http://www.ibmc.up.pt/hybrid/content.php?menu=6&submenu=42
http://www.viewingspace.com/genetics_culture/pages_genetics_culture/gc_w02/gc_w02_gessert.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Gessert

 TRONDHEIM REGRETS 

In July, 2008 I received an invitation from Espen Gangvik, project director of the Trondheim Electronic Arts Centre, to participate in a conference in connection with the Centre’s 8th annual festival. I live in Oregon, which is on the West Coast of the United States, so in order to participate in the conference I would need to fly to Norway. However, I am trying to reduce my travel, especially by air, because of the greenhouse gas emissions involved. I emailed Espen Gangvik that I could not travel to Trondheim.

Trondheim Regrets is the work that resulted. I registered an iris that I had hybridized with the American Iris Society as ‘Trondheim Regrets’. The iris, and its documentation, are expressions of gratitude for a generous, appealing invitation, and my regrets at not being able to accept.

George Gessert
September 18, 2008
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George Gessert was born in 1944 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. His first exposure to art was through his father’s collection of Chinese and Japanese art. Later he was drawn to abstract expressionism, minimalism, and earth art. He studied English literature and painting at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Interest in materials-focused, self-organizing painting led to experiments with plant breeding. Since 1985 his work has explored the overlap of art and genetics.