A provocative new installation by American artist Beeple, known as Mike Winkelmann, is currently captivating visitors at Berlin's New National Gallery. Titled 'Regular Animals,' the exhibit features robotic dogs equipped with hyper-realistic silicone heads resembling tech billionaires and cultural icons, including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Andy Warhol, and Pablo Picasso. These mechanical canines roam the gallery space and occasionally 'poo' printed images of their surroundings, captured by integrated cameras and transformed by artificial intelligence.
Artistic Commentary on Algorithmic Influence
Each printed image offers a snippet of reality reinterpreted by AI to reflect the 'worldview' of the human figure atop the dog's shoulders. For instance, the Picasso dog generates images in a Cubist style, while Warhol's produces pop art. The exhibition organizers describe this as a commentary on how our perceptions are increasingly shaped by algorithms and technology platforms.
Beeple explained to The Associated Press: 'In the past, our view of the world was shaped in part by how artists saw the world... Today, our understanding of the world is largely dictated by tech billionaires who control powerful algorithms, determining what information we see and what we do not.' He emphasized the immense power wielded by these figures, noting they can change algorithms without needing to lobby governments or pass legislation.
Curatorial Perspective
Lisa Botti, the exhibition's curator, highlighted artificial intelligence as one of the most impactful phenomena of our time. 'Museums are the places where society can reflect on such transformations,' she stated, motivating her decision to showcase Beeple's work. The installation was first unveiled at Art Basel Miami Beach 2025.
Beeple's Rise to Prominence
Beeple, a graphic designer from South Carolina, is renowned for his digital artwork and is a founder of the 'everyday' movement in 3D graphics, creating and posting a new image online daily without fail for years. His prominence in the art world is significant; Christie's ranks him as the third most expensive living artist to sell at auction, behind David Hockney and Jeff Koons.
In spring 2021, Christie's auctioned Beeple's digital collage, 'Everydays: The First 5000 Days,' for over $69 million. The auction house described the artwork as 'critiques of modern society, the government and social media,' often depicting 'grotesque, dystopian futures' and featuring celebrities such as Donald Trump and Kanye West. This landmark sale marked the first time a major auction house offered a digital-only artwork with a non-fungible token (NFT) to guarantee its authenticity, and the first instance of cryptocurrency being used to pay for art at auction.
Interactive Elements at Art Basel
At the Art Basel 2025 event, Beeple distributed the 'pooed' photographs to audience members, each accompanied by a certificate humorously declaring '100% organic GMO-free dog shit.' Some prints included QR codes providing access to free NFTs, effectively allowing Beeple to give away his digital art for potential monetisation by the recipients, who sometimes included the subjects of the photos themselves.
