Photographer Ross Bernards explained in an Instagram post made today that he was taking photos of the monolith on Friday before a group of four tore it down, as reported by BoingBoing. He said that at around 8:40 p.m. that night, two men gave the monolith a couple of pushes and then told Bernards, "you better have got your pictures." One of the men then gave the monolith a big push and it began to fall over, leaning on one side.
"He yelled back to his other friends that they didn't need the tools," Bernards said in his Instagram post. "The other guy with him at the monolith then said, 'this is why you don't leave trash in the desert.'"
At this point, all four of the men in the group pushed the monolith almost to the ground before pushing it back the other direction. The monolith popped out and landed on the ground with a loud bang, according to Bernards, and the group of men then broke it apart. They used a wheelbarrow to carry the pieces away.
Bernards' post comes just one day after Utah's Bureau of Land Management said it had not removed the monolith, despite rumors saying it did.
Update (11/29/20) - Utah's Bureau of Land Management has released an official statement on Facebook confirming that the strange "monolith" has been removed from Bureau of Land Management (BLM) public lands by an unknown party."Here is our official statement on the rumors surrounding the "#Monolith:" 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 did not remove the structure which is considered private property. 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.”
Original story follows.A research team surveying bighorn sheep in the Utah Desert discovered a large, metal monolith that could seemingly be the work of aliens, but is likely an art installation.
This team was counting bighorn sheep from a helicopter while flying over Utah's Red Rock Country when it discovered this monolith, as reported by The New York Times. Standing 10 to 12 feet tall, the sheer size of the structure caught the team's attention and, upon closer inspection, the team determined the monolith to be made of metal.
"We fly pretty low for these surveys so we can identify the gender of the sheep, and while we were doing this, we found this strange metallic monolith out in the middle of the desert," Utah Division of Wildlife Resources spokesman, Aaron Bott said.
The Utah Department of Public Safety was informed of the monolith and revealed it to the world by way of Instagram, which you can see above. According to the bighorn sheep research team, there was no indication of who or what might have put the monolith in that location. We've watched enough movies and TV shows like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Agents of Shield, and Raised by Wolves to know where this came from.
Oddly enough, the monolith is pointed at the only Red Rock crack in sight, according to the research team, which seems like a very alien thing to do. We're onto you.The monolith isn't extraterrestrial, though, according to some local organizations, and is believed to be the work of an artist. The Art Newspaper pointed out that it resembles the "free-standing plank sculptures" of the late artist, John McCracken. The David Zwirner Gallery represents McCracken's work and Zwirner himself believes it to be the work of the late artist, although he notes that the gallery is divided on this.
Local public safety authorities said "it's somebody's art installation, or an attempt on that," and that it's made of stainless steel held together with "human-made rivets." It's also embedded into the rocky ground.
"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," Utah Department of Public Safety lieutenant, 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."As for what the future holds for this monolith, authorities are still investigating. It could be removed, especially if it's harmful to local wildlife. It's also important to note that its existence in that spot is illegal as it's been installed on federally-managed land, and, "it is illegal to install structures or art without authorization on federally managed public lands, no matter what planet you're from."
Read about other significant monoliths by checking out our Raised by Wolves review. Then read our Marvel's Agents of SHIELD 4,722 Hours episode review, which features a monolith, to find out why nobody should touch this Utah structure. Check out why we think 2001: A Space Odyssey is the best sci-fi movie ever made after that. For more science, read about possible signs of life detected on Venus, and how there's a 50-50 chance we are all living in a simulation. Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. Monolith-installing aliens, if you're reading this, please know that I haven't touched it. You can follow Wesley on Twitter @LeBlancWes.