What's a Burning Man, for you?
Burning Man, to me, is a time and place to be reminded of the infinite possibilities available to us at any moment - where human potential is open and celebrated alongside 70,000 other humans.
everything is possible in your dreams. Making them a reality is not as simple as just building a fucking magic castle, unless you are living in a bubble. a magic bubble A family member of mine has gone there at least a half dozen times over the past 10 years. There was some real shit, long ago. I'm sure it's a lot of fun, but talk is cheap, know what I mean?
Word, I feel you. One of the greatest things I took away was the inspiration to put in the hard work to make creative endeavors come true. Can you imagine how much work went into this Medusa sculpture?
Definately... But where did the means to undertake such an endeavour come from? I've seen and experienced enough art personally to have my fill. There are much more real matters that are bringing about an end to this type of lifestyle. These will only get more flamboyant until the dsfunctional motives are exposed, or the reality distortion field pops and the nu-free lovers see what openness exposes. Openness is fantastic - but there's a difference between being open...and projecting an image
^^ this sounds quite dour But I am jaded with artistic expression in today's age. More of it is propped up with the tech bubble than people realize. Radical openness is running it's course in black rock city. But you can now get likes for it too so it's all cool.
Ah, I see what you're saying. One night I was out and about and noticed an art car that was absolutely incredible in terms of the craftsmanship involved. As I was looking at the details, I had this conversation with a woman who came up to look at it as well. You're right, there is a lot of extravagance in art and BM is no exception. The money that was spent to build the car could easily have fed hundreds, probably thousands, of people in underdeveloped nations. So where does the balance lay? Art is a wonderful thing. Sure, it doesn't require a shit load of money to create beautiful art, but do we demonize those with the money to create for creating? Probably, I don't know.
Well, playing the role of a developer - I'd smile, wave, and say that, "finding the ones to demonize is political jockeying; a waste of time." Burning Man is not a self-sustaining endeavour. Sure, there are most likely a higher percentage of eco-friendly individuals in play.... But, moving well into the 21st century now - the universal question will only grow - until it dominates all perception - is the action sustainable? The political advocate may be vested in posing the question: is the system sustainable? I see a tech bubble built on a fledgling social architecture, caught in limbo between the next era of social interaction and economic feasibility. With a profitable image - that finds a middle ground with contentment; an accepted norm: openness, you see the development of a real event in Burning Man. Now, is everyone currently attending Burning Man aware of its roots? Or in touch with the premise behind the flamboyant art? Again, who cares. Answering this question doesn't change the logistics behind 70,000 people needing to poop in the middle of a desert with zero permanent infastructure. an engineering feat, no doubt. The same species also tackled how to engineer a hunk of elements to safely bring a breathing organism to the surface of the moon and back. I'm a developing realist. What I can guarantee you is that the rate of consumption since the introduction of mobile social-technology (and the bubble) has (in theory) expanded the premise of burning man... But has the message scaled? How would you know, when you're just looking to send a snapchat of what you're experiencing? There's a bubble, that's all I'm saying. Burning man chose to join the bubble (willingly or not) years ago. But, those radically open board members are living in the pinnacle of an era of easy money. They don't understand the other side of life well enough to bring their message to a larger audience, imo. There's a difference between conveying a message, and projecting an image. Their message of radiclal openness has undoubdetly grown to all corners of the globe. Thanks to a tech bubble. Sorry, the social media feeding frenzy is not sustainable, and will be seen as a bubble 40 years from now. I will bet you.
Yup. We go so insulated in living our lives, we get stuck in a rut. Burning Man is one way to get out of that rut without adverse consequences to your stable life. Get out, try some shit out, be someone different, do whatever. Then come back to your life and improve it with what you learned out there in your desert experiment. a time and place to be reminded of the infinite possibilities available to us at any moment
In what ways have you been inspired? What have you created created after a Burn?
Oh wow... what a great question! And a hard one... I've been involved in Burning Man since 1988. So... really... my entire life is informed by those experiences. The very first year Burning Man was in the desert, my friend Michael drew a line in the desert and said, "Beyond this line, everything is different", and established the space in the spirit of a "Temporary Autonomous Zone". A place outside of law and social expectation and societal norms. A safe place where you could do whatever you want, without fear of judgment. I try to keep that idea alive in my life. Creating spaces in which people can explore and express parts of themselves or their personality, that they otherwise wouldn't feel safe with. Participation, is another key element I bring into everything I do. Every project I am involved with is something that invites participation and interaction. There are no spectators. Everyone is welcome to touch the art, literally and figuratively. For years I dedicated myself to the business operations of a circus, as a volunteer. I have served on multiple Boards of Directors for arts organizations, in the interest of helping create spaces in which artists can thrive and produce. I have run my own theme camps. I have been a Burning Man staff member, and designed new processes and systems for the organization I worked for (Arctica), that improved our efficiency, safety, and lowered our negative impact on the event and the environment. I have worked with friends to create public art and events for the benefit of the communities in which the events take place. (And did it again on Saturday.) I've also been deeply involved in innumerable Newbie Picnics, which help first-time Burners get ready for the unique conditions on the playa, and also created Radical Orientation, which is targeted at helping people get involved in the local (Pacific Northwest) Burner community. (We started this the first year Burning Man tickets sold out, because we wanted to help all the new people get acclimated and in tune with the Burner vibe before they went to the event.) So yeah. That's just a small sampling of the things I have done outside of the Gerlach event, that are inspired by my experiences at Burning Man...
Exhilarating. To not now what the next turn held was fantastic.