no longer little one, I wrote a small email browser script. yes, now you can share in the fun of hate mail! Yay!

The script can be accessed via this link http://www.brandejs.ca/gp_emails.php (link)I haven't added it to the portfolio yet, I'll do that later.

Beyond just browsing emails sent to me, you can also mark them as either interesting or funny. sort of a cheap mans rating system.

By no means are all the emails in there, only about 1600 out of like 4000 (and no replies, etc), but it's more than anyone will ever read anyways.

What's a social experiment if you can't share the findings after all?

just a little update, for anyone wanting to show support? do free advertising for me? or just in general run around with images of the genpets, I've added a cafepress account for genpet merchandise http://www.cafepress.com/Genpets

I kept the markup at 1-3$ so if you buy a shirt, you're buying me a beer! ..I mean adding to the material fund for more art... and beer.

Go buy adam a beer and wear his art.

Who'd of guessed anyone at MIT would post something about me one day. A small mention on their site is still a mention. Here's the link MIT Tech in Review. My nerdy little heart was happy.

you can also check out Art Daily news for more reading if so inclined.