Tag Archives for Autohenge

Solstice Again, Innit? Part the Second!

Recreation of Stonehenge made from car parts; PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo

Well, solstice is actually about over and we still haven’t produced the promised second post. We will hesitate no longer in the dubbing of our other Hengefinder General Extraordinaire: HGE Matt Penny, perpetrator, as always, of the supercalifragilistic website, Salisbury and Stonehenge dot Net. We have lost track of all of the henges and replicas he has alerted us to over the millennia during which we have been posting on the Clonehenge blog, but they have been numerous and as in the case of HGE Glastonbury, fascinating.

The one pictured above, entitled Citihenge, has, as far as we know, the honour of being the first corporately-named henge (but not as you may see at the end of this post, the only automobile henge). Not the first one built for advertising–Autohenge in Canada may hold that title. But the first, perhaps of many to come, that are named directly for a company, as advertisement. Think of it, in a few years not only replicas but even Stonehenge itself may have a corporate label: Barclay’s Bank Stonehenge, for example, or perhaps preferably, the Crawford Bourbon Biscuit Stonehenge. Oh brave new world!!

But back to Citihenge. Here is a video afforded to us by Hengefinder Apprentice Karl Dodd. Citihenge, ŠKODA advertisement video (Who is that man in the video and why is he dressed like Doctor Who?) Hmm, it refuses to embed. But we bravely forge on!

HGE Matt Penny has alerted us to everything from Stonehenge cakes, to replicas in process like the one being created in Canberra by Tracey and Robbie Wallace (on which we desperately need an update because if it doesn’t get a few lintels, it will not be hengy enough to post!), to the foamhenge we recently posted and many more. We thank and salute him for his numerous contributions!

Wait! One of the best things he steered us to has gone unmentioned. Recently he sent us a link to this article about the bouncy Stonehenge we posted about not long ago, quoting this bit:

“Jeremy Deller said: ‘A lot of my work deals with history, and Sacrilege is no exception, this is a way to get reacquainted with ancient Britain with your shoes off.’

 The first venue on this nomadic tour of the UK is the National Botanic Garden in west Wales, where the inflatable monument will be inaugurated for a second time by children from local schools and a team of local gymnasts. On this special occasion to mark the first London 2012 Festival event in Wales, entry to the Botanic Garden will be free of charge for the whole day, allowing visitors a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience. ‘Bouncers’ are being encouraged to download free ‘Druid Beards’ from the Sacrilege website – www.sacrilege2012.co.uk , colour them in and arrive in druid fancy dress.”

Emergency Druid beard

He knew that beard thing was deep in the Clonehenge spirit! As is being invited to arrive at the bouncy Stonehenge in Druid fancy dress, whatever the bleep that is! Not that it is the type of thing we do, mind you, but because it is the kind of thing that makes us smile in disbelief and reflect that while people are downloading and colouring Druid beards, and putting together their Druid fancy dress, they are not shooting each other or plotting ways to make shopping centers or other things that lay waste the land that Stonehenge was lovingly built to adorn. They are being silly, and that’s when we love mankind–in the midst of its sillinesses! We think Matt Penny knows that. For that he deserves not only the title of Hengefinder General Extraordinaire but a permanent supply of Emergency Druid beards!!

We hope you had a wonderful summer solstice, and have a lovely summer. This, we predict is the year of henging mania, so as you go about your business, keep your eyes open for Stonehenge replicas wherever you go. Submit them when you find them and you, too, may someday achieve the high order of the HGE! Until then, amigos, happy henging!

P.S.: We know of these auto henges of various sorts: the Ontario Autohenge, Carhenge in Nebraska, Dubhenge, the 1987 Glastonbury Festival car trilithon (which we have not yet posted) made by the Mutoid Waste Company of Tankhenge fame, and the Stonehenge replica made of cars for The Secret Life of Machines. That’s five and there are probably one or two more. And we don’t count the ones without lintels, so don’t be sending us links to Cadillac Ranch!

Note: At the Sacrilege inflatable Stonehenge trinkets link you will find not only theDruid beard, but a “certificate of bounce” to be filled in once you’ve bounced and…. a printable cutout henge, suitable for making your own paper Stonehenge replica! An easy way to start henging!

Glimpses of a Carhenge–An Odd Corner of Henging History!

“The Secret Life of Machines is an educational television series presented by Tim Hunkin and Rex Garrod, in which the two explain the inner workings and history of common household and office machinery.” So says Wikipedia and why should we bother to reword it just to sound like we’re not quoting it?

Friend of the blog Josteyn Ward [about whom we know things you would not want to know about your friends!] posted this video and its henge on the Clonehenge Facebook group along with its partner video which shows a car engine, clearly meant as a sacrifice, being carried into the henge by people clad in white, starting at about23 minutes 45 seconds in. Brilliant!

On the website, they have this: “We made carhenge for the car and engine programme. There are several permanent carhenges in the world, most famously one in the US desert. Ours only lasted two months, but it had a good site, and many people made pilgrimages to it from the main road a mile away. It is best seen in the opening shot of the car programme.”

We are amazed that we never heard of this autohenge before now! It is extremely rare for a television show to make and feature its own Stonehenge replica. The history of henging has many hidden corners. Score: 8 druids, as much for the procession and sacrifice of the internal combustion engine as for the Stonehenge replica itself!

This idea of Stonehenge as a place of human sacrifice persists, but happily it is not taken as seriously as it once was. It makes an excellent basis for jokes. Nothing tickles the funny bone like an innocent person being laid out on a stone and eviscerated before a large crowd! Possibly our friend Josteyn Ward would want to speak to this. Possibly. But we don’t actually want to know.

Until the next time friends, happy henging!

Dubhenge, Several Locations, U.K.

dubhenge

photo by Ian Lloyd, with permission (kombi trilithon here)

In 1996, a group of artists who call themselves Hugh Jart (get it?) set up this henge for the Beetle Bash at Avon Park Raceway for summer solstice. It was a Stonehenge replica made of donated junk VWs, both VW beetles and buses or kombis. More pictures: the whole replica, Hugh Jart’s Dubhenge photos, MTV’s video of solstice sunrise at Dubhenge. And the poster used to solicit the cars needed for the sculpture (we like this!).

The installation was moved to the Glastonbury Festival that year, to the Park Festival in Scotland and then to the V’97 Festival at Leeds before being scrapped.

What’s not to like? Score: 7 druids for the bug-ly henge. We like the happy hippy vibe and the idea of a monument to such a beloved piece of transportation!

Autohenge, Ontario

autohengefromair

photo from williamlishman.com, with permission

Before there was Carhenge, there was Autohenge. Built in 1986 by artist William Lishman at the request of Chrysler for a commercial, it stood proudly on the Canadian landscape for 5 years until it was removed. There is some evidence that suggests Lishman would consider creating anotherAutohenge if he could raise the money.

autohengewithgeese

Maybe it’s just us, but these pictures seem to have caught something melancholy and magnificent. Its history is interesting. How many Stonehenge replicas have been sponsored by major corporations? May that happen more and more!!

We’re nearing the bottom of the list of large replicas. A handful more and then we’ll just be posting small ones. This seems to us to be a good example of a grand tradition. Maybe the Canadian government could give Lishman a grant!

Score: Look at that picture at the top. 8 druids, at least!

P.S.: We do not plan to list Cadillac Ranch, Truckhenge, or Airstream Ranch, as they just are not hengy enough.