How does Utah monolith elucidate its Legality?
The DPS released a statement quoting Bureau of Land Management (BLM) regulations that it is illegal to install structures (including art), on public lands without permission, "no matter what planet you're from".The Utah Department of Heritage & Arts said in a statement on their Twitter feed that the monolith is vandalism, and are concerned about damage to ancient artwork and archeological artifacts in the region.
The #UtahMonolith has prompted discussions about public art and inspired people to visit the site, despite efforts to keep it secret. Our department includes @UT_Indian @UTHistory @UtahArtsMuseums, and we want to raise a couple of important points. [...]
First, debates about #UtahMonolith as artistic statement shouldn’t equate it with rock art. This piece is a contemporary statement. Ancient petroglyphs, pictographs, and rock art are protected archaeological treasures with established cultural and historical significance.
While curiosity is understandable, we discourage visiting the monolith. Along with safety concerns, increased crowds threaten the archaeological resources in the area. Unintentional damage is still damage.
If you still choose to visit, please do not damage any rock art and don’t gather archaeological items such as arrowheads. Leave the area as undisturbed as possible.Finally, while the monolith has better craftsmanship than graffiti, this is still vandalism. It irreversibly altered the natural environment on public lands. While the monolith is interesting, we cannot condone vandalism of any type.
Bureau of Land Management petroglyph pictographs monolith Twitter rock art BLM Utah Art art