Digital artist Mike Winkelmann—better known as Beeple—has unveiled a provocative new installation at Art Basel Miami Beach that merges technology, celebrity, and fine art in an unprecedented way. The exhibit, titled ‘Regular Animals,’ runs through Sunday and has already generated significant buzz in the art world and beyond.
Tech Moguls and Art Icons Reimagined as Robotic Canines
At the heart of Beeple’s installation are sophisticated robotic dogs, each valued at approximately $100,000, that have been transformed with strikingly realistic heads resembling some of the most influential figures in technology and art. Visitors to the exhibition can observe mechanical versions of tech titans Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos wandering within a transparent plexiglass enclosure. Adding an art-historical dimension, Beeple has also created canine representations of legendary artists Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol.
Perhaps most notably, Winkelmann didn’t hesitate to include himself among these luminaries—a decision he described to the Wall Street Journal as ‘ballsy.’ This self-referential inclusion proved surprisingly popular, with Beeple reporting to the Journal that his self-portrait dog was the first to sell.
The Artistic Process: AI-Generated Excrement as Art
What distinguishes this installation beyond its eye-catching robotic participants is its unconventional creative mechanism. Each robotic dog is equipped with cameras mounted on their chests that capture images as they roam the exhibition space. These images are then processed through artificial intelligence algorithms before being, quite literally, ‘excreted’ as physical art pieces.
The Wall Street Journal reports that 256 of these AI-processed prints contain special QR codes that provide collectors with complimentary NFTs (non-fungible tokens). Adding to the installation’s provocative nature, these digital assets come packaged in bags labeled ‘Excrement Sample’—a deliberate play on the relationship between creation, consumption, and waste in the digital age.
Beeple’s Second Act in the Art World Spotlight
This installation represents Winkelmann’s return to the center of the art world conversation after his historic 2021 Christie’s auction. Four years ago, his digital collage ‘Everydays: The First 5000 Days’ sold for an astonishing $69 million, catapulting both Beeple and NFTs into mainstream awareness. That sale helped fuel the subsequent NFT boom that reached its peak approximately a year later before experiencing a significant market correction.
The Charleston-based artist’s ability to continue generating conversation-starting work demonstrates his staying power beyond the initial NFT explosion. While many artists who rose to prominence during the NFT boom have struggled to maintain relevance as the market cooled, Beeple has successfully transitioned to creating physical installations that maintain his technological edge while engaging with traditional art spaces like Art Basel.
Commentary on Tech Leadership and Artistic Legacy
By placing tech moguls alongside artistic masters—and himself—Beeple creates a visual dialogue about influence, legacy, and the blurring lines between technology and art. The robotic representations of Musk, Zuckerberg, and Bezos can be interpreted as commentary on how these figures have mechanized aspects of contemporary life while simultaneously reshaping creative industries.
The inclusion of Picasso and Warhol—two artists who revolutionized 20th-century art—suggests a continuity between artistic innovation across eras. Warhol’s own explorations of commercial imagery and mass production seem particularly relevant to Beeple’s work with digital reproduction and NFTs.
The Evolution of Digital Art in Physical Spaces
Beeple’s ‘Regular Animals’ represents an important evolution in how digital artists are engaging with physical exhibition spaces. Rather than simply printing digital works or displaying them on screens, Winkelmann has created an immersive experience that combines robotics, artificial intelligence, performance, and traditional art objects.
This hybrid approach reflects broader trends in contemporary art, where the boundaries between digital and physical continue to dissolve. By creating tangible outputs from digital processes—especially in the deliberately provocative form of ‘excrement’—Beeple challenges viewers to reconsider their assumptions about artistic value, production, and authenticity.
As Art Basel Miami Beach continues through Sunday, ‘Regular Animals’ stands as one of the most discussed installations at this year’s fair, cementing Beeple’s position as an artist who consistently pushes boundaries while maintaining a keen awareness of both art history and technological advancement.