Berlin's Neue Nationalgalerie is hosting an unusual exhibition where robot dogs fitted with hyper-realistic silicone heads of tech billionaires and famous artists roam the gallery and defecate printed images captured through their integrated cameras.
The installation, titled "Regular Animals," is the work of American digital artist Beeple (Mike Winkelmann). The robot dogs wear the faces of Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Andy Warhol, and Pablo Picasso, as well as Beeple himself. Each dog's output is transformed by artificial intelligence to match the artistic style or worldview associated with its head. The Picasso dog produces images rendered in Cubist style, while the Warhol dog outputs work styled after pop art.
The premise is pointed. Beeple frames the project as commentary on how algorithms and technology platforms shape human perception. "In the past, our view of the world was shaped in part by how artists saw the world," Beeple told the Associated Press. "How Picasso painted changed how we saw the world. How Warhol talked about consumerism and pop culture changed how we saw those things."
He argues that tech billionaires now occupy the role once held by artists. "Our view of the world is shaped by tech billionaires who own powerful algorithms that decide what we see and what we don't see," Beeple said. "That's an immense amount of power that I don't think we've fully understood, especially because when they want to make a change, they don't need to lobby the U.N. They don't need to get something through Congress or the EU. They just wake up and change these algorithms."
Lisa Botti, the exhibition's curator, selected the work because she views museums as spaces where society can reflect on transformative phenomena. Artificial intelligence tops her list of forces reshaping daily life, making Beeple's visual metaphor timely.
The exhibition marks the latest high-profile showing for Beeple, who first displayed "Regular Animals" at Art Basel Miami Beach 2025. At that event, he distributed the robot dog prints to attendees along with mock certificates reading "100% organic GMO-free dog shit." Some prints included QR codes granting free NFT access, effectively turning his digital art into free giveaways that recipients could potentially monetize themselves.
Beeple, a South Carolina graphic designer, built his reputation on relentless daily creation. He founded the "everyday" movement in 3D graphics by posting one new image online every single day without interruption. His auction credentials are formidable. In spring 2021, Christie's sold his digital collage "Everydays: The First 5000 Days" for over $69 million, marking the first time a major auction house offered a digital-only artwork guaranteed by an NFT. Cryptocurrency was used to complete the sale. According to Christie's, Beeple ranks as the third most expensive living artist at auction, behind only David Hockney and Jeff Koons.
The work Christie's previously sold featured sharp critiques of modern society, government, and social media through dystopian imagery often depicting celebrities including Donald Trump and Kanye West.
Author Sarah Mitchell: "Beeple has made a career out of unsettling people with uncomfortable truths wrapped in cutting-edge tech, and this robotic defecation joke lands harder than it should."
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