Kryptos: Expert Q&A
On July 30, 2007, artist James Sanborn, mastermind behind the still-partly-unsolved Kryptos sculpture at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, answered selected questions about Kryptos, including ones about the unsolved fourth part.
Q: What about cryptography interests you? Did you ever work with codes as a child? S.B., San Francisco, California
James Sanborn: I never worked with codes in my youth—I was mathematically illiterate.
Q: Of the natural materials you have used in your creations, which have you found to be the most interesting? Cathleen, Garden Grove, California
Sanborn: Lodestone and uranium
Q: What is your favorite kind of encryption, and why? Greg Bond, Los Angeles, California
Sanborn: Matrix codes (bar codes) are special. They are more "art-like."
Q: How many ways of cracking codes do you know? Zel, grade 4, Oregon
Sanborn: 50+
Q: What was your inspiration in making Kryptos? Was it solely to stump would-be code-breakers, or was there another reason behind it? Melissa, Oregon
Sanborn: I was always fascinated with spies and the secret ways in which they communicated. I also wanted the artwork to retain a sense of mystery.
Q: Do those who don't have access to the CIA grounds have enough information to solve Kryptos? Andrew Bromage, Melbourne, Australia
Sanborn: Yes.
Q: Based upon the methodology of the partial solutions to Kryptos to date, do you still believe that further progress can be made as though by a single operator using "pen and paper" methods? Larry McElhiney, Indianapolis, Indiana
Sanborn: Anything is possible.
Q: Isn't one of the points of creating art letting the viewer determine how the piece affects, interacts with, or speaks to them individually? Why take on definitive pieces? Or would you consider the encryptions indeterminate? Melissa Cherry, Houston, Texas
Sanborn: My encryption phase ended 15 years ago. My art has since been varied, to say the least.
[Editor's note: To learn more about Jim Sanborn's artistic endeavors, see Elonka Dunin's page on the sculptor.]
Q: What is your next project? Craig Ivey, Madison, Alabama
Sanborn: I am recreating the particle accelerator that split the first atom of uranium in the United States.
Q: Are these puzzles fun to create, and why do you create them? Mary Vela, Gulf Breeze, Florida
Sanborn: At the time I did Kryptos, the codes were more fun. Now, they are hard.
[Editor's note: Sanborn chose to group together his answer to the following questions.]
Q: You have three people trapped in a room trying to crack K4, the yet-unsolved fourth segment of Kryptos. One is a mathematician, one is a geologist, and one is a historian. Who has the best chance at solving the last piece of the sculpture? Bryan Strader, Phoenix, Arizona
Q: If you could describe K4 geometrically, how many dimensions would it have and what shape would they be? Ron Novy, Covina, California
Q: Does the shape of the Kryptos serve any purpose in the encryption? Robert Brandon
Q: Will the solution to "K4" come out piece by piece, or will it all pop out at once? James Gaquin, San Diego, California
Q: Would it be possible to decrypt K4 without prior knowledge of K1, K2, and K3? John Willemse, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Q: Could the underlying message of Kryptos be ascertained without decrypting part four? David, Lafayette, Louisiana
Sanborn: I have already given all of the clues that I want to give.
Q: You have said that as far as you know the last part has not been solved by anyone, publicly or privately. How do you feel about that? Gerald McMillen, Stamford, Connecticut
Sanborn: Smug.
Q: Does K4 have a solvable answer, or is it unsolvable—a sort of metaphor for the endless depths of human curiosity? Stephanie Daniel, Jackson, Mississippi
Sanborn: Yes, it has a solvable answer. And I hope it continues to be of interest to many.
Q: Are you willing to sell the answer to Kryptos? Anonymous
Sanborn: No!
Q: Do you intend to reveal the solution at some point, or are you comfortable with taking the solution to your grave? Laura, Arkansas
Sanborn: The solution to Kryptos may outlive me. If so, arrangements have been made that will allow decryptions to be checked against the solution.