"Since first coming to Portland in the early '90s, the artist has been creating figures of fun. You may have seen his work; his titanic murals can be found all over the east side of Portland. They are unmistakably Hirsch: grinning robots, fantastic figures, and uplifting questions like "What inspires you?" You may have even found one of the "bot" tokens he sometimes leaves in public places in town. These are white dominoes painted with one of his signature figures and a message to enjoy the bot and pass it on."
"In his career, Hirsch figures, he's made maybe 89,000 of the bot dominoes, a counterpoint to his huge renderings on walls all over the world. For a while, he sold the tiles and kits to make them. Then, in 2014, he freed the technique. Now his website has a button that reads "steal this idea" and includes information about how to draw your own bot based on themes such as joy, bravery, or love."
"At his Etsy store, you can buy bots with themes like breakups, cloning yourself, curiosity or peace or gratitude. Or joy. He has given away thousands of the Botjoy dominoes he created, including to the Randall Children's Hospital at Legacy Emanuel. One of the young patients there, he says, refuses to undergo his infusion unless he's holding his "brave bot." In December, Hirsch's work - this time starring monsters, not robots - will appear in a new medium, with the publication of his first book, Monster Transformation: Conquer Your Digital Fears, Be AI Ready, and Focus on What Matters to Your Organization."
Gary Hirsch creates large murals and small painted domino tokens called bots that appear across Portland and beyond. The bots portray simple figures and themed messages such as joy, bravery, love, curiosity, and gratitude intended to be found, enjoyed, and passed on. Hirsch has produced tens of thousands of Botjoy dominoes, sold kits briefly, and then released the technique freely online so others can make their own. He sells themed bots on Etsy and donates many pieces to hospitals and community recipients. Hirsch is expanding into publishing with a forthcoming book linking monster imagery to digital readiness and organizational focus.
Read at Oregon ArtsWatch * Arts & Culture News
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