Created Beings: From Commonplace Motifs to Robot Myths and Simulacra

A commonplace object becomes the basis for an autonomous robotic artwork called Floribots. The work exhibits novel movement patterns that are highly engaging to its audience - leading the author to posit the phenomenon of emergence to explain unanticipated artwork behavior. The limits of this explanation are mapped by creating a series of autonomous artworks of varying levels of complexity. A synthesis around the nature of created beings is extended with reference to anthropomorphism, robot mythology, and simulacra.