Artist Behind Enigmatic Nevada Mountain Sculpture Unmasked
An anonymous individual has taken credit for a peculiar land art piece found on a mountain plateau, providing a view of southwestern Las Vegas. Matt Jones, a 47-year-old massage therapist and father of five, stepped forward to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The artwork links a 75-foot-long triangle to a yin-yang symbol on one side and a monkey's face on the other. The artwork is entirely hidden within it when standing inside, discovered by chance when David Golan, a sports doctor living nearby, noticed unusual rock formations casting peculiar shadows as he and his spouse walked their dogs nearby. Upon returning home, Golan used Google Earth to examine the area.
Jones reported creating the piece towards the end of 2016, during hikes he took up the hills behind his former residence west of South Fort Apache Road and Cactus Avenue.
Some refer to it as "The Desert Monkey King," though Jones stated he never named it.
Seeking Inspiration
Jones attributed his work to a documentary on the Nazca Lines, large images drawn with lines in the Peruvian desert. He stated that the creation started with a circle, followed by a Merkaba symbol. This shape is made of two intersecting tetrahedrons spinning opposite ways, supposedly generating a 3D energy field.
The term "Merkaba" is derived from the Hebrew word for chariot but bears no relation to the Star of David, frequently confused with it.
Although someone removed the rocks forming the Merkaba symbol, Jones remained undeterred. He changed the circle into a yin-yang symbol, representing Chinese philosophical dynamics of opposing yet interconnected forces. Next, he added an eastward-facing triangle, using rope to straighten the lines of rocks forming its sides.
The face is not the Buddha as initially reported, but rather a monkey's, although its head is concealed by a unalome, a Buddhist/Hindu symbol symbolizing the path to freedom. The monkey was partially inspired by Hanuman, the monkey commander of the monkey army in Hindu mythology.
The monkey originally wore a frown, but Jones informed the R-J that he flipped the frown upside-down to represent the end of the pandemic lockdown.
Monkey See, Monkey Undo
Despite garnering fame due to media coverage, the artwork may soon be dismantled by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which dislikes great art created without a permit on land classified as "natural landscape and wildlife habitat."
The federal agency was alerted to its existence earlier this year by R-J reporter Brett Clarkson, who inquired about it. It was the first they had heard about it.
Since you informed us about this, we will start an investigation and determine the next steps," a BLM representative told Clarkson in an email, noting that "permits are issued for land art such as this" to safeguard the environment from any potentially destructive changes.
Jones stated he did not apply for a permit because he was unaware one was necessary to move rocks that already existed at the site. He informed the R-J he would be "a little disappointed" if "The Desert Monkey King" were erased.
"It's just a little labor of love," Jones said.
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