by Jason Van Anden

Farklempt! challenges its players to manage their emotional-health through the skillful manipulation of feelings against other players attempting to do the same. Equal parts addictive videogame and compelling visual art, Farklempt! continues artist Jason Van Anden's aesthetic investigation of how our emotional states impact the world around us.


Jason Van Anden's cybernetic artworks have evolved through a mix of passionate art making and compulsive inventing. In 1996, he began creating software-based systems that simulated human interaction, inspired by what he perceived as behavioral mechanics taking place in ongoing group therapy. This investigation evolved into "The Smile Project", an installation of robotic sculptures that play out these systems in real time and space. This train of thought is further pursued in a series of videogames that present visual metaphors for how we deal with our world emotionally. Van Anden holds a BFA in Sculpture from Syracuse University and attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. In addition to the Smile Project, he is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Quadrant 2, Inc., a technology company he founded in 1996.