About Botjoy
Behind the robot
ABOUT THE ARTIST
In Portland Oregon, a few blocks from some amazing pad thai and great coffee, there is a small studio where artist Gary Hirsch obsessively creates thousands of one-of-a-kind, hand-painted domino robots . Bots aren’t just a doodle on a domino. They are totemic art objects that bring their owners joy, bravery, help calm them down, or wake them up. The mission of Botjoy is to create art that supports, recognizes and celebrates. Bots have been left as gifts for random strangers on the streets of cities throughout the world. Brave Bots are given to young hospital patients to help them find courage. Bot mural and street art are created to spark community connection and conversation. Gary has invited the world to “steal the idea” to make Bots of their own to give for their communities. The world has taken him up on this offer, with thousands of Bots being created by artists, students, teachers, activists, and others world-wide.
Origins of Botjoy
The idea for the Bots came from a sketch I did in 2000 as a prompt (image on the right) in a co-creativity journal for my other endeavor On Your Feet . Weirdly tons of folks came back to me after receiving this drawing telling me all of the wonderful things that their invisible robot was telling them.
The following year, I decided to make the Bots real (not just invisible and imaginary) by painting them on the back of dominoes so you could carry them around in your pocket.
The Bots give me an easy artistic vehicle to experiment with how art can support, recognize and celebrate others.