Remember Beeple's "Regular Animals" — those unsettlingly familiar robot dogs that trotted around Art Basel Miami Beach? They're back. And one, in particular, has decided San Francisco's picturesque waterfront needed a dose of digital-meets-dystopian performance art. Because apparently, that's where we are now.
This isn't just any robot dog; it's the Elon Musk-faced one. And it’s not just walking around looking vaguely menacing; it’s pooping. Specifically, it’s dispensing printed images of what its front-facing camera sees, algorithmically mashed up with Musk's visage. Because, art.
The Palo Alto-based Node Foundation, a digital arts nonprofit, is behind this charming public spectacle. They're gearing up for a Beeple (aka Mike Winkelmann) exhibition, "INFINITE_LOOP," opening April 18. It'll feature his hits like "Human One," which fetched $29 million, and the NFT that started it all, "Everydays: The First 5,000 Days," which went for a cool $69 million in 2021. So, you know, this dog is in good company.
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Start Your News DetoxAt Art Basel, we saw Zuckerberg, Picasso, Bezos, and Warhol dogs. But for its San Francisco debut near Oracle Park, only the Musk-dog made the cut. And naturally, it drew a crowd. People stopped, they stared, they snapped photos. Then the dog "did its business," and people, bless their curious hearts, actually paused to pick up the "droppings." Which, again, were printed images. Imagine explaining that to your therapist.
A Node rep told the San Francisco Chronicle this stunt is all about bringing energy to public life and physically manifesting digital culture. And if "making people stop and talk" is the goal, well, mission accomplished. You can't unsee a robot dog with Elon Musk's face leaving algorithmic droppings. And honestly, why would you want to?
