Utah Monolith taken down

[CobraJoe]

Link

This makes me surprisingly sad. Sure, it was an unapproved art installation, and removing it was somewhat similar to removing trash... But it was still something interesting that was hidden years ago, and a neat mystery for people to work on.

The Gambler 500 facebook page seems to be split between "This was trash, it's good that it's gone" and "This was Art, and it inspired people to get outdoors". Overall, I'm just a little depressed that one group wants positive attention for removing it, and disappointed that they couldn't just let people enjoy it.

Sure, it was an illegal installation, but the artist involved should be the one punished, and then at least a group with some jurisdiction over the land should be involved in deciding the monolith's fate.

[davesaddiction]

@cobrajoe But is wasn't a mystery any more - people figured out where it was within a day of the park service's photos.

[MybirdIStheword]

@cobrajoe frankly the whole thing bothered me, and I am glad private citizens took it down and filmed it.

I don't like feeding into these alien/conspiracy/hoax bs things. I get that life is dull and you want something fantastical. Read a book or something instead.

[ttyymmnn]

@davesaddiction said in Utah Monolith taken down:

@cobrajoe But is wasn't a mystery any more - people figured out where it was within a day of the park service's photos.

I think that's what prompted the removal. Officials didn't want thousand of Instagram idiots tearing up the place to go take a selfie with it.

[CobraJoe]

@davesaddiction said in Utah Monolith taken down:

@cobrajoe But is wasn't a mystery any more - people figured out where it was within a day of the park service's photos.

But who built it? And are there any others? What was it's intended meaning?

The "Where was it" question was only one small part of the mystery.

[CobraJoe]

@mybirdistheword said in Utah Monolith taken down:

@cobrajoe frankly the whole thing bothered me, and I am glad private citizens took it down and filmed it.

I don't like feeding into these alien/conspiracy/hoax bs things. I get that life is dull and you want something fantastical. Read a book or something instead.

But what exactly is so wrong with people enjoying it?

From my view of things, there wasn't much alien/conspracy/hoax stuff going on other than the "It kinda looks like the thing from that movie" . It seemed like people accepted that it was an art installation, not some alien monument.

[CobraJoe]

@ttyymmnn How is that so different from any other popular attraction?

After all, there are several famous natural formations that were destroyed by people. It almost makes sense to let an artificial attraction get some of the abuse.

[DipodomysDeserti]

@mybirdistheword Life is anything but dull, especially if you get to spend lots of time in the desert where that monolith was found.

[DipodomysDeserti]

@cobrajoe Moral of the story: don't let cops find cool stuff.

[BicycleBuck]

@cobrajoe It was just a lost package. The original delivery address has been found.

[CarsOfFortLangley]

@ttyymmnn 1000x this

[davesaddiction]

@cobrajoe I'm interested in the answers to all those questions, too.

It's become a thing in the outdoor "influencer" world to never share your location (unless it's a very known place). The reason these places are great is because they're remote and undisturbed - so I get the idea of wanting to keep them like that for future generations, letting them "discover" these beautiful places on their own.

[MybirdIStheword]

@cobrajoe said in Utah Monolith taken down:

@mybirdistheword said in Utah Monolith taken down:

@cobrajoe frankly the whole thing bothered me, and I am glad private citizens took it down and filmed it.

I don't like feeding into these alien/conspiracy/hoax bs things. I get that life is dull and you want something fantastical. Read a book or something instead.

But what exactly is so wrong with people enjoying it?

From my view of things, there wasn't much alien/conspracy/hoax stuff going on other than the "It kinda looks like the thing from that movie" . It seemed like people accepted that it was an art installation, not some alien monument.

I guess ive talked to too many people who actually believe this stuff, or say that they do.

[Tripper]

@cobrajoe I heard it was just a left over prop from "Westworld"

[Krusty Walnut]

@cobrajoe I agee with others that commented on stupid people trying access the site and the fact that those stupid people will do more damage to a pristine natural site just because it's cool or social media BS. Plus "Art" is subjective so maybe you like it but others don't. What if it was something that was racist or misogynistic? Would you feel the same way? If you treat this with a certain standard, others will expect equal treatment.

[derp]

Monolith for president 2024

[Skyfire77]

@cobrajoe From the tone of Utah Public Safety's press release, the area was remote and rather inaccessible during good weather, and they were afraid a mass rush of the unwary looking for the Monolith would lead to people needing rescued, or worse, recovered. Not sure I buy that as being the whole story, but I do understand wanting to keep idiots out of places they shouldn't be.

[CobraJoe]

@krustywantout I know that a lot of people wanting to go look at something far away from developed areas can cause damage to a natural site, but it's not something unique to the monolith. There are a lot of natural formations that were deemed "instagram worthy", and some that have suffered because of that.

Yes, art is subjective, but a simple structure made out of a non-tarnishing metal is very different from something made from actual trash. Even if you don't like the monolith, you could identify it as someone trying to make "an art", while some of the displays at Carhenge might be considered a poor attempt at dumping trash.

And no, I wouldn't treat it the same if it was racist or mysogynistic.

But the "equal treatment" agument does bring up a good point: I don't want to encourage this kind of guerilla artwork, but I don't think a vigilante group destroying it is the right answer.

[Skyfire77]

[CobraJoe]

@skyfire77 It makes sense that they were actively discouraging people from searching it out, but idiots don't need some special piece hidden artwork to be idiots.

But I'm also fairly certain it wasn't an official removal team that took it down.

[Alfalfa]

I have a lot of mixed emotions over this entire saga. It was something kinda neat and fun even though it really shouldn't have been there. It was in a somewhat remote location that could have caused a lot of damage to the landscape from amateurs trying to get to it, and did need to come down. I'm not sure how I feel about some vigilantes deciding to take it down though, I think BLM or local authorities were capable of deciding what to do themselves.

[DipodomysDeserti]

@skyfire77 And yet they decided to broadcast this thing to the entire world instead of just keeping it a secret or removing it without saying anything. Geniuses.

[CobraJoe]

@alfalfa That's pretty much my feelings on it too.

It was absolutely vandalism to put it up, but it feels like vandalism to tear it down too.

I'm sure there is some way the monolith could have been left up, if there was enough of a push from the public to keep it. There probably would needed to be a reckoning with the artist before allowing it to stay, but it does feel possible.

[Qaaaaa]

What's the skinny on the Romania one? Copycat?

[DipodomysDeserti]

@alfalfa said in Utah Monolith taken down:

I'm not sure how I feel about some vigilantes deciding to take it down though, I think BLM or local authorities were capable of deciding what to do themselves.

Local authorities are the ones who decided to broadcast the thing to social media, so I wouldn't rely too much on their decision making ability. And the BLM is the BLM