Staggering around on Fark, I came across this link... I'll wait until you're done reading.
Done? Good. There'll be a quiz later.
Anyway.
Like the semi-literate hairless chimp that I am, curiosity got to me after reading that article and I decided to check this thingy out. I mean, come on, Kubrick and the dead and Jupiter and 2001 and some dude named Toynbee and signs left in the ashphalt in the American northeast and South America and aliens and guerilla art... How could I not?
What did I find? Glad you asked...
Arnold J. Toynbee "was a British historian whose twelve-volume analysis of the rise and fall of civilizations, A Study of History, 1934-1961, was a synthesis of global history, a metahistory based on universal rhythms of rise, flowering and decline..." according to Wikipedia. Read more about Mr. Toynbee here.
He was also a character in a Ray Bradbury short story, The Toynbee Convector. According to Wikipedia, again, "It has been speculated that this short story may have helped inspire the anonymous creator of the Toynbee tiles found in the streets of several major cities." Yay, Wikipedia. Is it accurate? Is it the blatherings of a bunch of dudes living in their parents basements? Who cares, its free. Once more, yay, Wikipedia.
Sorry.
Stanley Kubrick was, simply, the greatest film-maker ever, bitches. Wanna argue? Bring it on.
Again, I'm sorry. But, come on, Paths Of Glory and Spartacus and Lolita and Strangelove and 2001 and Clockwork Orange and Barry Lyndon and The Shining and Full Metal Jacket and Eyes Wide Shut and I forgot one, didn't I... The Killing.
And what links between Kubrick and Toynbee did I discover? None, zip, zero. Except the Tiles. In the movie 2001 the dead are not ressurected on Jupiter. So what is going on here, I thought to myself.
I found Toynbee.net, an amazing resource and catalogue of all the tiles found so far.
I found Resurrctdead.com, another amazing resource by a dude who made a doc about the things.
So, really, what does it all mean? I don't have the foggiest of ideas. What do I suspect? That this one of those amazing moments in guerilla street art. Where someone comes up with an idea, plants a few pieces and then others see them and figure out how it was done and continue the mission.
Like Crop Circles and the Obey poster movement and all other forms of culture jamming.
I think I'll leave this with a quote from Justin Duerr, the dude behind resurrectdead.com... “I don't believe there's a lone gunman,'' Duerr said. “I like to look at it as art that exists for a reason other than being in an art gallery.''
And, once again, yay, Wikipedia...
2 comments:
Just to clarify -- I was misquoted in that article. I firmly believe there was a "lone gunman" (in fact, at this point, I know who that lone gunman was) and the AP reporter just put those my words in my mouth to make the story flow better, I think. There IS a copycat tiler in Philadelphia right now, but this person has not placed tiles anywhere outside of Philadelphia. All the other tiles were made by one single person, for certain. I just feel the need to clear that up!
Thanks,
*Justin*
Very cool, thanks Justin.
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