Posted on January 21, 2017
Who’s a Copycat?
When people challenge me about the tiles, it’s almost always about the identification of copycats. The claim is usually that newer tiles aren’t the work of the original tiler. The WHAT section of this site traces the development of style over time, but doesn’t explicitly lay out the case for a single tiler for the 700+ data points on the WHERE section of this site.
That’s not to say there aren’t copycats. For example this is a fairly obvious copycat:
But this one is also a copycat:
But this isn’t:
Here they are side by side:
How can I tell?
The original is a tile appeared in the 1990’s. The copycat is from 2010. The copycat mimics the design of the original, but TTT hadn’t created one even remotely close to that style in more than 10 years. While TTT does sometimes repeat much older styles, he’s never done it in a one-off like this one.
In addition, the copycat was placed differently in the context of the intersection than all other tiles of that size. Out of hundreds, this would be the only outlier in both design and placement.
It also appeared near to, and in the same run as several House of Hades tiles. House of Hades does occasionally create straight copycats with the original message. Considering all this together, it’s safe to say that tile is a copycat made by the person responsible for House of Hades. Even so, it looked so authentic we used it for the key promotional shot for Resurrect Dead.
Here’s another example:
And what about this one:
The first tile is a copycat, and the one directly above is authentic. How can I say that? Same as the earlier example. Looking at when and where they were placed, and what other tiles appeared at roughly the same time, it’s much easier to say with confidence which one is authentic. The copycat here is another House of Hades replica.
What about this one?
It’s real. With that said, if I just saw an image online, and had no other context, it would be very hard to tell.
Yeah, but…
So that gets to the question, why do I think that beautiful tile above is authentic, and that this one:
And this one are authentic too:
Here’s the most concise argument I can make.
I won’t get into why, but for many years, TTT has spent a lot of time in the Atlantic City area. If you take a look a the map, you’ll see tiles lining the highways and roads between Philadelphia and the Jersey Shore. If you click through to the map and look at the variety of tiles up and down Route 42, you’ll see he’s been active there for many years. The earliest known, original style tiles placed on a highway were reported in a 2004 issue of Weird NJ magazine. Nearly every tile style and variety has appeared on the roads between Philly and the Atlantic Ocean since then.
In 2013, after a hiatus of 2 years, dozens of new tiles appeared in Baltimore, Wilmington, DE and New York. Almost all were in the same rough style:
That same year I drove down to the Jersey shore on a hunch. I found a few fresh tiles, in the same style, but with a DIFFERENT MESSAGE; some of them still covered in tar paper:
So who is Mason?
The connection is unimportant, but Mason reportedly knows the family of TTT. He doesn’t know TTT directly, but there is a direct, significant connection between himself and the family.
In short – in 2013 – tiles attacking a person with recent contact with TTT, in a place where TTT spends a lot of time began to appear. Simultaneous to this, tiles in the same hand, the same style, and made of the same materials, (but with the original message) appeared up and down the Mid-Atlantic. It’s safe to say that the person putting Toynbee tiles in Baltimore in the summer of 2013, was the same person putting nearly identical “Meals on Wheels” tiles at the Jersey shore in the summer of 2013.
In addition, the pattern of placement within intersections themselves is consistent with TTT. The overall direction of style is consistent with incremental changes made over many years. It’s extremely unlikely that these are copycats.
Why so crude?
People who see the 2013 – 2016 run of tiles often point to tiles from the 1990’s and make the argument that they can’t possibly be made by the same person. My argument here is that those beautiful 1990’s runs produced 10 – 12 tiles a year. The last set that included even rudimentary mosaic elements, borders, and side texts was a run of 8 Philadelphia tiles in 2007. Since 2013, well over 100 tiles have been reported in New York, Newark, Philadelphia, Wilmington, Baltimore and points in-between. There are probably dozens more that either never set, or have never been reported. The goal in the past few years has been quantity, not quality.
It looks like at this stage of his career TTT doesn’t have the time, patience or materials to produce 90’s style tiles. Instead he’s been producing a large amount of cruder tiles for his annual runs.
Other Evidence
Another strong argument for a single tiler are highway tiles. In 2004, tiles with the message split across 2 or more smaller tiles started appearing on highways near Philadelphia. We think TTT did this so that the message would be legible is smaller bites a few hundred yards apart. These tiles were first reported in 2004:
Split tile on I-476. Photo by Josh Weigner, 2004.
These tiles have appeared many times since then:
Split tile in Williamstown, NJ. Photo by A. Brown, 2014.
Here’s one that appeared simultaneous to the rest of the New York tiles of 2013:
Split tile in New York City. Photo by Steve Weinik, 2014.
Here’s one that appeared at the same time as other new, Wilmington, DE tiles since 2013:
Wilmington, DE split tile. Photo by Sarah Cordivano, 2016.
Here’s a split tile with the alternate “Meals on Wheels” message attacking Mason M.
Meals on Wheels split tile near Atlantic City. Photo by Steve Weinik, 2015.
So to recap. Split highway tiles have been appearing since 2004. Split highway tiles still appear. Some of them are “Meals on Wheels” tiles, which instead of carrying the traditional Toynbee Idea message, attack a man named Mason. Mason has direct significant contact with the family of TTT. To top it off, these split tiles have appeared in the same runs as other post 2013 tiles in New York and Wilmington, DE and the Jersey shore. Taken together, it’s a certainty that the person making highway tiles, post-2013 Toynbee tiles, and all “Meals on Wheels” tiles is the same person. It’s nearly as certain that the person is the original tiler.
Still not convinced? Make your case here or in the comments below.
Posted on January 20, 2016
Artist Steve Powers Adds Toynbee Tile to Philly Mural
World famous, Philly-raised artist Stephen Powers (aka ESPO) recently finished up a mural in the Old City neighborhood of Philadelphia. I stopped by for final photos, and found him still at work. He was still taking requests for content, and was nice enough to humor my request for a Toynbee Tile. And 5 minutes later, it went up. Getting a tile in a public mural, has been a back-burner goal for the last 10 years. I’d still love to see a 40×60 wall, but this will do just fine for now. Thank you Steve Powers. Here’s the final mural:
Posted on August 23, 2015
David Mamet and 4 A.M.
How does David Mamet’s 4 A.M. relate to the Toynbee Tiles?
Well, the tiles promote the idea of resurrecting the dead on Jupiter through ideas found in the movie 2001 and the writings of Arnold Toynbee. Mamet’s play 4 A.M., which he describes as “a homage to Larry King” relates a conversation between a radio host, in conversation with a caller to his show promoting his idea to bring back the dead on Jupiter through the ideas found in the movie 2001 and the writings of Arnold Toynbee. As Justin Duerr said in Resurrect Dead, this is no mere coincidence. But how did it happen?
Mamet himself told NPR’s Joel Rose that “there was no call on the radio, I made it up.” In Minority Association documents that we uncovered, The Toynbee Tiler (TTT) wrote:
Arnold Toynbee’s Conception of the Colinization of Outer Space, as depicted in the movie “2001 A Space Odyssey,” was first explained in a ‘call in’ on the Larry King Show in February 1980.
We received another credible report that TTT was more than a one-time caller to King. So what we have is:
- February 1980 – April 1983: TTT repeatedly calls Larry King’s show with his idea.
- 1983: Mamet writes 4 A.M.
I can bolster the case with other material, but is that really necessary? From the timeline alone, consciously or not, Mamet based 4 A.M. off of a conversation he heard between TTT and Larry King. Memory is fallible, so I’m going to give Mamet the benefit of the doubt when he says “I made it up” but the evidence says otherwise.
For posterity, here’s the text of 4 A.M.
An announcer seated at a radio console desk. He wears earphones and speaks into a microphone. We hear the voice of the caller over a loudspeaker.
Interviewer: Hello, you’re on the air.
Caller: Hello, Greg, how are you?
Int: I’m fine
Caller: Good. Greg, it’s a pleasure to talk with you. I had the pleasure of talking to you three-and-one-half years ago, and I’ve been a continual listener of yours since you started out with the twenty-two stations, and I admire you very much.
Int: Thank You.
Caller: Thank you Greg.
Int: What’s your problem?
Caller: Greg, we need your help to publicize our plan. We’ve been trying to get our organization together to raise money to be able to hire a public relations firm like Wells and Jacoby to publicize our organization. (Pause.) Where are we going to get the money…? I don’t know…
Int: To publicize your…
Caller: In the movie 2001, based on the writings of Arnold Toynbee, they speak of the plan…
Int: Excuse me, excuse me, but the movie 2001 was based on the writings…
Caller: …all human life is made of molecules…
Int: …based on the writings of Arthur C. Clarke…
Caller: All human…no, Greg, if you examine…
Int: …it was based on the writings of Arthur C. Clarke…
Caller: Oh, Greg, No. We have the…
Int: Well, go on.
Caller: Greg: In the writings of Arnold Toynbee he discusses a plan whereby all human life could be easily reconstituted on the planet Jupiter.
Int: Uh-huh…(Pause.)
Caller: Greg?
Int: Yes? (Pause.) I’m listening.
Caller: Greg…
Int: Yes?
Caller: In the wr…
Int: Yeah. I got it. Go on.
Caller: In the…
Int: No, no. No. Go on. I got it. Arnold Toynbee, human life on…
Caller: As we’re made of molecules, Greg, and the atoms of all human life that ever lived are still in all of us…
Int: Okay, I got it. They exist, they’ve just been rearranged. (Pause.)
Caller: Yes. (Pause.)
Int: So?
Caller: We’d like to publicize our organization, Greg. We’re very young. We’ve just been existence over a year and we want to publicize our theory. And, Greg, we don’t know how.
Int: You…how do you publicize your plan to bring dead people back to life on Jupiter.
Caller: Yes.
Int: Why? (Pause.) Why would you want to do this? (Pause.) Hello?
Caller: Yes.
Int: Why would you want to do this? (Pause.) You see what I’m saying to you? (Pause.) What is the aim of your group?
Caller: Greg…
Int: What are your plans? (Pause.)
Caller: I…(Pause.)
Int: What?
Caller: I…Greg I told you.
Int: You said that you want to bring dead people back to life.
Caller: Yes.
Int: On the planet Jupiter.
Caller: Just as they showed us in the mo…
Int: Well, I’m not sure that’s what the movie was about, but be that as it may, why would you want to do that?
Caller: Oh, Greg, you can’t mean it…
Int: Well, yes, I mean it. Why would you…what’s the idea…? You’re walking down the street, there’s AbrahamLincoln…is that the idea?
Caller: Yes.
Int: …so anybody that you want to talk to, so forth, there they are. Is that the idea? (Pause.)
Caller: Yes.
Int: Who do you pick? Who picks ’em? You? Your organization?…or do you just bring ’em all back? (Pause.) What is your…I mean, do you have a program for this? Or…what are the goals…? (Pause.)
Caller: To bring…
Int: Naah…it’s to broad. It’s too broad. Don’t you see what I’m talking about? You can’t bring ’em all back. (Pause.) Can you?
Caller: I don’t know.
Int: Well, think about it. (Pause.) Think about it. You’re talking about billions of people. Eh? They’ve lived at different times. They speak different languages-the ones that speak our language, it’s changed over the years. Thedialects are different. Customs change. Their lives are different. Some of them died violent deaths…some aredisfigured…they’ve been decomposing…Now: listen to this: At what point do you bring them back? (Pause.) Right before they died? What if they were ill? What if they were infirm? And so you don’t do it then, when do you do it? At what point? You see what I’m telling you? Someone wants to come back at age twenty, so you bring him back at fifty-five…is he allowed to change? And who’s to say if he can or can’t? What if he never wanted to come back?
Caller: …Greg…?
Int: What about people who killed themselves? Because they didn’t want to live? Some of them we know. We could leave out. What about ones that we don’t know? Who’s going to pass on this? You and your group? Well, then you’re talking about something very much like fascism. Is that what you want? Because I’ll tell you what you get very quickly is a State where only the Pure can come back. Or the good looking…or whatever the people in charge that day seem to feel is the ultimate good…and tickles their fancy. Or do you just press a button and everyonecomes back? And what do you have then? I’ll tell you what you have: wars. You’ve got wars. Unless you think that being dead improved them. You see what I’m saying? You’ve got the same jealousies and…misunderstandings you had the first time. And how do you explain the technology to some guy who’s just come back from 1565 and all of a sudden he’s in some space suit and he’s alive again…
Caller: He wouldn’t be in a space suit.
Int: …whatever. And who governs this august group? Or do they just “get along”? Not in this lifetime, friend. What do you think? Because they’re on a foreign planet that it’s going to be cooperation and good will? They’re going to forget about their human nature and just live in joy? You’re talking about heaven, my friend. Heaven doesn’t exist. You think the fact that they’ve come back is going to make them all philosophers? I don’t think so. Far a day, yes. Maybe. A week, a month later, and I’m going to tell you something: It’s going to be worse than it was before, and you know what you’ve got? Chaos. And any tine you get a State like that you have a populace that thinks the world owes it a living. And you’ve got a tragedy. It doesn’t hold up. Even as a dream. It’s not thought out. And what do they eat?
Caller: Toynbee says that we can bombard the atmosphere with oxygen and reclaim the soil.
Int: Does he? And what if he’s wrong…? (Pause.) You see what I’m saying? (Pause.)
Caller: I…
Int: Listen to me: The world is full of histories of people trying to live in Utopias. It doesn’t work. We wish it did, itdoesn’t. (Pause.) Alright? (Pause.) Alright?
Caller: Um…yes.
Int: Alright. Thank you for calling. (Loudspeaker goes dead.) Let’s move along.
Posted on August 9, 2015
For Posterity: Clark DeLeon
For the record, here is the entire text of the 1983 article where Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Clark DeLeon interviewed (by phone) a man going by the name James Morasco.
THE SCENE – IN PHILADELPHIA AND IT’S SUBURBS
THEORIES: WANNA RUN THAT ONE BY ME AGAIN?
The Philadelphia Inquirer
This article originally appeard in The Philadelphia Inquirer on March 13, 1983.
Call me skeptical, but I had a hard time buying James Morasco’s concept that the planet Jupiter would be colonized by bringing all the people on Earth who had ever died back to life and then changing Jupiter’s atmosphere to allow them to live. Is it just me, or does that strike you as hard to swallow, too? Morasco says he is a social worker in Philadelphia and came across this idea while reading a book by historian Arnold Toynbee, whose theory on bringing dead molecules back to life was depicted in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey.
“There are no scientific principles I’ve found that can make this possible,” Morasco said, “especially colonizing the planet Jupiter, which has a very poisonous atmosphere. The possibility of giving that planet an oxygen atmosphere is beyond even science fiction writers’ imaginations.”
Now that quote may sound as if Morasco doesn’t believe it can be done, but that’s not true. He thinks that between Toynbee and Stanley Kubrick there is a way to pull it off. That’s why he’s contacting talk shows and newspapers to spread the message. He’s even founded a Jupiter colonization organization called the Minority Association, which he said consists of, “Me, Eric, Eric’s sister who does the typing, Frank . . . ”
You may be hearing more from Morasco. And then again, you may not.
Posted on September 19, 2011
That Sweet, Sweet Tile Cash
After nearly 20 years of interest, 6 years of investigation and 1 year of movie madness, I finally got around to putting together a gallery of Toynbee Tile photos. The gallery is far from comprehensive, but details a wide array of styles. Unfortunately, general negligence destroyed a large chunk of the official record. A dramatic hard drive crash/data loss incident in early 2007 wiped out a ton of irreplaceable photos (including the hybrid tile on I-676 in Philadelphia). In putting the gallery together, I also realized that I’ve been indefensibly lazy in getting tile photos for the past few years.
Since the “what are they doing now” segment of the movie says that I continue to photograph tiles and document their sightings, I felt like I should probably start doing that. First stop, Kensington and Allegheny, where 2 large tiles appeared in 2009. I don’t get to K&A as much as I used to and discovered that 1 of those tiles is already gone. Thankfully, 1 beat up old tile was there when I visited today. It’s the image at the top of this post and it’s also here:
What a creepy tile in a creepy place. I love it.
Last thing. I’d be a better person if I didn’t mention that prints of all Toynbee Tile photos are on sale now! While I’m somewhat conflicted about selling prints of my tile photos, I’ve rationalized the whole thing in a couple of self-serving ways.
One: They’re my photos. I try to create interesting representations of the tiles through texture, color and perspective. The fact that I add my own creative eye to the tiles themselves is worth a couple dollars.
Two: The more the message is out there, the more it’s out there. I’m a fan of all aspects of the Toynbee Tiles and want them to live on in whatever way shape or form that I can. Distributing prints for a nominal profit is one surefire way to achieve that. Thank you and Goodbye!!!
Posted on September 14, 2011
THANK YOU PHILADELPHIA!
Resurrect Dead has finished its first Philly run. Considering that we sold out 4 shows in a 360 seat theater and came very close to selling out the remaining 2, it would seem that another run would be a good idea. No word on that yet though.
And by the way… all those people came out without a review from Philly’s increasingly irrelevant print media. But anyway, Thanks Philadelphia!
Director Jon Foy introduces a sold out screening of Resurrect Dead at the International House in Philadelphia
p.s. Papers in New York who wrote and published proper reviews of the film:
New York Times (Critics pick)
Villiage Voice (Liked it)
New York Daily News (HATED it)
Onion AV Club (Mostly liked it)
New York Post (Neutral)
Time Out New York (Reviewer didn’t seem to have watched more than 20 minutes)
But in the end, what does it matter? Philly crushed NY in ticket sales.
Posted on September 3, 2011
A Regular Caller?
The following was posted on the now discontinued Resurrect Dead message board in September 2011 by user: 3fingerpete. It’s reposted here for posterity.
I’m afraid I can’t offer any proof for what I am about to write. All I can say is this is my first hand account of how and when I first heard the “resurrect the dead on Jupiter” theory. I heard a man call in to Larry King’s radio program advocating the theory at least twice back in the early 1980’s.
My hitch in the military ended in 1980, and I started college at the start of 1981. In July of 1981 I moved into a ratbag duplex just off campus. During my stay there, from July 81 to January 85, I was in the habit of listening to King’s radio show nightly as a way to fall asleep. King usually had an hour or so of open line calls after his guest interview segment concluded. On at least two separate occasions, possibly three, I heard a caller get through to discuss the Toynbee theory, although I can’t recall if the name “Toynbee” was specifically mentioned. I do specifically recall Kubric (sic) being mentioned and the need to resurrect the dead on Jupiter.
I remember these calls after all these years for two reasons. First, I’m a fan of this sort of stuff, and the Toynbee theory was so uniquely bizarre as to get my attention. Second, Larry King is infuriatingly incurious, and rather than let the caller expound on Toynfbee (sic) King wasted little time moving on to the next caller, leaving me cursing King in the darkness of my room. I can’t recall the approximate dates of the calls but I can say with certainty they occurred during the time I lived in that duplex, between 7/81 and 1/85, and that more than one call took place. However, my recollection is that at least one of the calls was placed prior to 4/83.
I did not hear of Toynbee again until running across an Internet article about the tiles sometime in the 90’s. That was the first I had heard about the tiles but I instantly recognized the theory they propounded as the same I had heard on King’s show. I have been totally unaware of Mamet’s play or this movie until this morning when I ran across an online review. That review led me to Google, and hence my joining this message board.
So that is my story, as unsubstantiated as it is. I hope that if you are still searching for tapes of those calls that you don’t focus exclusively on 1980. I am disinclined to believe Mamet is the origin of this phenomena based upon my personal recollections, finding it more likely he, too, either heard the King calls directly or heard of them second hand.
AND
I don’t want to give the impression that I heard a call around March/April of 1983. I reference that time because it marked a transition in my personal circumstances, particularly going from night shift to day shift work, that affected the frequency with which I was able to listen to the late night open line segment of King’s show. So I have a high degree of confidence of having heard one of the calls in the 7/81 – 4/83 window. Beyond that I’m pretty useless.
Posted on August 1, 2011
RESURRECT DEAD THEATRiCAL RELEASE!!!
Finally, finally, finally I can announce that Resurrect Dead, the Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles, will be coming to a theater near you… maybe. Depends where you live. Also, here’s an official trailer for the movie:
Where can you see this Sundance Award winning documentary about the Toynbee Tiles and possibly even catch a Q/A with the director and cast (including me)? Here:
September 2 -8
IFC Center
http://www.ifccenter.com
Q&A with director Jon Foy, Justin Duerr, Colin Smith, Steve Weinik, and Doug Block on Fri. Sept. 2nd & Sat. Sept. 3rd. Details TBA.
September 8, 10, 11,12
International House
http://www.ihousephilly.org
Q&A with director Jon Foy, Justin Duerr, Colin Smith, Steve Weinik, and Doug Block in person. Details TBA.
More to come!
Posted on June 27, 2011
Silverdocs
I enjoy hanging out at film festivals as a minor celebrity, going to parties with movie people, getting lots of free fruit and cheese and drinking bottomless plastic cups of red wine and champagne. I like strangers pressing their card into my hand and telling me I should write a book and that they would publish that book with their book publishing company. My point is: I like getting free stuff and having interesting people tell me that I’m awesome.
But anyway, here I am at the Silverdocs film fest last weekend. I’m the one in the brightly colored clothing. With me are director Jon Foy and Producer/subject Colin Smith. The screenings were great. This was likely our last US Film Fest screening, but don’t worry, the movie will be in various cities relatively soon. More on that later.
Credit unknown. I handed someone my camera after the first screening. No idea who shot it.
Posted on January 31, 2011
Sundance, From the Stage
Director Jon Foy and Star Justin Duerr at the Sundance Premiere of Resurrect Dead
So two nights ago, I was standing on the awards stage at the Sundance Film Festival, while Resurrect Dead, Director Jon Foy accepted the award for Best Director in the U.S. Documentary category. I was part of the tiny team that worked on the film and am one of its subjects. I keep telling people that I have to have a kid, because I can’t think of much else in life that can top my experience just a couple of nights ago.
Since we got the Sundance news, through the first week of the festival, I’d deluded myself into believing with near certainty that we’d win an award. I even had plans for the big moment. I’d bring my camera to the stage and get some photos that no one else could ever get.
A couple days before the ceremony, it occurred to me that we probably wouldn’t win anything. Regardless of my growing skepticism, I sat there in the audience metering the stage/audience/room and taking test shots. Leading to the fest, I’d pictured using a superwide, but when the announcement finally came, I had on the slightly faster, slightly more versatile and still pretty wide 24-70.
Both laughing uncontrollably and with my hands shaking, I did manage a dozen or so photos. Apparently in a state of total shock, my eye for composition suffers. I intend to keep that in mind next year at the Oscars. But anyway, here are some photos.
Click any of them to enlarge:
Jon gives his awards speech
***
I see one guy looking at me
***
Jon, Justin and the audience
***
Little did he know, I was shooting him
***
Justin Duerr rises above
***
Justin chats with Simpsons creator and juror for Resurrect Dead, Matt Groening
And here are a couple random shots pulled from the pile:
Last year
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Late nights at the condo. Colin Smith and Doug Block chat while Jon sleeps
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Jon, happy
I took 1400 photos, so… to be continued.