Enigma in the desert. The mysterious metallic monolith of unknown origin, whose recent discovery in a desert in the western United States had fueled all manner of science-fiction-inspired speculation, has apparently evaporated. In any case, this is what the local authorities say.
The land use planning office of the State of Utah announced, on Saturday, November 28, that it had received “Credible testimonies” that the object had been removed “By an unknown third party” Friday night. “The office did not remove the structure, which is considered private property”, he said in a statement. And add “We do not investigate crimes involving private property, which are the responsibility of the local sheriff’s office”.
The glittering triangular prism, which protruded more than 3.50 meters from the reddish soil of southern Utah, was discovered in mid-November by astonished local officials as they flew over the area to see it. identify the mouflons. After landing their helicopter to investigate, these employees of the Utah Department of Public Safety discovered a “Metal monolith planted in the ground”, but could not discover “No clear indication of who could have placed the monolith there”.
“Restart button for 2020? “
News of the discovery quickly went viral on the internet, with many noting similarities to the bizarre alien monoliths greatly accelerating humanity’s progress in the sci-fi classic. 2001: a space odyssey, a film by Stanley Kubrick and a novel by Arthur C. Clarke. Others pointed out that the discovery came during a year in the news at least upset by the Covid-19 pandemic, hopefully hoping that the object could perhaps improve the situation.
“It’s the Restart button for 2020. Can someone quickly press it?” “, one Internet user joked on Instagram. “Someone spent time using some rock-cutting tool or something like that to dig down, pretty much into the exact shape of the object, and put it in really well.”, Nick Street, a spokesperson for the Utah Department of Public Safety, told Daily New York Times. ” It’s strange “, he added : “There are roads nearby, but bringing back the material to cut the rock, bringing back the metal – which is over 12 feet (3.70 meters) long – doing all that in this remote place is really captivating. “
Although the authorities refused to reveal the location of the monolith so as not to attract hordes of curious people, a race quickly started online to determine its location based on the geological formations around. Some have managed to locate the site, to note the disappearance of the object, like David Surber. “Apparently the monolith has disappeared”, he wrote in his Instagram Story, assuming that “Nature had returned to its natural state.
Work of John McCracken?
Some observers have noted a resemblance to the avant-garde works of John McCracken, an American sculptor who resided for a time in the neighboring state of New Mexico and died in 2011. His son, Patrick McCracken, recently said that his father had him. said in 2002 that he would like “Leave his works in lost places to be discovered later”. In this interview with New York Times, he also admits that his father “Was inspired by the idea of alien visitors leaving objects that looked like his work, or what his work looked like. This discovery of a monolithic piece is completely in line with his artistic vision ”.
In mid-November, Mr McCracken’s legal representative, David Zwirner, considered it possible that the mysterious monolith was the work of the artist. “The gallery is divided on the subject”, he asserted, telling himself “Persuaded” that the monolith was in Mr. McCracken’s hand and that it would not have been discovered for nearly ten years. “Who would have suspected that 2020 would bring us another surprise? Just when we thought we had seen it all. Let’s go see what it is ”, he added.
