They weren't going to tell you exactly where it was. Somewhere in the desert in Utah. But the Reddit discussion pinpoints the place, and I made my screen shot from Google Maps "street view."
Here's the article in The Guardian: "Theories abound over mystery metal monolith found in Utah/Structure compared to monolith featured in 2001: A Space Odyssey while John McCracken gallerist says object is not sculptor’s work."
The McCracken gallerist got involved because some people were saying it looked like something by McCracken. It's a 10-foot slab of metal standing upright in that wild landscape.
You're right about "lith," but "monolith" is used figuratively to mean "Resembling a monolith; massive; immovable; solidly uniform." The OED traces this usage to 1922: "Between great monolith trees." More recently: "The monolith approach..was the doctrine of all-inclusiveness" (1988).
And "monolith" is used in engineering to refer to "A large solid block, generally of concrete, sunk in water, and used esp. as a foundation in the building of a harbour or dock wall."
AND: From the NYT article on the subject:
On Facebook, the Utah Highway Patrol [asked what it might be]. Respondents had suggestions: a “resonance deflector,” “an eyesore,” “some good metal.”
Some theorized, vaguely, that it was a satellite beacon. Others joked that it was a Wi-Fi router. Some said it was a leftover movie prop — Red Rock Country has served as the backdrop for “Indiana Jones,” “Star Trek” and “Mission Impossible” movies....
But the authorities were confident that “it’s somebody’s art installation, or an attempt at that,” said Lt. Nick Street, a spokesman for the Department of Public Safety. “Maybe they had a different thing in mind.”
He said the monolith appeared to be made of stainless steel, put together “with human-made rivets” and embedded into the rock, though how deep was a mystery. Somebody took the time to use some type of concrete-cutting tool or something to really dig down, almost in the exact shape of the object, and embed it really well,” he said. “It’s odd. There are roads close by, but to haul the materials to cut into the rock, and haul the metal, which is taller than 12 feet in sections — to do all that in that remote spot is definitely interesting."
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Don't you mean Google Earth view? Isn't that a satellite shot, or am I confused?
Some one or some people brought it there. It's not a mystery.
The McCracken gallerist got involved because some people were saying it looked like something by McCracken. It's a 10-foot slab of metal standing upright in that wild landscape.
Release the McCraken!
It always starts with a monolith doesn't it?
Since "lith" refers to stone, isn't a metal object by definition not a monolith?
2001 was on TCM a few days ago.
It "dawned" on me that Floyd's daughter wants a bushbaby (a small tree-dwelling primate) for a birthday present. Similarly, the aliens capture and keep Bowman to study him. They care for him as though he were a pet, giving him what they think is the best possible living circumstances.
I love that someone put that there.
I'm saying "street view" because I was using Google Maps in street view.
There's also a Google Earth link at the Reddit link.
"Since "lith" refers to stone, isn't a metal object by definition not a monolith?"
That is discussed at The Guardian, and you're right about the meaning of "lith," but people seem to think it's good to say "monolith" here anyway.
I'm going to add some stuff to the post about the word "monolith," so hang on.
"I love that someone put that there."
It is a crime, though.
We can't be having every half-assed sculptor plying their trade in the Canyonlands.
Probably some climber fell there/ran out of water/got bit by snake/etc.. and died... and now others 'find' the memorial to them.
Joe Biden needs to touch it.
Touch it now!!
Well if it is an art project, it is pretty awsome, even if technically illegal. Maybe it really is the 'monolith', but in reality it is all shiny metal and not black, like in the movie? Has anybody touched it yet?
What does it weigh? What would it require to be moved to that location and raised into position? Would there be tracks from a jeep, truck, cart, work party lugging this thing? How far to the nearest road/parking lot?
How weathered is the surface and the base? Is the base set into the underlying material: is that rock or dirt? If dirt, how deep is the foundation hole? If rock, has it been cut or drilled? Are there shards or scraps from the drilling or digging?
Fascinating but I am not quite ready to throw a femur into the air of early dawn.
I saw photos online yesterday, and there did not appear to be any vehicle tracks in the vicinity. It did appear to be partially buried, and the size would indicate a fair amount of weight - more than it would appear a person could carry without some form of equipment that would leave marks.
I am not saying it was aliens, but it was aliens.
Maybe it’s just the above-ground part of something much larger which is hidden below.
When pouring a concrete slab all at once it is known as a monolithic pour.
In re "lith"... metal doesn't grow on trees.
Here’s a closeup of it courtesy of 4Chan
http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/index.php/2020/11/24/honey-i-finished-the-internet-88/
Fuck the law, it's the kind of feel good iconoclastic gesture we need in the Topsy turvy 2020pandemicoup
I'm curious about what is in the ground making the object stand up. If someone were to dig down at the object's base - how deep down does the object go?
Did they dig a deep hole and fill it in... or did they sneak some concrete in there?
I agree with rosebud, this is not a monolith. Not only is it not stone (or concrete), you can see the screws holding it together, and is therefore not "mono".
I know a lot of people are referring to the monolith from "2001: A Space Odyssey", but to me the thing looks more like a pylon from "Land of the Lost" (flickr.com).
Utah's landscape is so completely amazing. I'm in love with it.
On the lottery to hike "the wave". Alas - not winning.
mono-henge?
I'm a "comments" reader.
Accordingly, comments at tim in vermont's link yield this: "According to the Google Earth image it has been there at least since Oct 2016."
Wonder if it's the Georgia GuideStones alien striking again?
I first thought of the Rod of God but dropped by a foreign power.
It's cute that someone would put a little metal thing out in the middle of nowhere, but that part of Utah has literally thousands of uranium mines, now almost all abandoned, and even more prospecting starts in equally remote areas and each of them required a lot more work and effort than this pointless gizmo.
Arashi said...
"I saw photos online yesterday, and there did not appear to be any vehicle tracks in the vicinity. It did appear to be partially buried, and the size would indicate a fair amount of weight - more than it would appear a person could carry without some form of equipment that would leave marks.
I am not saying it was aliens, but it was aliens"
It's just stainless sheet metal either welded or screwed together. Probably brought up in pieces and assembled on site. Leave the top off and fill it with dirt. Not really very challenging.
It must be racist. BLM needs to tear it down. And in this case, BLM can be the Bureau of Land Management.
Great post - BTW. I like the pilot story and his needing to turn around. WTF was that?
It is a crime, though.
We can't be having every half-assed sculptor plying their trade in the Canyonlands.
Counterpoint: we could.
I'm conflicted on this because I see your point. But, at the same time, this sculpture is quite beautiful and interesting. I think Trump should pardon the artist.
I love that the aliens used human tools - suggests a sense of humor.
I bet this has to do with a cult.
I wonder what the penalty is. Could be worth it.
“It is a crime, though.
We can't be having every half-assed sculptor plying their trade in the Canyonlands.”
If only being a half-assed sculptor was itself a crime.
"It is a crime, though.
We can't be having every half-assed sculptor plying their trade in the Canyonlands."
How about a bunch of half-assed democrats stealing an election? Can we have that?
Why put a giant inert slab upright in the middle of the Utah desert when the state already has Mitt Romney?
Actually, though, the state has a lot of monoliths - massive stone pillars created by erosion. Depending on their size, much of what you see in Monument Valley on the Utah-Arizona border could be described as mesas, buttes, or monoliths.
But Clarke and Kubrick have changed our idea of just what a "monolith" should look like. From something natural and rough-hewn by natural processes, the monolith becomes something geometrical, metallic, and "unnatural" -- either man-made, or a mysterious gift of aliens or the future or the supernatural.
I had a high school friend who used to create ceramic installations in the woods of the Keweenaw Peninsula of the U.P. She wanted the occasional hiker along a Lake Superior trail, for example, who happened to glance away from the lake into the woods, to perhaps notice what looked like weird, large breadstick like things growing out of the ground in patches. Whatever. It was pretty cool. And didn't really disturb the landscape.
She became an art student at the University of Michigan and later a film maker. If she lived in Utah and did metal sculpture this would be right up her alley.
"But Clarke and Kubrick have changed our idea of just what a 'monolith' should look like. From something natural and rough-hewn by natural processes, the monolith becomes something geometrical, metallic, and 'unnatural' -- either man-made, or a mysterious gift of aliens or the future or the supernatural."
I always liked the odd sci-fi/horror movie from the 50s The Monolith Monsters. A very clever and unusual menace to humanity.
You know, for a scene that you could literally put on in a high school play or a student film, the monolith scene in 2001 is amazingly effective:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHWs3c3YNs4
"According to the Google Earth image it has been there at least since Oct 2016."
Alien interference in the 2016 election?
Isn't it an obvious reference to 2001? How is it a mystery apart from who did it?
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It's just my opinion. I don't go into the wilderness to see a bunch of shit somebody made and thinks it will improve the landscape. It doesn't. It's the same thing as if they just threw around a lot of empty beer cans. You want to improve the landscape. Put that shit up in front of your house. Now get off my lawn.
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