Crop Circle creators talk about the art and perception of their works.

October 28, 2001 12:34 AM

Crop Circle creators talk about the art and perception of their works. I really didn't know how seriously these guys took their creations. I thought it was like a big joke, but its more of a high-concept culture jam. [via fortean times]
posted by skallas (10 comments total)

This link made me go searching for crop circle websites... and good god, look at this one. Amazing stuff.

Still, after reading this interview, it's ridiculous that anyone could consider these not to be man-made. Although it must be great fun to be a conceptual artist whom everyone assumes is a force of nature...
posted by tweebiscuit at 12:59 AM on October 28, 2001

According to Andrews, while 80% of formations were man-made, the rest were the result of some peculiar geo-magnetic force.

That still leaves 20%. Does anyone know of a scientific, i.e- non-journalistic, link or book about this "geo-magnetic force"?
Other, related phenomena that have always baffled me are whistlers. You can actually download some of the sounds there - and they make the hairs on the back of my neck tingle, I can tell you.

There's definitely more to this than meets the eye or ear...
posted by MiguelCardoso at 1:39 AM on October 28, 2001

That still leaves 20%.

I'm pretty suspicious of the claims that they're all man-made. Could very well be man imitating nature. The geo-magnetic force is the catch-all for lots of anomalous phenomenon. I think it really means "we have no clue but doesn't this word sound scientifically plausible?"
posted by skallas at 1:52 AM on October 28, 2001

The only rational explanation for the remaining twenty percent is that they were created by the alien elves that live inside Australia (which is also not really a continent, but a giant spacecraft that crashed nine hundred billion years ago, after fleeing from Xenu)
posted by aramaic at 6:41 AM on October 28, 2001

If only the anthrax hoaxers would take up so benign a hobby!
posted by Carol Anne at 8:00 AM on October 28, 2001

Like hosting all night talk AM radio $how$ devoted to the paranoia, er, paranormal?

What about the remote viewers?!
posted by y2karl at 1:45 PM on October 28, 2001

Faking UFOs includes a section on creating crop circles and some other great hoaxes...uh, art projects, too.

I'm not sure I'd do a UFO hoax at the moment; too many people are too jumpy. Maybe I'll opt for an Alien Autopsy this year.
posted by realjanetkagan at 3:31 PM on October 28, 2001

It's OK I found the real explanation for the other 20%. It's all a lot clearer now.
posted by walrus at 4:48 PM on October 28, 2001

The butterfly did it!
posted by Carol Anne at 5:39 PM on October 28, 2001

I like the photo where one of the chief creators was visiting a crop circle in 1991, thinking about getting into the act on his own, and a real UFO showed up!
posted by LeLiLo at 8:48 PM on October 28, 2001