Spot, the Boston Dynamics wonder robot dog (robot wonder dog?) has collaborated with human artist Agnieszka Pilat to create a painting that fetched $40,000 at auction. The money will be donated to the Polish Dominican Friars in support of refugees from Ukraine.
The auction took place at a star-studded event featuring Olympic Gold Medalist Brian Boitano and Phantom of the Opera Star Franc D’Ambrosio at their home. Boitano did the cooking and D’Ambrosio presented a concert.
Pilat donated the robot-assisted painting.
“This painting is executed by the robot’s marching feet, as a lyrical metaphor for the feet of millions of refugees marching towards Poland in hope of escaping the war,” she told the New York Post. “As a Polish artist, I feel great solidarity with the Ukrainian people, with whom Poland has a shared history of fighting totalitarian Russia…If I were living in Poland and the Russians came, I would rather die than let the Russian regime harass us and enslave us.”
The event raised more than $250,000 for the effort.
Artist in residence
Pilat served as artist in residence for Boston Dynamics, which is how she met Spot. In an interview with TheFirstNews.com, she talked about her experiences as a portraitist specializing in machines.
“When the car was first invented people were terrified of them,” she said. “People ran out of the cinema in fear when they first saw a train coming towards them on the screen. But I think it’s not technology we really fear the most, but change, and I think when it comes to technology we have to realize that in this industry there are many good people who realize that robots need to have respect for the natural world around them.”
Her art is rooted in the industrial history of Poland, where she grew up. She shared that it was hard fr her at first to paint new machinery, without the history of the old factory machines she knew. Now she looks toward the future. “I’m working for the machine,” she says. “It’s my dream that one day robots in the future will look at my portraits and say to themselves, ‘those are my ancestors’.”
We specialize in legacy machines, specifically in the motion control systems developed by Indramat in the 20th century. We certainly understand the charm of automation history.
But we also focus on keeping those machines running. When you need service and support for your Indramat drive and control systems, call us first. We provide factory reman and repair, and we have the largest selection of emergency replacement units in the country.