Ferrets do like their beauty sleep. It's hard to not laugh when he starts dreaming and twitching on my chest or lap. Even harder when he starts to snore or sleep with his tongue sticking out.

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?

Child proof my ass.

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.

At about 11pm lastnight I got tired of coding and needed a break to have some fun. Crystal plays alot of Nintendo (original NES) on my xbox through the emulator, but it's never been all that good with an xbox controller so I don't play much. I saw someone else do an xbox nes controller so I figured why not.

I used a hipgear controller as my base, which, was a strange one as the a b x y buttons had 3 contacts instead of 2. I had to separate the ab lines in the NES controller and basically have 2 grounds, which defies all logic but at 2am it became clear it was 2 separate grounds or no controller mod. (weird, weird hip gear controller...).

this by no means reinvents the wheel, but it IS insanely better than using an xbox controller. I'm surprissed acctually how much more fun it is.

and yes I know what you're thinking (2 grounds??) the hip gear uses ground on one side of the controller and on the other the buttons use a separate line hooked into the controller cpu rather than a common ground. 

Today's a big day.

I had no idea... none... mostly because I honestly never looked. My research and learning of new things has dropped lately as it's been coding/sculpting/coding/sleep/repeat.

PHP has a plug-in that can run on a server to do serial output to the ports, I knew there had to be one but I stumbled across it while reading something else, and it was far easier than I ever thought.

why is this cool? now I can combine all that funky php/mysql site coding I do, with all that funky electronics/killer robots that I do.

My first implementation will be a wall display that shows how many hits my websites get via the wonders of leds, thus not requiring me to physically check by pushing buttons.

This also opens the gateway for some more interesting art. it's like some wondrous missing link that pulls everything I do fully together. I can't wrap my head totally around how cool this will be but I have a feeling I'm going to use it for some big projects.

 

Yes I now have a sidekick.
Introducing Loki, the ferret!

Crystal named him after the god of misceif, which is fitting as he likes nothing better than to climb to the top shelf of my closet and knock things off as he chirps "dook! dook! dook!" (ferret laughing)
I got him at 6 weeks, and he's now 12 weeks old, and atleast doubled if not tripled in size. He's litter trained but hell on 4 legs, hence why Crystal named him Loki.

At first I wasn't sure how he'd get along with my roommates cat or if she'd hurt him. Silly me, He's a ferret, at half her size he chases her.

He's pretty cute and I've really missed not having a pet, so it feels good to have a little fuzzball running around while I program or sculpt (assuming I'm at home and not out at the studio).

For anyone in Canada considering a ferret I'll warn you, it's alot more expensive than in the States. (I had no idea at all because the info I read was US) I got Loki instead of a new laptop as I figured I need to get away from the computer a bit more (and I really don't need a duo core to program php/mysql in notepad anyways... that would just be silly, yes notepad) in the end I could have bought 4 laptops though. I'd read about US pricing, but Canadian vet bills add up, and baby ferrets need 4 visits when they're young for distemper and rabies, and if they got something stuck in their intestines it's $2000-3000 for surgery (I was quoated $250 for the US vets...)
Don't misunderstand though, he's worth every penny I've spent so far. He's quite a funny little guy and wants nothing more than to play play play! and unlike kittens he won't outgrow this stage, he'll just get more snuggly. he's not all that snuggly right now, but he does follow me everywhere I go.

And NO, ferrets don't stink. There's a slight musky smell which I actually don't mind at all. Also they've been domesticated for a few thousand years and have lost most natural instinct so they make good companions. Ferrets were acctually kept as houshold pets before cats became common.

You can see more images of Loki in the updated photo album.

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If you're thinking of getting a ferret check a shelter or other adoption service. an example for ontario is http://www.ferretsforlife.com/

many people feel odd about a 'used' animal, well, with ferrets they NEVER outgrow their kitten playful stage. that's what a ferret is their entire life! it's botha blessing and a curse. By adopting a ferret you'll not only help an animal in need but the cost will be reduced from atleast $600 to perhaps $150. Next little guy I get will most likely come from such a shelter.

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04. Adam Brandejs @ PPCA for Nuit Blanche - Sept 30 (NB)
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Adam Brandejs "Genpets"

Friday September 30, 2006

7pm - 7am

as part of Nuit Blanche

Paul Petro Contemporary Art is pleased to present "Genpets" by
Toronto-based artist Adam Brandejs. This installation will appear
in the front windows at 980 Queen St West for the weekend. The
reception for this work will be held at our Multiples + Small Works
location at 962 Queen St West.

"Genpets are the perfect bio-engineered buddy for the 21 century!
A series of pre-packaged bio-engineered pets perfectly suited to the
ever-increasingly busy lifestyle of the modern consumer."

You can learn more about these 'bio-engineered buddies' by visiting
Adam's web site: http://www.genpets.com

Adam Brandejs is a recent graduate of the Ontario College of Art and
Design. Using hybrid media he explores and questions current social
issues. Since it's creation during his tenure at OCAD "Genpets" has
been exhiibited on several occasions including this year's Art Basel.

--
Paul Petro Contemporary Art
980 Queen St. W.
Toronto, Ontario
M6J 1H1

tel: 416-979-7874
fax: 416-979-3390
info@paulpetro.com
gallery hours: wed-sat 11-5pm

http://www.paulpetro.com

My roommate Ben Dickerson was the first assistant editor as well as titler (? He did the titles… what’s that called? He’s out right now..can't ask him) on the film Sharkwater that was playing at the Toronto International Film Festival.

If you missed Sharkwater, Alliance Atlantis will be distributing it across select theatres in North America soon.
I found it to be an amazing film because it breaks down the myth of sharks as 'killers'.

I think the quote "more people are killed by pop machines a year than by sharks" or, if that’s not good, more people die from acne, than from sharks says a lot.

People kill sharks, not the other way around. Shark hunting and killing for fins is insane, and sharks ARE needed to keep the underwater ecosystem in balance.

Check it out, you’ll find it interesting.
-------------------
Opening Party
The other week we also went to the opening party for the film at Century Room here in Toronto. Not the sort of place I’d normally go as I’m not a coked out full of myself sort of guy, but it was fun the one night (though 50% of attendants were coked out). The drinks were of course all free, and the sharkwater cocktails had glow sticks in them.
So like any group of mid 20’s guys and gals, not looking to shindig it with industry hypes, we got tanked on free booze.

I felt like posting this email I received (with the authors permission), as I think it's close to the sort of response I wanted to get, feel free to give it a read.

"Hello there. I was rather intrigued by your Genpets concept and I felt
like sharing.

When I first heard about Genpets it was from a friend on DeviantArt.
I don't know how she had found the website, but she seemed to think
they were the real deal. I was one of the people who read through the
website horrified. I thought it couldn't possibly be true, that this
couldn't possibly fly in our modern, seemingly ethics-obsessed day
and age. Even more I was disgusted at the reactions of the others my
friend had shared this with, people who thought this was a great idea
and wanted to embrace it by owning one of these things.

I am a self-loathing human so I am predisposed to hate a lot of
things my species does. It didn't take me long to accept that Genpets
could very well be possible given the gross abuse of technology and
lesser-creatures already in practice. It was just an example of us
going too far... again.

As I prepared to type my concerned response to this, in my mind,
obscenity, I thought about my current job at a store called Waldo
Pets. I realized that maybe my concern over this was entirely
hypocritical being that I worked at place where we offer a
two-for-one deal on certain colors of gerbils, living breathing
animals. I had to stop and rationalize my own opinion for myself
saying that the albino gerbils were not only fairly natural creatures
but also free to roam their cages until picked up and taken to a home.
I typed and posted my comment still disgusted but now confused.

How much difference is there really between a glass aquarium and a
plastic package? The gerbils are still bred and born for the specific
purpose of being a "pet," a form of entertainment or occasionally
companionship for a human caretaker or "owner." Still I attempt to
rationalize, being an "owner" myself, that the gerbils are still
entirely different than the concept of Genpet-like creatures. But
even as I type this now I'm in debate with myself once again.

Now knowing that Genpets are fictitious, I am so relieved but I
wonder how much relief that should really warrant. It's only time
before something like this becomes an issue. Bioengineering already
is. The discovery of the truth behind Genpets hasn't stopped my
questioning. This is still a very real issue for me considering how
much it has made me question myself. Sure, it's a waste and misuse of
technology that can be put to so many more-beneficial things. But from
an ethical standpoint, is it really so bad? Or does it just show us
how bad we already are? What is bad anyway? It's confusing. My
opinions and ethics are in question at my own hands.

The statement you've made with your art is, well, intense for lack of
better words. Speaking as a 16 year-old novice of an artist, I know
how difficult making any sort of statement is. For that, I admire
you. But mostly I thank you. I thank you for making me question not
only mankind and its potential, but myself as part of it. Clearly,
things are not so clear.

Sincerely, Caranne"