A strange sculpture situated in a remote area of Utah discovered earlier this month has disappeared, according to the Utah Bureau of Land Management.
“We have received credible reports that the illegally installed structure, referred to as the ‘monolith’ has been removed from Bureau of Land Management (BLM) public lands by an unknown party,” the BLM wrote in an official statement. “The BLM did not remove the structure which is considered private property.”
The monolith, a three-sided statue made of metal with no engravings or writing of any kind, was seemingly first discovered on Nov. 18 while surveyors studied populations of bighorn sheep, according to the New York Times. It’s unclear how long ago the structure was installed.
No one knows who placed the monolith, which required the use of precision tools to bore a triangular hole into the rock, or how it arrived at such a remote location, according to a spokesman for the Utah Department of Public Safety.
“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,” Lt. Nick Street 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.”
Internet users joked that the monolith was placed by aliens, given its likeness to the Monolith featured in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. The Department of Public Safety alluded to the internet joke in a statement about the sculpture being placed on public grounds. “It is illegal to install structures or art without authorization on federally managed public lands,” the DPS wrote, “no matter what planet you’re from.”
Official statement: “Although we can’t comment on active investigations, we would like to remind public land visitors that using, occupying, or developing the public lands or their resources without a required authorization is illegal, no matter what planet you are from.”
— BLM Utah (@BLMUtah) November 24, 2020
Officials speculated that the structure was the work of sculptor and science fiction aficionado John McCracken, who was known for creating minimalist sculptures. McCracken’s son told the New York Times that his father said “he would like to leave his artwork in remote places to be discovered later.”
However, even if McCracken created the monolith, he certainly did not remove it — McCracken died in 2011 at the age of 76.
The BLM added that the local sheriff’s office would handle the investigation since the monolith was considered private property, even though it was placed on public grounds.
