2001 Monolith build

[alan molstad]

Great update and modifications. You're right when you say that Kubrick used the lighting to convey the mass and darkness the Monolith was offering to its viewers...like you do, right now, with the Sun's position in the sky. I'm sure that, along the months, that position will change and it'll be interesting to see how it's going to influence the viewing for your spectators.

One of the big things that is starting to happen is that the Monolith is losing its backdrop of trees and their green leaves that have been blocking the Monolith from being seen from the nearby interstate freeway.

Now next to my Monolith I have a full size TiPi that I got from the same maker that made the TiPi for the movie Dances With Wolves.
People have pointed out to me for years how it is so easy to see the TiPi from the freeway in the winter as it stands out in the white snow.

Just think how this 12 foot tall Black Monolith is going to stand out in a world where the only other thing seen is white snow?

 

[alan molstad]

Im uploading a video now that I took this morning of the Monolith that will show a little better what the whole Monolith Display Site looks like to a guest.
I wanted you guys to get a feel for what my guests experience.
I also took a few photos as I was unable to cut any grass today due to busting the belt of the mower....)O()&)&^(^%*%^$&%#!!!

Please enjoy the following photos that show what the site looks like now as the trees start to drop their leaves and things start to take of their winter looks

 

[alan molstad]

 

[alan molstad]

View attachment 1873720

 

[alan molstad]

this photo is taken from a part of the garden path that will now be abandoned.
I just wanted to show how the site looks from this position.

I have changed the position of the little fence and so it now blocks people from walking to the site from this direction.
the reason I did all these changes is that I did not like the way the monolith looked from this position as the floating effect is lost when you can see the movie magic too good from here...

 

[alan molstad]

 

[alan molstad]

 

[Apollo]

Love it!!!!!!

 

[alan molstad]

here is the video I just took on the morning of 10/21/2024

I will add music later...

The video will show the backside of the Monolith as someone requested that...(so I gave him a little tease)

enjoy!

 

[joberg]

One of the big things that is starting to happen is that the Monolith is losing its backdrop of trees and their green leaves that have been blocking the Monolith from being seen from the nearby interstate freeway.

Now next to my Monolith I have a full size TiPi that I got from the same maker that made the TiPi for the movie Dances With Wolves.
People have pointed out to me for years how it is so easy to see the TiPi from the freeway in the winter as it stands out in the white snow.

Just think how this 12 foot tall Black Monolith is going to stand out in a world where the only other thing seen is white snow?

You'll have to jerry-rig some kind of long brush to remove the snow from the top

 

[alan molstad]

You'll have to jerry-rig some kind of long brush to remove the snow from the top

on the very top of the Monolith I screwed on a section of thick plastic that used to be part of a basement shower stall.
It is slightly larger than the top of the monolith, so that hope is that rain and snow will be able to drip off and fall away from the sideas of the monolith.

I painted everything black, and I hope this might help melt the snow that will land on the top.

we shall see......

 

[alan molstad]

I need a way for music from the movie to start playing on its own as a guest gets close.
So I have to find a way to connect a solar battery to a motion detector, to a music source, to a set of speakers.....deep in a woods....

and.....it has to be cheap!

and....can stand up to the weather......

and did i mention it has to be cheap?

 

[joberg]

I need a way for music from the movie to start playing on its own as a guest gets close.
So I have to find a way to connect a solar battery to a motion detector, to a music source, to a set of speakers.....deep in a woods....

and.....it has to be cheap!

and....can stand up to the weather......

and did i mention it has to be cheap?

Well, looks like another challenge

 

[alan molstad]

The first snow of the winter.
I just ran out to check on things and glanced over at the Monolith as I worked.
There are still a lot of leaves on the trees and brush that will soon disappear as the long North Dakota winter sets in.
Soon it will be a sight to see this one dark form in a world of white winter show.
I wonder how the construction will stand up to the beating its about to take during this winter?
I likely will be unable to check on the Monolith soon as the snow in the woods piles up.

I started this art project when the last of last winter's snow was disappearing, and so I now there will be no maintance to the Monolith until sometime in late April or May.

I do plan to take a few photos of the Monolith after a really big snow storm , I wanted to see what photos of it would looked like with big snow drifts around it.

 

[joberg]

That'll be interesting to see how that snow is going to pile-up or stick to the side of the Monolith.

 

[alan molstad]

I do not believe that anyone has yet ever taken a photo of a 2001 Black Monolith that is in the middle of a snow drift.



"Challenge accepted"