I love when my world’s collide. When I am not painting Bots I help run a consultancy called On Your Feet (OYF uses the theories and practices that improvisers use on stage to help corporate ane business clients with collaboration and communication issues). This weekend I painted a mural at the On Your Feet offices. It depicts 3 Bots that represent how improvisers work and collaborate- Notice More Bot, Let Go Bot and Use Everything Bot. Here is the how the mural evolved:
Good Bot/Bad Bot I spent the last few days of April putting up a solo Bot show in a fun little gallery in Vegas called Trifecta Gallery. Here’s a photo journal:
I started with 4 blank walls. Attacking the first one with a giant Bad Bot. All of the Bots painted on the wall are Bad Bots (Bots that transmit bad ideas) The biggest one in the show is Bad Bot #1 “Dog in a Suitcase Bot” (a bad idea for sure!).
From there the walls got blanketed with Bad Bots:
Until the walls were filled with Bad Bots such as: “Salt in the wound Bot”
Warm Ice Cream Bot
Spoiled Fruit Bot
Finally we added individual Bots and Bot Wall Pieces
Good Bot: 48 Joy Bots
Bad Bot: 25 Ghost Bots
Good Bot: 25 Luck Bots
Good Bots: 25 Joy Bots
I then invited viewers to suggest future Good and Bad Bots by writing their ideas directly on the walls:
It was a fun filled 4 days! the show will be up through May at Trifecta.
The Bots and I were honored, humbled and a bit lucky to be asked to present at TEDX Concordia U Portland last month. The title of the talk was Meet your Monster and other experiments in collaboration. I kicked off the day exploring the origins of the Bots, simple tools for better collaboration, and had a blast improvising with the audience. It was an awesome experience. As part of the fun each member of the 650 person audience received a Collaboration Bot (a Bot with a blank circle that invites the owner to grab a pen and finish the image) Here’s the talk:
If you are in Las Vegas during the month of May you might stumble on to a random gift, a Joy Bot. I am leaving Bots all over Las Vegas as part of my solo exhibition at Trifecta Gallery The goal of the project is to document what brings LAs Vegas Joy. We did a similar projects in Portland and Austin. People that find a Bot are invited to photograph their Joy Bot with something that brings them Joy (object, animal, person, idea, anything), and to send in their photograph and story to help me create an on-line “What Brings LAs Vegas Joy” exhibition. Finally participants are invited to leave their Bot in another random location to continue the experiment. Here are where Bots have been left so far….
Bot #19,274 left at sightseeing tour stop Arts Way — in Las Vegas, NV.
Bot# 19,258 left @ Neon Boneyard — in Las Vegas, NV.
Bot #19,260 left at @The Flame — in Las Vegas, NV.
Bot #19,263 left @ Globe Salon — in Las Vegas, NV.
Bot #19,278 left at The Bar + Bistro2 — in Las Vegas, NV.
Bot #19,313 left at the intersection of Main & Charleston — in Las Vegas, NV.
Bot #19,278 left at The Bar + Bistro2 — in Las Vegas, NV.
(Leaving Bots all over Las Vagas this week, heres is what folks will see when they find a Bot)
Congratulations you have found a Joy Bot! This hand-painted domino is part of a city wide art project by artist Gary Hirsch. The goal of the project is to document what brings Las Vegas Joy. We did a similar project in Portland , and Austin If you found one of the random Bots placed all over Las Vegas then you can participate. Here is how you play:
1. Take your found Bot and photograph it next something (anything) that personally brings you Joy (object, person, animal, idea….). After you snap your photo send it, along with a few sentences that tells us where you found your Bot and a short description of your photo (why does this bring you Joy). E-mail your photo and description to gary@oyf.com
2. We will collect and post images in a ’What Brings Las Vegas Joy” on-line gallery. Here is the gallery we made for Portland and for Austin
3. Lastly, take your Joy Bot and leave it in another random Las Vegas location as a gift for another stranger (or give it to a friend) so they can document their own object of joy and continue the process. We’ll see how many times a Bot can be passed on from person to person. After you send in your photo I will notify you when it gets posted in the gallery so you can track it’s progress. That’s it, it’s easy! Can’t wait to see What Brings Vegas Joy! Thank you for playing!
Special thanks to my friends at Trifecta Art Gallery who are secretly helping to leave Bots all over Vegas….damn did I just give away the secret?!!!
The world is full of opportunities. You have little control over the things that happen TO you, but you do have control over how you CHOOSE to deal with the things that happen to you. I want you to meet Ava, an 11-year-old Bot lover who has reminded me that truly EVERYTHING is an offer! Part #1 in June of 2012 I received this email:
“I just wanted to send you a huge thank you. My 8.5 year old daughter Ava was diagnosed on June 10 with type 1 diabetes. During our stay at Emmanuel Children’s hospital she was given a Brave Bot. It has been such a huge help for her when getting her multiple daily injections. She carries it with her all day and keeps by her bed at night. Such a simple concept, yet with beyond amazing powers. (you can see in the photos of her and her well loved Bot that she holds every time she has to get an injection). Being an amazing artist herself, she has raided our domino set and started making her own Brave Bots for family and friends.!” Sierra B. Ava’s Mom
Part 2 Update: July 4th, 2012
From Sierra “Ava gave herself her 1st injection today-only three into this type-1 diagnosis. Her brave bot has been with her every step of the way. I truly believe this little dude has contributed to reminding her daily that is strong, brave and awesome. So powerful! Best gift she could have ever received. Thank you Gary for sharing your bots! ”
Part 3 March 21st, 2013
Oregon Public Broadcasting asked me, Ava, and Sierra to do an interview at Randall Children’s hospital. It was the first time that Ava and I met. She brought her original Brave Bot which was so worn away from her rubbing and holding onto it. I brought a Bot repair kit: pens, lacquer, brushes ( seemed appropriate at a hospital). Ava she was excited and a bit shy. I was too! We immediately started to talk and work on repairing her Bot. We were interviewed along with her mother, and the child life specialist at the hospital. We all felt like rocks stars!
The next day I recived this email from Sierra:
“After the interview on Thursday Ava and were discussing “good” things that have happened to her since the diagnosis. The things that wouldn’t have happened if she didn’t have T1(we try to focus and dwell on the positive).
Ava said that Thursday was the BEST day of her life…..and she wouldn’t trade her diagnosis, if it meant not having spent that time with you.
That is something I never thought I would hear…you move mountains my friend….mountains.
Never stop…this is your purpose.”
The funny thing is that the Bots could stop tomorrow (they won’t) because if they can help Ava see some good in her diagnosis, then they have done their job already. The rest is just the cherry and whipped cream on top.
Thanks Ava!
Unplugged Bots are rare, one-of-a-kind pieces of art (painted on the back of a domino) that come in a little box with their own operating instructions. Unplugged Bots serve as gentle reminders to unplug and re-connect with the real world. We asked Bot fans if they knew someone who needs to unplug? Who has to check their electronic devices every 20 seconds? What is their tech addiction horror story? How has the tyranny of their electronic devises wreaked havoc on their life?
They told us their stories in 100 words or less. We picked 11 winners , here they are. The 10 most cringe worthy (the ones that make us go “ohhhhhhh noooooo!”) will win a one-of-a-kind Unplugged Bot that you can give to your person in need before the tech takes over their lives.
Story #1 From Dan. M ”No one needs an unplugged bot more than my co-worker Corey. Last week he said he almost ran into a gas pump trying to pull his vibrating cell out of his pocket. He works around the clock due to his lovely connection to our global market. The poor dude needs a bot to remind him it’s not about immediate availability to your job. It’s about everything that’s not plugged in.”
Story #2 From Seth ”Help! I am stick in a box 8+ hours a day, 5 days a week staring into two soulless screens and talking on an insidious machine called a “phone”. It even has a thing attached to my head to capture my voice! Then, when I return home, the phone has a buddy who lives in my pocket. I wind up sucked into a “tablet” for endless hours and staring into a magic box known only as the “TV”. He has a dreadful blue ray device. I need some unplug time!”
Story #3 Dennis A. ”My Daughter Devon, is an electronically distracted artist, getting ready to go off to college soon. As an 18 year old HS senior, she “knows” everything, but it takes her longer to get anything done, because she has to have her phone in front of her, or be on the computer, or a videogame console. My wife and I try to encourage her to become disconnected, but she’s not listening very well. I’d love to give this to her before she leaves for college, to remember to unplug, and get out in the world. Thanks.”
Story #4 From Tim. H. ”Back in 2011 while having a course of chemotherapy, my wife Claudia kept having a recurring dream where she owned a dog. In order to prevent herself from going and getting an actual live dog, she started drawing cartoon dogs, every day. Now two years later she is in remission but still constantly drawing dogs. I want her to unplug just occasionally, step away from the drawing board and see that her continued health is not reliant on her drawing a new dog every single day”
Story #5 From Martha C. ”Yep, I’ve got a tech-addicted daughter as well. She actually wakes up extra early before her morning water polo practices (which, fyi, start at 5:45 am) just so she can get on Facebook for an hour. For the five minute walk to high school, she HAS to get up at 4:40 a.m.!!! Why, I ask you? Why? Maybe an Unplugged Bot next to her pillow will remind her of what’s important (sleep…). Love ‘em!”
Story #6 From Ally M. ”I probably need to unplug more often, myself. I knew I checked my phone a little too often, but when my daughter did an imitation of me and it was just me on my phone texting away reality hit me. I really don’t want her to remember her childhood with me like that. I really came here to nominate my Dad though. I think I get it from him. He is so connected he now has a watch that tells him when he gets a new email or text so he knows to check his phone. My Mom complains that he looks at his phone all through church and that he can’t get through dinner without checking his phone. If he can’t get away to Fiji where his phone doesn’t work he might as well get an Unplugged Bot to give him a little vacation when he’s around family.”
Story #7 From Jonathan C. ”I suffer from depression. I am medicated. It helps, but not enough. Something I discovered while on vacation last year, is that unplugging really helps. I bought a ukulele while on vacation, and started to teach myself how to play. It made me feel much better. Once back home though, the time I spent away from the computer shrunk, as did the amount of time I spent with my ukulele. I spend all day on the computer at work, and then too much time at home on it. A bot would hopefully remind me of the value of unplugging. Thanks.”
Story #8 KIm T. ”My new roommate (who is the boyfriend of my friend) is hugely tech addicted! He has the Smartphone, always on his person, an IPad, several laptops, and a computer system that must be hard-wired because it is too powerful for our wireless… At it has 3 screens, on which he is almost always playing some sort of Stratego-like techy-game. Also, his job is with the IT help desk at the university. He also has GPS in his car. He is totally tech-ed out.”
Story #9 Whit ”So I was texting and driving(I know, ok, I know) and I put my phone in my pocket.. MY FRONT POCKET!!!!! not my usual pocket(pants left front) well I didn’t notice until I got to my destination and I did that keys-wallet-phone…phone?!?! PHONE!!?!?! I was convinced it had somehow fallen under the seat and proceeded to remove every year old gummy bear from its sugary grave while my head ran through every possible scenario of everything in my world that would come crashing down without my precious little moving picture box.it fell out of my pocket when I was looking under the car.I had to do one of those count backwards from 10 things.”
Story #10 From Christopher ”No one needs to unplug more than my partner Sinclair… he carries 2 cell phones, his personal i-pad and business laptop everywhere he goes. I was given an i-pad for christmas, only to learn that it’s really a gift for him to use when he’s at my place… incase he doesn;t remember to bring his. the sad part is… most recently it has begun to interrupt our “special moments”. It’s hard to be romantic with gadgets all over the bed. This past Sat night… he remembered he forgot to respond to a comment on facebook, stop the love making and remained on facebook for an hour. Of course I went to sleep… the next day during church he sends me an xoxo coupon good for march 31, 2013.”
If you are in Austin during the month of March you might stumble on to a random gift, a Joy Bot. I am leaving 100 Bots all over Austin during SXSW The goal of the project is to document what brings Austin Joy. We did a similar project in Portland, have a look! People that find a Bot are invited to photograph their Joy Bot with something that brings them Joy (object, animal, person, idea, anything), and to send in their photograph and story to help me create an on-line “What Brings Austin Joy” exhibition right here on this web page . Finally participants are invited to leave their Bot in another random location in Austin to continue the experiment.
Here is where we have left Bots so far:
Bot #17,494 Left at Austin Java 12th Street & Lamar. — at Austin Java – Bs.
#17,470 Left at The Hideout on 7th & Congress. — at The Hideout Pub.
Bot #17,406 left at Jo’s Coffee on 2nd & Lavaca. — at Jo’s Coffee Downtown.
Bot #17,484 left outside Capital One Bank on 6th & Congress
Botjoy, in conjunction with the GeekDad blog on Wired.com present:
The “You Really Need to Unplug” Contest!
This is an Unplugged Bot:
Unplugged Bots are rare, one-of-a-kind pieces of art (painted on the back of a domino) that come in a little box with their own operating instructions. Unplugged Bots serve as gentle reminders to unplug and re-connect with the real world. Do you know someone who needs to unplug? Who has to check their electronic devices every 20 seconds? What is their tech addiction horror story? How has the tyranny of their electronic devises wreaked havoc on their life?
Tell us their story in 100 words or less. The 10 most cringe worthy (the ones that make us go “ohhhhhhh noooooo!”) will win a one-of-a-kind Unplugged Bot that you can give to your person in need before the tech takes over their lives.
How to play:
Tell us why someone you know needs an Unplugged Bot by simply leaving your story in the REPLY section at the end of this post. Stories need to be 100 words or less. We love a good story, so specific examples are better then long lists. True stories please (somehow we can tell, or so we think…).
Judges:
Each story will be read by Wired.com GeekDad’s writer Erik Wecks (you can read a full article by Erik on The Bots here) and Unplugged Bot’s creator, artist Gary Hirsch.
How You Win:
The top10 stories that are the most cringe worthy, that make Gary and Eric go “ohhhhhhh noooooo!” will win a one-of-a-kind Unplugged Bot that you can give to your person in need.
Deadlines:
All entries must be received by 12.00 PM on Friday March 15th. Winners will be announced on the Botjoy website on Friday March 22nd. Selected stories and an interview with Gary Hirsch will be published on the Wired.com GeekDad website as well.
Help re-connect the planet!
Best,
Gary and Eric
What Brings Austin Joy? I was curious so I created an interactive art experiment designed to answer that question. Throughout the month of March I left leaving 100 Joy Bots in random locations throughout the city of Austin, click here to see where they are being left each with a set of simple instructions attached.
The goal is to document what brings Austin Joy (I did a similar project called “What Brings Portland Joy”, last year), and to give a little joy back to the city that brings so much joy to everyone! People that find a Bot are invited to photograph their Joy Bot with something that brings them Joy (object, animal, person, idea, anything), and to send in their photograph and story to help me create an on-line “What Brings Austin Joy” exhibition right here on this web page . Finally participants are invited to leave their Bot in another random location in Austin to continue the experiment. Check back here often. We’ll be updating the gallery every time someone sends in their Joy photo!
Bot #17,418 Found at Austin Java on Lamar during a working dinner by Martha C.
“What gives my family joy is hanging out in our backyard on a beautiful Sunday, listening to Dale Watson wafting over from Ginny’s Little Longhorn…eating good food on the screen porch and being together.” — at Austin Java (downtown Austin).
What Brings Curtis M. Joy? Traveling to SXSW!
Bot #17,421 Left at Hopdoddy Burgers on South Congress & Elizabeth. Found by Curtis M. “My buddy found your Bot on SoCo right before we left to fly home to California. we were here for sxsw. Travel brings me joy! — at Hopdoddy Burger Bar.
Bot # 17,494 Left Austin Java 12th Street & Lamar. Found by Emily C. What brings Emily Joy? PRISMACOLORS! Emily writes “Gary! I love this project! It and the bots make me so happy! While sipping on a raspberry Italian soda, I found this happy little guy sitting on the ledge above my seat at Austin Java. I’ve snapped a pic of him hanging out in my big box of markers (mostly Prismacolors) because they are my absolute favorite. They are my personal form of therapy when I can’t find the appropriate words to express my feelings. They help me create wonderful pieces of art that bring others joy. There are typically a few stashed away in my purse at all times for ‘just in case’ or art ‘emergencies.’”
Bot #17415 Left at Gordough’s Food Trailer, South 1st Street & Monroe. Found by Misty M. What Brings Misty Joy? PUMPKIN! “I found my bot at a picnic table by Gordoughs food trailer off s. 1st st. Here is a picture of the love of my life Pumpkin with my bot!” Love those nails as well Misty!
Bot #17,421 Left at Hopdoddy Burgers on South Congress & Elizabeth. Found by Curtis M.What Brings Curtis M. Joy? Traveling to SXSW! “My buddy found your Bot on SoCo right before we left to fly home to California. we were here for sxsw. Travel brings me joy!” — at Hopdoddy Burger Bar.
Bot 17,447 was left at Austin Java, found by Michelle S. For Michelle S. Joy =Camping who immediately took her Bot camping for Spring Break!
Bot #17,420 left at South Congress Cafe, found by Meghan S. What brings Meghan joy? Her entire 2nd grade class at Girl’s School of Austin!
Each Bot is a hand painted, signed and numbered, one-of-a-kind art object. Bots are programmed to you give you outrageous compliments, help you be brave, take all of the blame, even clone you so you could get more done. You can carry one around or display thousands on your wall. They are fun and joyful and we want to get as many out into the world as possible.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
