'Tunnels' sale in dispute

One of Utah's best-known pieces of art is apparently listed for sale on eBay, but whether it's an authorized sale may be in question.

The Sun Tunnels, located in the western desert a few miles south of Lucin, Box Elder County, are listed under eBay Item No. 2377935699.

The tunnels and the land they sit on were to be available for a 10-day auction ending Sunday. As of Tuesday afternoon, no bids had been placed.

The listing says bidding begins at $16,500. Alternatively, anyone could buy the item outright from the seller, the site adds, for $35,000.

The Sun Tunnels' creator, Nancy Holt, has declined comment on the sale, although she has indicated she doesn't want them sold.

And the person who has listed them for sale on eBay, identified in her e-mail address as Angela Madsen, has said she believes they are on her property, even though Holt may disagree.

Hani Durzy, eBay spokesman at the online auction's headquarters in San Jose, Calif., said eBay is looking into the situation. The auction site has been known to remove listings of items when sales are not authorized.

According to Madsen's offering, the Sun Tunnels and the 160 acres the work sits on are for sale.

A description for the offering on eBay says, "I have had so many requests to sell the parcel with the 'pipes' that I am now putting it up for auction. The section the pipes are on is merely a fraction of the total acreage you will now own. With the history and significance of that small piece, it alone is worth over $20,000.00!"

The description continues that the tubes or pipes, "and the holes drilled in them, are aligned with the solar system and used by astronomers to study the spring and fall solstice. Astronomers have visited this site for years to study the seasons, movement of the planets, etc.

"You can own this beautiful property."

Holt created the Sun Tunnels to align with the summer and winter solstices — there are no spring or fall solstices, despite what the eBay listing says. Arranged in an X, the tunnels — four huge concrete pipes — frame the sunrise and sunset on the summer and winter solstices. Holes cut through the concrete represent the constellations.

Stretching 86 feet on the diagonal, the work is located on a stark landscape. An earlier article in this paper said each pipe weighs 22 tons and is about 18 feet long with a diameter of 9 feet.