First, there were aliens. Then, there were angry Utahns. Now, there is…a group of artists who specialize in larger-than-life stunts.
A community of artists known as The Most Famous Artist has posted photos and clues on its website and social media channels that seem to take credit for the triple-sided metal monoliths that have been popping up. In mid November, one monolith was spotted in a remote area of federally-managed desert land in Utah. A second was later spotted in Romania (which may or may not be by a copycat). And just Monday, hikers spotted a third sculpture in Atascadero, California.
The mystery of the monoliths has gripped the internet, with people alternatively suspecting aliens, or a self-promotional stunt from a brand.
The answer, it appears, falls somewhere in between. The Most Famous Artist posted two photos on its Instagram account of the monoliths, one from the Utah site, and the other apparently in transit on a dolly near a warehouse. It posted a third photo of the Atascadero site on its website. When followers in the Instagram comments ask “Was it you?,” the account repeatedly responds “if by you you mean us, yes.”
No photos of the Romanian one have been posted on social media or the website, but when asked if it was connected to the other two, the founder of the group told Mashable, “I only had 3 spots for photos on my site.” That third spot was filled with the dolly shot. The webpage has more than three photos on it, so take that cheeky response as you will.
The monolith in transit, or just a mirror? You decide.
The Most Famous Artist posted this image on their Instagram, with a link to buy for $45,000.
The founder, Matty Mo, is known for works that critique and — as his name implies — question the value or meaning of art, and the status-driven hype of art collecting. Mo and collaborators have also pitched high-profile (and sometimes illegal) stunts before, most notably transforming LA’s famous “Hollywood” sign to read “Hollyweed.”
Mashable reached Mo via Twitter direct message. Despite the fact that his collective has added a section of its website devoted to the monoliths, Mo would neither confirm nor deny that he was taking credit, and wouldn’t share additional proof.
“I am not able to say much because of legalities of the original installation,” Mo wrote via DM. “I can say we are well known for stunts of this nature and at this time we are offering authentic art objects through monoliths-as-a-service. I cannot issue additional images at this time but I can promise more on this in the coming days and weeks.”
The San Juan County Sheriff’s office and the Bureau of Land Management have paired up to investigate the monolith placed on federal land in Utah. That one was toppled and removed in the dead of night by four men who were upset about the sculpture’s impact on the land, both in terms of the monolith’s installation and the crowds coming to take photos with it.
One head-scratching aspect of The Most Famous Artist’s sort-of-maybe credit claiming is that the collective is putting up monoliths for sale for the low, low price of $45,000, which they are calling “monoliths as a service.” Whether you’ll actually get a monolith if you pony up the cash remains to be seen. Given the financial aspect here, the artists inserting themselves into the narrative of this stunt could just be a way to make money — also possibly it could be critiquing art collectors’ willingness to pay big bucks to get in on a cultural moment. Then again, being actually behind the monolith stunts would achieve that same extremely meta end.
Alternatively, the act of claiming credit could just be “the art” itself that Mo is going for. Yes, yes, the writer here realizes that by writing this article, she is indeed playing into this potential commentary on our societal obsession with anonymity and…ow my head hurts.
The world will have to wait for that so-called additional proof. In the meantime, when Mashable asked Mo “in god’s name, WHY?” he had a maddening response befitting the underwhelming ending the embittered internet was expecting.
“What better way to end this fucked up year than let the world briefly think aliens made contact only to be disappointed that it’s just The Most Famous Artist playing tricks again.”