No One Has Come Forward and Claimed Responsibility for the Random Monoliths

Mustafa Gatollari - Author
By

Dec. 3 2020, Published 8:13 p.m. ET

where are the monoliths coming from
Source: Facebook

If you want to capture someone's attention, a good way to do it is to randomly and, without warning, put up some intriguing piece of art in public that people have no choice but to interact with. Heck, it worked for Bansky with his original works of graffiti art and other artists who've placed pieces out in the open like Gyula Pauer and Can Togay. But could this be the explanation behind where the mysterious monoliths are coming from?

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Seriously, where are the monoliths coming from? And how can they disappear and appear so suddenly?

The Utah Department of Public Safety shared a shocking photograph of a giant, chrome monolithic slab that had appeared in the Utah desert. If you're a fan of Arthur C. Clarke's Space Odyssey, then you'll notice some pretty significant similarities to the machines in the series that were planted by extraterrestrials on Earth. The first monolith was found in the Olduvai Gorge.

The one located in Utah was technically in a canyon, but was surrounded by rock, so perhaps whoever or ... da da dum ... whatever left it there had intentionally tried to echo the events of the popular book series for whatever purpose. Maybe Space Odyssey is being turned into a Netflix series, or a movie, or maybe there's a public artist who really loved the aesthetic of one of these machines just chilling out in nature without any explanation.

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where are the monoliths coming from
Source: CNN Video Screengrab

What's really interesting is that no one, as of this writing, has come forward to claim responsibility for these monoliths. The first structure seemed pretty well embedded in the ground, but then it had vanished. The Utah State Bureau of Land Management (BLM) stated, "The monolith was removed by an ‘unknown party’ sometime Friday night. The BLM did not remove the structure which is considered private property."

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They continued, "We do not investigate crimes involving private property which are handled by the local sheriff’s office. The structure has received international and national attention and we received reports that a person or group removed it on the evening of Nov. 27."

So state officials have no idea who installed the monoliths and what's even crazier is that they have no idea who carted them away, either.

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Source: Reuters Video Screengrab
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Two other monoliths were erected, one in Romania, and another in California, which was destroyed.

After the disappearance of the Utah monolith, another one had popped up in Romania at the Batca Doamnei Hill. Unlike the Beehive State's one, however, the one in Dracula's home country was covered in mysterious scrawlings.

Refinery29 pointed out that the monoliths greatly resemble the work of late artist John McCracken, who was a fan of minimalism and creating stark geometric works.

The artist's estate "has asserted the mystery monolith is a bona fide McCracken," and then there's the fact that the artist's son has talked about his father's obsession with the idea of advanced alien races visiting Earth. That's right in line with a huge plot line of Space Odyssey, so it would make sense that McCracken certainly built these sculptures.

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But could he orchestrate a posthumous art prank? It would definitely be in line with something a cutting edge artist would plan out, especially if one wants to fulfill the trope of becoming "famous only after death." However, McCracken was appreciated in his own time, so what would he gain from putting together such a prank? Unless he knew that people would need something to distract them from the "dumpster fire" that is 2020?

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A third monolith appeared in California, however, it didn't take long for folks to pin down its location on an Atascadero mountaintop and start attacking the structure. As the monolith was being destroyed, one of the men breaking down the structure could be heard saying, "Christ is king in this country. We don't want illegal aliens from Mexico, or outer space."

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Several users on social media pointed out the "bad acting" in the clip of the monolith being destroyed and that, coupled with the "staged" feeling of the video and the monolith's construction, that it's clearly a man-made edifice being used as most likely some type of marketing stunt.

Whatever these structures are advertising, it's certainly capturing people's attention.

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