The prestigious Art Basel Miami Beach art fair has been set abuzz by a startling and surreal new installation from the renowned digital artist Beeple. Titled 'Regular Animals,' the work features a pack of animatronic robot dogs, each wearing eerily lifelike masks of famous billionaires and artists, wandering the venue and producing unique art prints.
A Pack of Billionaire and Artist Canines
The seven robot dogs are the centerpiece of Beeple's provocative exhibit. Each one is fitted with a hyper-realistic mask depicting the face of a tech titan or iconic artist. The roster includes Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Pablo Picasso, and Andy Warhol. Notably, two of the robots are modeled on Beeple's own face, inserting the artist directly into his commentary. Despite their high price tag, the mechanical canines were allowed to roam the fair after being sold.
Surreal Art Drops and Valuable NFT Links
As the robots navigate the fair, they engage in a bizarre routine: they take photographs, then squat to 'release' physical art prints labeled provocatively as "Excrement Sample." A total of 1,028 of these prints are available for fairgoers to purchase, each accompanied by a warning that the content may disgust regular viewers while amusing "degenerate collectors." The public reaction on social media ranged from shock to horror, with comments like "Genuinely terrifying" and "Beyond disturbing" capturing the mood.
The investment potential is a significant subtext. Out of all the prints, 256 contain a special barcode that allows the buyer to scan and claim a corresponding NFT (Non-Fungible Token). This connection to the digital art world is crucial, given Beeple's historic sale of his NFT collage "Everydays" for a staggering $69.3 million (approximately ₹626 crore) at Christie's auction house in 2021, suggesting these new pieces could also accrue substantial value.
A Critique on Algorithmic Reality
In interviews, Beeple explained that 'Regular Animals' is a direct commentary on how technology leaders increasingly mediate human perception. He argues that figures like Musk and Zuckerberg, through their control of powerful social media and technology algorithms, now shape how we see the world—a role once primarily held by artists.
"You're increasingly seeing the world through the eyes of AI and robotics. I think that will happen more and more," Beeple told Page Six. He specifically mentioned including Elon Musk because "He's another person who shapes how we see the world. So, he needed to be in the piece." The installation physically manifests the idea of our reality being filtered and interpreted by autonomous systems controlled by a powerful few.
Adding a layer of irony to the spectacle, some of the very tech billionaires parodied by the artwork were physically present at Art Basel. Google co-founder Sergey Brin was spotted walking through the fair, though it remains unknown if he encountered the robotic dogs bearing the faces of his peers. Beeple's installation successfully blends cutting-edge technology, sharp social critique, and the high-stakes world of digital art collecting into one unforgettable—and for some, unsettling—experience.
