Richard Leydier on Monoliths, Aliens, and the Urge to Believe

In his year-end column for artpress, critic Richard Leydier reflects on the global phenomenon of mysterious monoliths appearing in 2020, linking them to John McCracken's sculptures and Stanley Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey'. The first monolith was discovered in the Utah desert by a helicopter team counting bighorn sheep, who speculated it was art. It resembled McCracken's stainless steel piece at David Zwirner gallery in New York. The Utah monolith was later removed by four men, while similar structures appeared in Romania, England, Poland, and France's Deux-Sèvres department. Leydier notes that McCracken, a California Minimalist and mystic who believed he was abducted by aliens, created 'planks' inspired by custom car paint and surfboards. The monolith in Kubrick's film represents an alien culture or God. Leydier cites artists like Gilles Barbier, who made a version in resin resembling Emmental cheese, and filmmakers like George Lucas, whose carbonite slab in 'The Empire Strikes Back' references it. He suggests the public's enthusiasm reflects a desire to believe in a higher power that will end the pandemic. While some monoliths have been claimed by individuals seeking publicity, others remain mysterious, though the collective 'The most famous artist' claimed the first. Leydier concludes that John McCracken was a great artist.