Raphael Thys
A dog’s life isn’t what it used to be. Well, not if you’re a robotic dog, that is, like Spot, made by Boston Dynamics and overseen by South Korean’s Hyundai ArtLab, in which case your man’s most futuristic multi-tasker. When it’s not burrowing down some nuclear facilities, chemical and industrial plants or high-voltage power stations – so humans don’t have to – or monitoring carbon levels in Seoul with artists Moon Kyung-won and Jeon Joon-ho for their Seoul Weather Station exhibition at the capital’s Art Sonje Center, where it’s also acting as a guide, find Spot in the automaker’s “Goal of the Century” campaign for the onset of this month’s FIFA World Cup, along with K-pop idols BTS and American designer Jeremy Scott.
MOON KYUNGWON & JEON JOONHO: SEOUL WEATHER STATION, INSTALLATION VIEW, 2022, ART SONJE CENTER, SEOUL. PHOTO: CJYART STUDIO (CHO JUNYONG). IMAGE COURTESY OF ART SONJE CENTER
Hyundai’s promoting team spirit and a love of football as part of its mission to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045. But when does Spot find time for football? “My footballing skills have not been programmed yet,” the crafty K-nine tells us, “so I mostly stick to dancing with my robot friends, and entertaining the crowd when I’m on the pitch.” Talk about career goals.
(Hero and feature image courtesy: OURTESY HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY)