Not every piece of art at Black Rock City is huge, but they do encourage art that is interactive. This piece has all kinds of drawers with things hidden inside. There are keys to unlock the cabinet doors. It was fascinating talking to him about how he poured the concrete pads in place, bringing prebuilt forms from home. The construction comes apart easily so it is easy to transport. I'm not sure how they were going to be removing the concrete afterwards, though - because everything has to be removed in order to comply with the "leave no trace" policy. I expect the paid Black Rock City Maintenance crew comes in with large equipment for some of that.....
Every piece of art must be lit up at night. There are no street lights out on the playa, and people are riding around on their bicycles and in art cars - everything must be lit up. So, every artist - or their crew, must build and maintain a system of lighting for their art. Most of them are lit up using solar energy. Wires and pipes can be buried underground, but everything has to be removed after the event. This is a "leave no trace" event.
I have not written in this blog for 10 years, but I feel it is time to revive it!
I have been home from Burning Man less than 3 weeks. It was beyond amazing to experience. Both very challenging and very inspiring. The art and creativity of the participants was overwhelming! The execution of the construction of the camps and the art and the art cars - all for just a week spent in Black Rock City - this was mind blowing. I know what we went through just to get ourselves there and back!
The weather was also overwhelming - dust storms three days - these days it was, at times a complete white out that could go on for hours. The wind blew and blew. Dust got into the van in spite of our efforts to seal off doors and windows. It crept into every nook and cranny and the dust is nearly impossible to remove entirely. It is all minerals and the ionic properties cause it to bond with every surface.
This weather / dust made for ethereal viewing of the art installations. It also made the calm days feel precious.
At the end of the week, there is a celebration involving the burning of the man - the wooden structure at the center of the Playa. This is a party unlike any other. The fire dancers, the fireworks display, the circle of over 200 art cars around the Man - all lit up and playing music as loud as possible. People dancing everywhere.
