At the glitzy Art Basel Miami 2025, one of the planet's most prestigious art fairs, an unusual pack of robotic canines has emerged as the undisputed star. This installation, titled Regular Animals, features robot dogs adorned with eerily realistic silicone masks of famous personalities, creating a spectacle that blends cutting-edge technology with sharp social commentary.
Celebrity Canines and NFT 'Poop'
The robotic pack includes the likenesses of tech titans Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos, alongside art legends Andy Warhol and Pablo Picasso, and even the creator himself, digital artist Beeple (Mike Winkelmann). These machines do more than just wander; they blink, move, and periodically lean back to 'defecate' freshly printed artworks. On opening day, massive crowds gathered, laughing, filming, and reacting with a mix of shock and delight as the Musk-bot puckered its lips and the Beeple-bot halted to dispense a printed NFT for visitors.
Beeple, standing inside the enclosure, handed these prints to the audience. These are not mere souvenirs but NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) stored on the blockchain, a continuation of the artist's deep exploration into digital ownership and creativity. "They are constantly taking pictures and reinterpreting the world through the lens of these different characters," Winkelmann explained. Each robot processes its surroundings uniquely, influenced by the aesthetic of its assigned persona—Warhol's pop colors, Picasso's abstract forms, or the digital worldview of the tech billionaires.
A Satirical Take on Tech Power and Digital Art's Rise
By transforming influential tech CEOs into robot dogs, Beeple delivers a humorous, strange, and slightly unsettling critique of the immense power these individuals wield over global digital discourse. The installation arrives as digital art experiences a resurgence. According to Art Basel's 2025 report, the field is expanding again, evidenced by a new fair section called Zero 10 dedicated to digital and tech-based art, where Regular Animals is the talk of the town.
Beeple rocketed to global fame in 2021 when his digital collage 'Everydays: The First 5000 Days' sold for a staggering $69.3 million at Christie's. While he accurately predicted the subsequent NFT market crash, citing an overflow of low-quality work, his latest project proves the innovative spirit of the medium is very much alive.
Visitor reactions were wildly divided, ranging from "disgusting" to "brilliant." The scene reached peak absurdity when two real dogs entered the area and began barking at their robotic counterparts, much to the crowd's amusement.
Robots with a Built-in Expiry Date
In a poignant reflection on technological obsolescence, Beeple designed these robots with a limited creative lifespan. Their core function—capturing images and minting them as NFTs—will cease after three years. While they will still be able to walk, their artistic output will end. Despite this planned expiration, all units sold out within the first hour of the fair. Soon, miniature versions of these celebrity robots will inhabit private homes, occasionally generating NFTs as they roam.
Regular Animals is a defining moment for our digital era, capturing the bizarre fusion of art, technology, and culture in 2025. It is funny, clever, and forces a confrontation with the influence of tech giants on modern life. Its message—"We are not ready for the future"—landed powerfully, as seen in the shocked faces, laughter, and endless phone recordings at Art Basel Miami.
