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Burning Man 2015

Carnival of Mirrors

Carnival of Mirrors

HONORARIA

Carnival of Mirrors • Honoraria

Burning Man 2015

Burning Man Honoraria 2015 • page 2

introductionThe Playa is a tabula rasa, a blank canvas upon which many a fantastic vision has been realized. Submarines, gigantic ducks, swimmers, fire-breathing thistles, serpents, chandeliers, grandfather clocks and balsa wood temples have emerged from the Playa.

The projects featured in this guide were selected as Honorarium projects for 2015. Every year Burning Man allocates a percentage of its revenue from ticket sales to funding select art projects that are collaborative, community-oriented and interactive. We do this in order to support the Burning Man art community, and to facilitate the creation of outstanding art for Black Rock City. The vast majority of art installations on the playa, however, are not funded. In 2015, a percentage of your hard-earned ticket money helped to fund the following art installations, for all Burning Man participants to enjoy.

Note: all pieces in this guide are Honorarium, but not all Honorarium are featured here.

This guide was lovingly put together by volunteers using available information on the Web and reference materials that originate from the artists’ websites, fundraising projects and press. Photos used are also from these sources and may not credit the original photographer (please forgive us for that!).

We hope this guide will illuminate the artists’ vision, and illustrate the immense amount of work that goes into bringing their magic cargo to the playa.

Come visit the ARTery in BRC at 6:25 and Esplanade to pick up self-guided tour maps that make a great companion to this guide.

Guide materials gathered by the totally fabulous ARTery volunteers: Kyle Kosup, Mary “Mosey” Kirmo, and Terry “Moxie” Penn.

Layout designed and produced by KitKat (blame her for any typos, omissions, etc.!).


2015 Art Theme: Carnival of Mirrors . 5

Arbour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Axayacoatl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Bannerline Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Becoming Human. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Bismuth Bivouac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Black Rock Observatory. . . . . . . . . . . 20

Blunderwood Portable . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Bone Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Brainchild . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Brickhead EARTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Charnival . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

City of Lights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Colossal Skeletal Marionette . . . . . . . 37

Compound Eye/“I” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Coup de Foudre Project . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Dancing Serpent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Dragon Masters Presents “Wicked Art Piazza” . . . . . . 46

Dragon Smelter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Dreamland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

EMPIRE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Fire Helix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Firmament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Giant Kaleidoscope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Hall of Mirrors Arcade . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Hare Today, Gone Tomorrow . . . . . . . 64

HYBYCOZO - Deep Thought . . . . . . . 66

Illumacanth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

The Infinity Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Inflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Kinetic Forest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

King of Fun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Krewe of the Dusty Playa . . . . . . . . . . 79

Laffing Sal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Life Cube Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Lightstriker Trial of Strength . . . . . . . 86

Lil Al . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Loquacious and Lovely . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

LOVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Love Tester. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Lumiphonic Creature Choir . . . . . . . . 97

Mars Molecule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Mazu Goddess of the Empty Sea. . . 101

Mechateuthis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Medusa Madness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Neverwas Haul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Own Way . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Pavilion Gates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Penny the Goose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Pentamonium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Playaquarium. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Prairie Wind Chapel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

R-Evolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Reflection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124

Reflective Resonance . . . . . . . . . . . . .126

Rube Awakening - Magic Bike Rack Transformation Station . . . . . . . . . . . .128

Serpent Mother. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Simon Fire Edition 2.0. . . . . . . . . . . . .132

Storied Haven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .134

Temple of Promise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .136

Temple of Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .139

Totem of Confessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Toxic Bloom. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143

Tree of Transformation . . . . . . . . . . . 144

TrEeD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

True Reflections Palace. . . . . . . . . . . 148

Twisted Bristles 2x . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

Well of Darkness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Wheel of Self Reflection . . . . . . . . . . .153

Wooden Nickel Carnival . . . . . . . . . . .155

Word of the Burning Bramble . . . . . . 157

WTF?? What, the Fork?? . . . . . . . . . .158

You Are Who? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

Contents


Burning Man 2015


“The spectacle is not a collection of images; it is a social relation that is mediated by images.”

– Guy Debord, Society of the Spectacle

This year’s theme is about mirrors and masks, mazes and merger. It will be a kind of magic show that takes the form of an old-fashioned carnival. This Carnival of Mirrors asks three essential questions: within our media-saturated world, where products and people, consumption and communion morph into an endlessly diverting spectacle, who is the trickster, who is being tricked, and how might we discover who we really are?

Classic carnivals, as theaters of illusion, upheld a very strict dividing line that separated carnies, cast as showmen, from members of a naïve public who were labeled chumps and suckers, marks and rubes. Our carnival, however, will perform an even more subversive trick — its motto is Include the Rube. The wall dividing the observer from observed will disappear, as by an act of magic; through the alchemy of interaction, everyone at once can be the carny and the fool.

Photo by Franco Folini, original art by Nina Kempf

2015 Art Theme: Carnival of Mirrors

Theme and text by Larry Harvey and Stuart Mangrum.


“If there is anything that can be said about dreams and longings, it is that they… are hard to express. It is difficult to transmit into words the oddness of an image, the comic-grotesque distortions of inner time and space, the weird amalgams of feeling that leave people perhaps a little more aware of their deepest responses to life and a little more unsure of the artifice with which they so often cover themselves.”

– Donald Spoto, The Dark Side of Genius

The MidwayOld-fashioned carnivals were dominated by an all-pervading hucksterism; midways featured barkers, shills, rigged games of chance and skill, and not infrequently defrauded customers — “short change” is a carny term. They also featured titillating freak shows, geek acts and museums of the outré and forbidden. Our midway, on the other hand, will satirize deception while inviting all participants to summon up their inner geek, that secret freak who hides behind the mask of what is called normality. We will turn grifting into gifting; otherness becomes creative self-expression.

2015 Burning Man Carnival of MirrorsMan base design by Larry Harvey and Andrew Johnstone. Illustration by Andrew Johnstone with Hugh D’Andrade.

The FunhouseFrom the looking glass to the selfie, people seek answers to the riddle of identity in their own reflections. Yet even the most perfect mirror shows only the persona, not the person. This year a funhouse at the center of our carnival will contemplate the puzzle of self-consciousness. Many kinds of masks and mirrors will line the corridors and chambers of this interactive maze. Here people will confront a shuffled deck of selves: the me they want to be (but aren’t), the me they repudiate (but are), the me they can’t imagine (but might be).

At the heart of this disorienting maze, a final passage will reveal a courtyard that surrounds the Burning Man. Photo booths will here record the faces of participants, merging them into a swirling stream that will envelop the entire body of the Man. The brittle mirror and the occulting mask will melt away, and at this point there’ll be no gag, no swag, no souvenir of self; the show will be you.


The MidwayIn 2015 we have again invited our Regional communities and artist collectives from around the world to help create an interactive, collaborative art environment at the base of the Man, based on this year’s art theme, Carnival of Mirrors.

THE MIDWAYThe Midway will house a panoply of strange and enchanting wonders. Mind-readers, fortune-tellers, and vendors of patent medicines will vie with every form of all-too-human oddity for public attention; barkers will of course be everywhere. Artists and builders will create unorthodox carnival attractions and interactive experiences, and we will fashion stages to host performance art. See the list of booths to get your imagination flowing.

THE CARNY CORRALThe Carny Corral will serve as a Welcome Center for the Midway as well as a logistics center for all the Midway artists, Man Watch, and Rangers assigned to the Man.

Volunteers for the Carny Corral will engage and inspire participants in the various Midway booths, which will not be staffed full-time and whose teams will need some support from incoming eager volunteers. We want to empower people who come through the Carny Corral to help staff booths and to have fun with their posts. The Carny Corral volunteers will take a more direct and spontaneous approach to getting people into the playful Midway spirit. We see the Carnies as street theater — they’ll escort visitors playfully to the various booths and let them run with it! Carny Corral volunteers can be barkers, enablers, provocateurs, social engineers … whatever form engages you and makes you feel aligned with the concept. The Carny Corral is a hub of activity!

ParticipationIn 2015, our regional communities will help create an interactive space, a midway that will house a panoply of strange and enchanting wonders. Mind readers, fortune-tellers and vendors of patent medicines will vie with every form of all-too-human oddity for public attention; barkers will of course be everywhere. There will be room within the midway and the maze for many kinds of installations. We invite artists and builders to create unorthodox carnival attractions and interactive experiences, and we will fashion stages to host performance art.


Photo by Franco Folini, original art by Nina Kempf


Burning Man 2015


ArbourBy Josh HaywoodSurbiton, England

Project:Emerging from the study of geometry in sacred architecture, this artwork has been inspired by the dendritic forms of medieval vaulting. Medieval architects used the arched geometry of ribs and vaulted ceilings to achieve a soaring lightness and elevate the spirit; the architecture had a spiritual function. We have digitized these geometries and manipulated them in parametric models to design a contemporary structure that achieves the same objective.

The Arbour celebrates life through geometry, which underlies the structure of so many life-forms..

The Arbour creates the illusion of forest as cathedral. Its soaring ribs are intended to draw our gaze heavenwards and uplift the soul. Burners will


be transformed from spectators to participants, not an audience but a congregation. We hope they will respond spontaneously to the architecture by creating their own unique rituals and personal ceremonies in the shaded heart of this parametric forest.

Emerging from the continued study of the geometry of sacred architecture, this artwork has been inspired by the dendritic forms of medieval vaulting. Medieval architects used the arched geometry of ribs and vaulted ceilings to achieve a soaring lightness and elevate the spirit; the architecture had a spiritual function.

ArtistJosh is a designer and artist based in London but working internationally. Architecturally trained at London’s Westminster University Josh has a multidisciplinary approach to art and design. His design of the Hayam Sun Temple was part of an assignment for his University studies.

Previous Works2014 Hayam Sun Temple

Contact

http://www.josh-haywood.com/

http://www.dezeen.com/2014/07/02/hayam-temple-by-josh-haywood-for-burning-man-festival/

https://instagram.com/lifeofjosh/

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1188258724/build-the-arbour-at-burning-man-2015?ref=discovery

https://twitter.com/JHaywood_


Burning Man 2015


Project:Axayacoatl (pronounced: ah-shy-ah-co-ah-tul, meaning: serpent mask) is a 20’ tall, 13’ wide copper effigy of Quetzalcoatl’s mask with a translucent copper screen warrior in his mouth. Flame effects and interactive LED lighting allow participants “behind the curtain” to put on an impressive display to those approaching. Large physical levers and wheels form the interface for participants who want to play “wizard” to those approaching the mask. Participants may climb his stair stepped tongue, enter the room created by the swallowed warrior’s head and look out through his eyes.

ArtistsCapra J’neva is an artist, designer and inventor who began exhibiting large-scale sculptural installations in 1992. She created 2010 honorarium work Aeolian Pyrophonic Hall with a crew of 50 volunteers, and served as a key crew member for Pentangle in 2011. She is the recipient of numerous artistic awards and several patents. She works at Autodesk doing R&D

for the development of 3d printing technology. Through Firebulb, she brings together a dedicated crew of designers to create larger works.

Firebulb is a San Francisco based design team

AxayacoatlBy Capra J’neva, FirebulbSouth San Francisco, CA

Previous Works:2010 The Portal

[email protected]

http://firebulb.com/axayacoatl/

https://vimeo.com/121430781

https://www.linkedin.com/pub/capra-j-neva/4/366/256

http://firebulb.com/team.shtml


Burning Man 2015


ProjectWelcome to the Coney Island of the Mind! Surrounding the Funhouse Maze structure this year, is an interpretation of traditional sideshow banners from the 1930s to the 1950s. Often hawking the lurid, morbid or the taboo, banners lured the carnival “peeps” to spend their nickles to see the forbidden exhibits “on the inside”.

Billed as “ALIVE!- SHOCKING!- AMAZING!”- and brightly colored, sideshow banners were the alluring bait that made the sideshow a fixture of the carnival culture for more than a century.

In recent years, sideshow art has gone from being nearly forgotten, to being recognized as a uniquely American cultural art form.

Step right up! Stop! Look through he doorway!! It’s all on the inside!

Bannerline ProjectBy Rex Norman


ArtistRex Norman is a freelance artist, illustrator, cartoonist and custom fabricator from Carson City, Nevada with more than 35 years of experience. His skills include graphic design, 2D digital painting, cartoon arts, hand typography, line work, book illustration and painting– including acrylics and watercolor, sign painting, murals, theatrical prop fabrication and custom costume work. His style-specialty includes interpretations of classic sideshow and circus art including canvas banners. In 2008, Killbuck became the editorial cartoonist for the North Lake Tahoe Bonanza newspaper and a contributing cartoonist for the Nevada Appeal, Tahoe Daily Tribune and the Sierra Sun

newspapers. In 2009, Killbuck was recognized by awards from the National Newspaper Association and the Nevada Press Association for his editorial cartoons. In the fall of 2010, Killbuck began teaching cartooning as a faculty instructor for the E.L. Cord Museum School, Nevada Museum of Art.

Contact775-220-4220

[email protected]

http://sideshow2015.weebly.com/bannerline-project-bm-2015.html

http://carsonist.com/artist/rex_norman/

http://nevadamagazine.com/home/2015/02/11/circus-circus-reno-24-hour-mu-ral-marathon/


Burning Man 2015


Project:Becoming Human is a 30-foot tall sculpture of a robot, which occasionally smells the flower in its right hand. The sculpture hopes to inspire viewers to ask questions about technology and nature, and the value of slowing down.

Becoming Human was inspired by cartoon images of robots that I was drawing for my son at a certain point in time, and also by the children’s book “Ferdinand,” which tells the story of a bull in Spain who would rather smell the flowers than fight the other bulls. By putting the flower into the hand of a robot, additional themes and meanings are conveyed. Among these are the interplay between technology and nature, the rapid humanizing of robots, and the importance of slowing down to appreciate the little things.

Becoming HumanBy Christian RistowFrom El Prado, NM


Physical DescriptionBecoming Human is a 30 foot tall steel sculpture of a humanoid robot. Its proportions are reminiscent of the archetypal cartoon robot, as seen in various comic books and movies through they years. It is painted red. Each of its feet incorporates 2 benches, for a total of 4 benches which invite the public to sit and rest for a while. The feet also invite climbing, and although ascending further than the feet is quite difficult, the feet are usually covered in people. In its right hand, the robot holds a flower. Every 30 minutes, the robot slowly lifts the flower to its face and “smells” it. The proportions of the robot, as well as its overall look, fall somewhere between friendly and menacing. In this way, Becoming Human can evoke a wide range of human emotional reactions which is similar to the range of reactions we feel to technology itself.

InteractivityBecause of its size, and seating capacity, Becoming Human acts as a natural meeting place. In this very basic and literal way, the sculpture invites interactivity in the act of sitting, meeting, and relaxing. Previous exhibitions have demonstrated it’s popularity in this regard.

I believe it also invites a more contemplative type of interactivity, in that it raises contemporary and topical themes and questions about humanity’s relationship to technology in general, and robots in particular, in the minds of its viewers. The deliberately ambiguous look of the sculpture, which some people may interpret as friendly and inviting, and others might interpret as authoritarian and scary (this interpretation is certainly strengthened by the size of the piece), intentionally evokes a complex of reactions. I believe that this aspect of the sculpture has the power to cause people to have potentially significant “conversations” with themselves as they investigate their own feelings about the piece.

And lastly, the mechanism that causes the motion of the “smelling” action is visible through an opening in the chest. This invites observant, mechanically-minded people to investigate and understand the “heart” of the sculpture.

ArtistChristian Ristow started doing robotic performance art in 1993 with Survival Research Laboratories in San Francisco. He has previously contributed art pieces to Cochella and Burning Man. In 1997 he relocated to Los Angeles where he started Robochrist Industries.

Previous Works1995 Drunken Master

1996 Subjugator

2006 Necropod, Six-Legged Walker

2008 Hand of Man (Burningman)

2011 Face Forward (Burningman)

2012 GarraPlata

2014 Fledgling (Burningman)

2015 Earth Mover (Coachella)

[email protected]

Hand of Man

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3P1KcGFogE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaEsge9awg4

Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robochrist_Industries

Website http://christianristow.com/


Burning Man 2015


ProjectInspired by the geometry from the crystalline growth pattern of the element Bismuth (Bi), the Bismuth Bivouac is a playful pavilion celebrating the orthogonal geometries that exist in natural Bismuth crystals to form an intriguing cubic structure, with spiralling disruptions on each face, governed by the golden ratio. From a distance, it appears as a solid cube but intricate spaces can be discovered when you get closer. The beautiful iridescent colours of crystal are to be translated into the proposal through coloured LED strip lighting, built into the simple dimensional lumber structure of the pavilion, so at night the Bismuth Bivouac gives has the same visually mesmerizing, colourful effect of the bismuth crystals in nature. The project aims to play with the participants perception of depth and scale in this mirroring structure – from afar, the structure will appear as a dense cube that sits on the playa, but as the participants move towards the structure, they will begin to be able to see through parts of the structure due to the stepped nature of the geometry and holes formed from spiral disruptions. The structure provides sheltered from harsh desert sun, but also provides a plaything for the sun to casts its shadows during the day, and for people to cast their own shadows with their own illuminations at night.

Bismuth BivouacBy Jonathan Leung, WeWantToLearn.net

From London, England


ArtistGraduating from Oxford Brookes in 2012, Jon Leung is an architecture student currently working on his MArch at Westminster University. He developed a reasoned and logical approach to explorative design based around specific environments; both Second and Third year projects dealt with issues of changes in water level and flooding. His final year project centred around a public promenade intertwined with a floating screen of flower beds in the river Tiber, Rome.

He has worked in a number of practices in the UK and overseas, in both residential and commercial sectors, and scaling from single flat refurbishments to multi-story apartment blocks.

He is one of three students at Dipoloma Studio 10 at Westminster to receive an honorarium grant in 2015.

[email protected]

http://www.jon-leung.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IR4k4Gu7-c

https://wewanttolearn.wordpress.com/2015/01/28/burning-man-festival-bis-muth-bivouac/


Burning Man 2015


ProjectBlack Rock Observatory is a mobile astronomical observatory dedicated to the celebration of the nexus between art and science. Showing the universe as art is an admission that the truth is sufficiently beautiful and that it deserves our attention.

A tourist office for the rest of the universe; a series of wooden domes derived from the Small Rhombicuboctahedron and designed by architect Gregg Fleishman, where the secrets of the universe are revealed by powerful mirrors, optics, experiments, art, performances and interactive exhibits.

The sphere is the universe’s answer to the form problem. Orbs above; orbs below. Echoes of the outer planets, the domes lie in a remote space requiring skills, effort and patience to reach. Eyeballs and color coded lasers fondle the planets overhead while ‘zards, ‘nauts and ‘bots conduct experiments below.

Black Rock Observatory

By Gregg Fleishman, Tom Varden, Scott Parenteau and the Desert Wizards of Mars

From: Lancaster, CA


ArtistsGregg Fleishman – Architect/designer/artist/inventorGregg Fleishman’s work is informed by geometry and functionality. He received his Architectural degree in 1970 from USC. His acclaimed futuristic innovative iconic SCULPT CHAIRS are in collections and museums. He coined the term “Rhombicube,” a diamond panel form distilled out of a 3-D checkerboard of cubes, which forms the geometrical basis for his Shelter Systems. His patented designs obviate the need for screws or fasteners, using integral slots and notches in plywood, employing wood springs and hinges. Gregg’s mission is to continue developing ways to make building easier. Gregg has designed major art installations at Burning Man 2011, 2012 and the Temple of Whollyness in 2013.

“Major Tom” Varden – ArtistWhen I was young, I built a pinhole projector to record a solar eclipse and they let me out of elementary school as long as I reported on it. I inherited a love of space travel from my parents who took me to see 3 Space Shuttle Launches and many landings. My love of photography and the planets led me to take 30,000 photos of the red planet in 2003 where I recorded the receding sublimating Northern polar ice cap of Mars. My first burn was Rites of Passage in 2011. I fell in love. I decided to bring an observatory the following year in 2012, but I did not have the network to pull it off. I put the project on hold until I met the Mars Rover Art Car crew and the Desert Wizards of Mars. This year, we’re making it happen together. When not being a father, I take photographs. I received my degree in Fine Art and Photography in 2013.

The Desert Wizards of Mars is a burning man theme camp and home to several aerospace engineers from Southern California. http://desertwizards.com

Previous Works2012 The Human Spirit (LA Decompression)

2013 Dustiny/Mars Rover Art Car

2014/2015 Black Rock Observatory

2015 Interstellar Emissary

[email protected]

http://www.blackrockobservatory.com

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/marsroverartcar/black-rock-observato-ry-2015

http://www.dailybreeze.com/lifestyle/20140825/burning-man-2014-south-ern-california-aerospace-engineers-build-massive-telescope-at-desert-festival


Burning Man 2015


ProjectA giant, climbable typewriter with a shaded hangout space. The keys have sensors that drive projections of letters on a “paper” screen. Each day we will place a new physical poem, 16’ wide by 40’ long, next to the typewriter. It will meld poetry, sculpture, light, projections, and sound.

The larger-than-life project is a 24-to-1-scale model of a 1927 Underwood Standard Portable typewriter — one that’s big enough to climb on. The concept for the giant typewriter derived from a New York Evening Sun column that ran in the 1920s, called Archy and Mehitabel . It featured

Blunderwood PortableBy The Cat and The Cockroach Collective

From Boston, MA


a poet who was reincarnated as a cockroach and wrote about his adventures with his alley cat sidekick.

The author of the columns wrote as though he put paper in his typewriter and the cockroach would come out and jump key-to-key and write a poem, or a story, or witty insights about life. It was sarcastic and funny and political

Now, people will be the cockroaches, jumping from key-to-key on the art installation.

ArtistsThe Cat and Cockroach Collection is a Boston based collection of artists and ne’er do wells lead by Jason Turgeon.

Contacthttp://www.jasonturgeon.net/proj-ects/blunderwood

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/01/burning-man-type-writer_n_7464358.html

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/05/28/giant-typewrit-er-sculpture-coming-rose-kenne-dy-greenway-boston/6kb0zDpk-8SPou8EL1dYnaO/story.html


Burning Man 2015


Project:In 1999, the Burning Man annual theme, the Wheel of Time, included a procession into the coming millennium. Searching for an appropriate icon, Larry Harvey asked the artists to create a central sculpture for that event.

Dana writes: Larry talked about “something” that would travel into the past and future. Originally he considered DNA as a representative symbol, but I’d been thinking about a bone sculpture for several years and proposed instead a tree made of bones. Working in the desert where cattle grazed nearby, I had access to all the bones I needed. I wanted to use an artifact of death to create a tree, as a way of paying homage to the existence of all life.

To create this structure, I designed and constructed a mobile, interactive sculpture I named The Bone Tree, which consisted of a 27-ft steel frame tower mounted on five wheels like the base of an office chair, allowing it to be freely pushed around the Wheel of Time. The tower was completely covered with thousands of cattle bones. It also contained a lighting system for night illumination, an audio system and a generator. It looked very eerie sitting on the playa, biding its time, knowing that sooner or later all living creatures turn to bone and that metaphorically all the bones would come to it.

Bone Treeby: Dana Albany, Michael Hopkins, Pheonix Firestarter, Melissa

Syn Barron, Joe, Chaos, Michael Christen


The Bone Tree served several purposes. It was a tribute to the passage of time in which living animals transform from flesh to bone, a final reminder of their presence on earth. It was also an interactive sculpture in that its mobility was derived from participants who pushed it in a sweeping circle around the Wheel of Time installations. This clockwise orbiting of the Bone Tree around the Wheel of Time acted as a magnet in drawing passersby to follow it and in turn be introduced to the various installations that were featured in sequence that evening. The third aspect of the Bone Tree was performance as it included a miniature stage where Father Time appeared with his acolytes who danced in front of him.

The Bone Tree came to a very fitting end in the desert that year. After a ferocious wind storm, one of my friends walked up to me and said, “Did

you hear about the Bone Tree?” She told me that the wind storm blew the Bone Tree across the playa, pushing it so far out that it was at least a mile from camp. What is especially interesting is that all of the extra bones stored under the Bone Tree’s frame had been shaken loose, leaving a trail of bones behind it the whole length of its journey.

I thought this was amazing because I had always envisioned the Bone Tree out on the playa and felt it was meant to return to the desert, and it did.

ArtistsDana Albany is a long-time contributor to Burning Man and the festival has grown because of her creative genius. In 1999, she was asked by Burning Man founder Larry Harvey to create the art centerpiece for the festival. The theme that year was “The Wheel of Time.” Dana thought about the desert, about DNA, about the march of time, and she created the piece of art, “The Bone Tree.”

Melissa “Syn” Barron (and Lightning Clearwater III aka Terry Gross) are inspired to motivate and create art in order to assist social justice causes, environmental movements and experimental communities. Burning Man art installations: Crowning Glory, 2007; Otic Oasis 2011; Otic Oasis 2012; Man Base Pistil 2012

Contacthttp://www.leonardo.info/gallery/

burningman/albany.html

https://twitter.com/pfirestarter

http://qgeekbooks.tumblr.com/post/95835285757/5-creative-geniuses-behind-burning-man


Burning Man 2015


Project:Brainchild embodies two of the elements of creative exploration I love most – celebrating the inquisitive spirit of play and exploring the plurarlity of fomrs that can be expressed through biologically inspired shapes and patterns found in nature. The branching head area of the sculpture serves as a playful interactive space where participants can become lieteral neurotransmitters providing the necessary synaptic activation for the piece to come alive. Lighting elements with proximity awareness sensors responding to the movements of participants as they move through the piece will add an additional element to the piece at nite. The sculpture as a whole emanates a contemplative yet engaging quality. Our hope is to create a safe environment for participants to engage in a playful and intimate experience.

Brainchildby: Michael Christian

Berkeley, CA

ArtistsMichael Christian – San Francisco Bay area artist who builds large, interactive, and playful sculptures. Some of Christian’s sculptures have permanent homes here or abroad, and others travel extensively, moving from place to place. His work has found a home for nearly 17 years in the Black Rock Desert for the Burning Man event. You’ll find more of his sculptures in city centers, music festivals, and private collections across the globe. All of Christian’s work, though, has a common origin, coming from the inspiration of daily drawings and sketches. “I’m inspired by the genius of nature and what’s possible. I attempt to use the simplest language and smallest words possible. Life is big and complex enough as it is. “

Previous Works2014 ePOD

XXXX Drifts

2014 Tentacles

2011 Cadelaphyte, Coachella

2010 Home

2009 Key Note

2009 Successful Houseplants, Coachella

2008 Elevation

2007 Koilos

2005 I.T.

[email protected]

www.michaelchristian.com

https://vimeo.com/118324214

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/epod


Burning Man 2015


Brickhead EARTHby: James Tyler

from: Haverstraw, NY

Project:Colossal ceramic brick human head reminiscent of the temple carvings of Angkor Wat or the great Olmec heads of Central America, a contemporary relic of a civilations not yet past. Ambient natural sounds are incorporated into the artwork ie birdsongs start the day; insects buzz and give way to crickets, frogs, and night peepers as the sun goes down. Interludes of gentle rain echo intermittently in a full and continually changing 24 hours of life on Earch. At night, flickering mirrored interior lights emanate from the gaps between the assembled blocks.

The sculpture is created from 8000 pounds of high fire terra cotta clay cut into individual blocks. Each block is fired individually to create a unique variation in color.

Monumental personifications of place and entity, the Brickhead Sculptures are representations of humanity; reflections of ourselves. The sculptures are homage to the improbable constructs of our collective past, yet they are clearly of the contemporary world incorporating a variety of new technologies including lights and interactive sound components. Each site specific artwork strives to create a dialog for thoughtful reflection about life on Earth in the twenty first century.

ArtistJames Tyler received his MFA from Hampshire College, Massachussetts in 1975. Previously, he studied at Herron School of Art in Indianapolis. As a sculptor he is best known for his Brickhead series. Tyler uses architectural red clay or buff stoneware, common materials outside ornamentation. The bricks have a natural ceramic finish and variation in color occurs only during the firing process. Tyler’s work has been exhibited across the United States. In 2006 he was appointed the first Executive Director of the GAGA Arts Center.

Contacthttp://www.brickheadearth.com

[email protected]


Burning Man 2015


Charnivalby: Site 3 Fire Arts

from: Toronto, Canada

2pirBy Ardent Heavy Industries

2πr is a blisteringly interactive large-scale fire toy. It is a central stage surrounded by a larger ring of inconspicuous flame effects – completely innocuous to onlookers – until a participant makes it come alive. It consists of two concentric rings: The inner ring is a 3ft tall circular platform, 6ft in diameter. Around the edge of this platform are 32 infrared proximity sensors placed at regular intervals. Each sensor is linked to a corresponding flame effect in the outer ring, which is 50ft in diameter. When the IR sensor detects an object passing over the emitter, a corresponding flame effect is triggered, producing a large burst of fire.

Clown Teabagging Eruption

by: Dave McKayfrom: Toronto, AL

Sometimes clowning is a mouthful. A mouthful of teabags in this case. Play this Charnival game to test your skill in teabagging clowns. If you can pull it off in time then you make the clown head erupt.

FaIRE Hockeyby: Marc Reeve-Newsonfrom: Toronto, Canada

For those who like fire, air hockey, and music this is a chance to combine all three. Players will get to shoot the puck around on a Reuben’s table. Center ice will be on fire, so players are strongly encouraged to keep their hands on their side of the table.

Fire In BalanceBy Poetic Kinetics

from: Los Angeles, CAExpanding on the success of their similar honorarium piece Holding Flame 2009, Fire In Balance is an installation made up of an inverted fire box suspended within a pagoda-like steel structural frame surrounded by a series of fire dishes and fire towers. The entire structure will be clad in a laser cut façade creating a mysterious and engaging aesthetic with a safe, comfortable, unique environment inside for people to gather and experience the extraordinary beauty of inverted fire.

Fire Tetrisby: Jody McIntyre

from: Montréal, QB, CanadaFire Tetris is a large scale (20’ high x 10’ wide) game board that lets participants play the classic video


game tetris, with all the pieces made of fire. This is done using 200 flame heads working together, which together will light up the night sky with glorious flames.

Flack in the Boxby: emile daigle

Flaming Hookersby: TJ Kozma

from: Scarborough, MEPart of the Charnival Midway, Flaming Hookers is a 12-foot-tall flaming ring-toss game that encourages partici-

pants to get hookin’.

Francis the Fantastic

by: Michael Everson and Trish Lamanna

from: Toronto, CanadaFrancis the Fantastic, a fire spewing Zoltar fortune teller, made up of touch capacitors, arduinos, flame controllers and a human sized cat puppet. Controlled by a crystal ball, notes play into a Ruben’s tube and manipulate flames. When the song is finished, a fire poof goes off, and a fortune is distributed.

Hell Blazerby: Site 3 Fire Artsfrom: Toronto, ON

Hell Blazer the fire infused strength tester Charnival game. An eight foot pitch fork hand crafted by the devil for Earthly access to Hell Fire. This pitchfork spits fire when a human tests their strength to activate LEDs and blasts high above the Playa.

Last Flamethrowerby: Matisse Enzer

from: San Francisco, CAModeled after “County Fair”-style shooting galleries, the Last Flamethrower provides a flaming twist on a long-standing American tradition and pokes gentle fun at the American fascination with firearms and personal power, along with the Burning Man fascination with fire and “radical self expression” by allowing and encouraging participants to safely play with intense fire, in the form of streams of pressurized burning gasoline.

Mirror Blazeby: Sarah Nason


The Mirror Blaze is a hall of mirrors with a secret hidden inside: a single flame effect, shielded by quartz glass and two-way security mirrors. The effect fires intermittently, filling the maze with its reflections. Participants enter via an opening on one side of the maze, then feel their way through in near-darkness – the ground level will be lit with LEDs – punctuated with fire.

Molotov et Immolato: Les Bouffons

Brillant du Cielby: Douglas Ruuskafrom: Brighton, MA

Two nondescript, bulbous shapes rotate slowly & serenely around a central, illuminated tower. One drops, the other rises, at the top of its arc, fire illuminates surface cutouts revealing Immolato or Molotov, flaming apparitions of the restless Burning Clowns of the Night Sky.

One good, the other evil, both aspects of the human senses of humor & amusement. Things are funny that


are bad & things are funny that are good. This strong cross-over is unique among the emotions. It is damn near inexplicable to understand why one thing is humorous for one group of people, but falls flat for another. Ponder the mysteries of the funny-bone while enjoying the visceral attrraction of fire in the sky above you.

Pyrokinesisby: Site 3 Fire Arts

from: Toronto, CanadaAn eight headed flame effect connected to a wireless EEG sensor, visualizing your brain’s electric activity with fire.

Reflections of a Fire Spriteby: Anton Viditz-Ward,

Deep Creek Experimentalfrom: Telluride, CO

Reflections of a Fire Sprite is a steel/wood structure made to rise and fall while set on fire. This segmented piece will be kept under tension via a spring-loaded base. A hand ratcheting mechanism will be used to drop the sculpture to the ground as well as erect it from a pile of burning debris. The project will be re-clad in wood and set on fire each night.

Riskee Ballby: Site 3 Fire Arts


The center of the Charnival will feature Riskee Ball, our bank of 10 fire-erupting skee ball machines.

Sound and Furyby: Trevyn Watson

from: Hamilton, Ontario, CanadaWhile most organs are majestic installations integrated into the monumental buildings in which they are played, Sound and Fury takes a more minimal approach and includes only the functional components to make music. Trading grandeur for spectacle, a fire organ adds a visual and physical component to what is normally an auditory experience.

Sound and Fury comprises a single rank of 37 pipes (three octaves) and a piano keyboard. The piece functions as a harmonium or reed organ, using propane as the working gas in place of air. Participants will play the keyboard which will send MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) commands to the controller to open the valve for the corresponding note, resulting in musical jets of flame. The flame effects controller understands a commonly used protocol for electronic instruments so there is also an opportunity for participants to bring their own compatible devices to plug in and play with fire.

Toxic Bloomby: Ethan Garner

from: Cambridge, MAToxic bloom stands about 4 feet high, made of repuposed steel, and appears as a mechanical, rigid flower, with the petals opening up, exposing its stamen to the air. The piece was built in a manner to evoke both biological and mechanical elements, and is modeled as a hybrid between a Phage (the viruses that infect bacteria) and a plant.

The stamen emits the pollen of bloom, a 3-5 foot jet of colored fire, with fast switching between bright red, green, and yellow colors. As toxic bloom


fires, it emits a howl from the venturi, a natural cry to its breeding partners as it emits its gametes.

Word of the Burning Bramble

by: Michael Dewberryfrom: Somerville, MA

The Burning Bramble, a flowering, trailing plant of steel, brass, and copper, arcs nine feet into the air, hears participants’ questions or earnest desires for prophecy, and delivers its Word through flame.


Burning Man 2015


projectTHE CITY OF LIGHTS PROJECT BRINGS ILLUMINATED ART TO THE DARK

STREETS OF BLACK ROCK CITY IN 2015 FOR THE 5TH YEAR!

Black Rock City has over 200 utilitarian street signs to identify the roads and pedestrian walkways. The street signs are useful in navigating the city by day, but at night these sign posts are a hazard for being un-lit, especially in a white-out dust storm when you are lost.

By installing solar light artwork on the sign posts, the City of Lights creates distinctive artistic landmarks in the day meanwhile illuminating street signs at night. This is both an impressive and functional project. The team provides artists with a basic solar light fixture and stand to create their own light sculptures with their own materials. These sculptures are then mounted on the BRC’s sign posts. Workshops during the event will provide battery lights for folks to incorporate into their own gear. At night, the street signs in the darker corners of the city are much easier to read, and the solar light artworks make creative meeting places for the citizens of Black Rock City.

City of Lightsby: gary long

from: Los Angeles, CA


City of Lights Project installs the solar light artwork on street signs around Black Rock City by international creative participants. This allows people who cannot attend Burning Man in person to participate globally with over 90 artists from 12 countries.

Art can be reclaimed at the end of the burn and you can take it home, and bring it back next year. Or you can leave it with us and we will reinstall next year. Also the City of Lights travels to regionals, so you can see your art all year long!

artistBurner since 1998, I believe in the evolution of the artist as an artist and as a person. That we can evolve by encouraging the evolution of others. Enrolling and encourage artists and non-artist to becoming better artists and better people is my goal.

Just a friendly reminder “DON’T STEAL STREET SIGNS”

BE A GOOD CITIZEN OF BLACK ROCK CITY

Emergency Services rely upon street signs to navigate our city to respond to emergencies and participants count on them to help find their way around. All signs need to remain in place through the Temple burn on Sunday night.

City of Lights installs art on the street signs. If you did steal/borrow a street sign and a piece of art, you can return the art to the City of Lights camp and we can reinstall, and thank you!

contactCity of Lights 2015 Installation Team is located in The Palace of Balunsia.Gary Long, “Shady” • Los Angeles, CA • [email protected] • Phoenix, AZ • [email protected] Trooper • Portland, OR • [email protected] “Evil” • Vancouver, BC • [email protected] Bobeck “Wheels” • Borås, Sweden • [email protected]://cityoflights.com/


Burning Man 2015


Colossal Skeletal Marionette

by: Christian Breeden from: Charlottesville, VA

ProjectThe Colossal Skeletal Marionette is a collection of rusty bones sourced from the desert and the mountains. It dances with the concepts of death and whimsy. You dance under the shadows of the Man. He will fall again.

You are haunted by the ghosts of your ancestors. They beg you to play with them. Nosce Te Ipsum: Know Thyself. These represent big old bones from which we came and to which we shall return.

This is a 18’ tall metal puppet. It’ll be dancing in the shadow of the man this year and you can be his puppeteer.

artistChristian Breeden follows in his father’s footsteps as the studio manager of the Biscuit Run Studios. He has taught classes in stone sculpture and metal fabrication. His own career has slowly veered away from stone and is currently centered on welding metal. He makes giant mechanized pyrotechnic neo-carnival art, which he takes on the festival circuit.

contacthttp://www.biscuitrun.com

[email protected]


The concept is inspired by Buddhist perspectives of interconnectedness, seeing our individual “small’ selves” as facets/nodes of the collective “Self”, i.e consciousness. Here it represented as a compound eye, with its many convex-mirror lenses reflecting and framing multiple perspectives that comprise one big picture - of us and collective creativity.

Compound I” challenges our sense of separation from art and the world at large, from “other”, as boundaries blur between inner/outer and self/collective.

As we circle around “Compound I”, reflected points of light follow us… as if we are being watched. Looking into the shifting centers of the glistening lenses, we meet our own gaze. As we realize it is our sight and form that animates these pupils, our sense of separate-ness from the art is challenged..

Stepping away, we see our image simultaneously contract and overlap with everyone else’ onto the mosaic globes before us, in a composite of shared reflection.

The eye: an instrument of reflection, the ‘I’ an object of reflection – boundaries blur between perspectives of inner and outer, personal and collective, to convey a picture of interconnectedness –with us as facets of a compound” I “/eye.

Compound Eye/“I”by: Berg, Kirstenfrom: Newark, CA


(The sculpture silhouette also mimics the form of the Buddha’s head and the Mandelbrot fractal. There’s also literally a ‘jeweled net of Indra’ that envelops us in the interior space.)

VISUAL NEWS INTERVIEW WITH KIRSTEN BERG

Interview with Burning Man Artist Kirsten BergON OCTOBER 11, 2014 BY SHAWN SALEME

Kirsten Berg is one of the most well known yogis in the Ashtanga world, with people flying all over the globe to attend her classes in Thailand, Bali and the States, yet for 3 months of the year, she commits her time and energy to gifting amazing art installations at Burning Man.

“ I don’t think of my art as truly ‘mine,’ but as an admixture of ‘my’ thoughts and inspirations coupled with non-personal imagery that presents itself to me during spaces of clarity, either in meditation, or while out in nature. I resonate with the Buddhist perspective that while “I” don’t ultimately exist, I briefly reflect a facet of its creative complexity, as we all do. I enjoy reflecting that reflection through art.

Reflective surfaces give a flexible platform upon which to play with what inspires me: Vision, inner and outer; the human illusion of identification as individuals and being ‘separate’; the literal and metaphoric elevation that light provides; the blurring of thresholds between our infinite imagination the finite frame of the body; our ability to shift perspective, the non-locality of flashes of insight and inspiration. I want to express ALL of this simultaneously through the art! “


You are based on the other side of the world in Asia. Has this been a challenge at times in preparing and building art for Burning Man?

“This presents challenges every step of the way. In the designing stages from December to June, I’m always trying to figure out answers to structural questions. We’re living off the beaten track there, so there’s no artists’ community to tap into; I can’t have a chat with someone about welding something, because there aren’t any welders, or installation artists, anywhere in my vicinity. Those kinds of meetings and conversations just can’t be replaced by email conversations, so I have to wait until I’m back in the US to find the right people with the right experience to help answer practical-but-obscure questions.

Logistically, living in Asia but creating art in the USA adds another set of challenges. Most Burning Man artists are US-based, so they have a home and vehicle already. We come to the USA specifically to create the art; this means that while we (my partner and I) take time away from our livelihood and home, we have to rely on the generosity of friends and community to house us, lend us cars, tools, backyards and all of the other essentials to prepare the art and ourselves for Burning Man. All of my sculptures and tools are in storage in one town, all our gear in another, and we stay in yet another. It’s quite the added logistical twist!”

Compound eye/”I” went directly from Burning Man 2012 into the Nevada Discovery Museum in Reno and will remain there until it moves to Burning Man 2015.

artistKirsten Berg is a self-taught American artist based in Southeast Asia. Since 2010, Kirsten has created sculptural installations for Burning Man: “Constellation of One” in 2010/11, “Compound eye/I” in 2012 and “(In)Visible” in 2013/14. She works together with her partner Mitchell and a dedicated crew from the US and abroad who come together every Burn to help Kirsten create these reflective, thoughtful pieces.

[email protected]

http://www.kirstenberg.com/compound-eyei/


Burning Man 2015


Coup de Foudre is a 26-foot tall “electrical sculpture” built around a 15 kilowatt musical Tesla Coil. A giant, musically-controlled Tesla coil sculpture. Dance beneath a canopy of lightning. When done, it will be a 10-foot-tall Tesla coil bolted onto a 20-foot dome, controlled by a DJ booth. Which means dancing under freakin’ lightning, people!

Coup de Foudre is a large-scale electrical art piece.. Drawing on recent Tesla coil innovations, Coup de Foudre will produce large (10 foot) arcs of lightning that can be modulated to produce sound and respond to music. An idiom for love at first sight that translates literally to bolt of lightning, Coup de Foudre seeks to evoke awe for beautiful and dangerous forces.

At the heart of the Coup de Foudre is the Tesla coil - a device that takes in regular power and converts it to super high voltage, low current electricity. This

Coup de Foudre Projectby: Matthew Faulkner

from: San Francisco, CA


energy then builds up in the toroid on top and gets discharged as... lightning! Rapid bursts of lightning cause the air expand and contract, producing music in much the same way that a speaker cone pushes air to make sound waves.

artistsThe Phage is camp of roughly 100 people, with a strong contingent of scientists and engineers. In 2014 our community created a 26-foot tall metal sculpture with musical tesla coil named ‘Coup de Foudre’, and an art car with a giant, climbable, metal truss brain called ‘Dr. Brainlove’. Arc Attack is a performance art group that has been pushing the envelope in tesla performances since 2005.

contacthttps://www.facebook.com/coupdefoudre2014


Burning Man 2015


projectJust as we are a sect of homo-sapiens which grows lush in our desert habitat, one imagines that everything about our city – the striped tents, the night beacons, the strange crawling vehicles, the unexpected flames – are equally living products of the rare atmosphere of the playa. One imagines what creatures might evolve there in the heat and the dust, with the sun and the wind for power, with a peacock’s urges to be admired day and night, with a joy in the solitude and the rough edges of the natural world that spawned them. What life forms might develop as the denizens of the Carnival of Mirrors if their constituent molecules were dust and rust and sunlight?

An answer to this question is The Dancing Serpent which will be a 14 foot long sculptural metal serpent constructed as a mobile. Canvas sails hang from the serpent to catch the wind, causing the sculpture to swim gracefully through the air, and propane flames sprout from an array of outlets along its spine and jaws.

The Serpent participates in this vision as a creature that has evolved to take advantage of the special affordances of Burning Man. It is an encouragement to seek beauty from what might otherwise be rough metal and glass, energy from the movement of the wind, and to treat with respect, and perhaps a little feat, those strange entities – human, canvas, metal, plastic, wooden – that make up the city around us.

Dancing Serpentby: Gray Davidsonfrom: Oakland, CA


The Serpent is a perfectly balanced mobile formed of a series of bent-metal pipes which each carry a segment of the serpent’s body. Lateral motive forces on the lead segment create wave-like motions through the entire sculpture. Flames rise from the spine of each segment like a mane of fire along the serpent’s back. The external structure of each segment will form the counterweight that balances the remaining segments.

artistGray Davidson

“It is not important for me to create a work which will be visible over the horizon from Gerlach, or whose flame cyclone penis lights the sky in Cedarville. But I do want to create a work which will interact with its audience, draw them into its world, and make them feel, for a few instants of contemplation, that they are not the only conscious, highly evolved beings in the dust.”

contacthttp://www.graydavidson.com/Art/LightSculptures/DancingSerpent.html

[email protected]


Burning Man 2015


Dragon Masters Presents

“Wicked Art Piazza”by: Gabe Zanotto, Dragon Ass Camp

from: Oroville, CA


projectThe Wicked Art Piazza is where we invite Burners to see Claude the fire breathing dragon and other fun interactive sculptures.

Provision of a space in which you can incorporate your life history to spark your imagination and travel in your own mind to your innovative center. The art are sculptures with souls, like family, and all the items in the sculptures have been used by humans so human energy is intertwined into each piece. “My art is an expression of my life and allows me to leave earthly time and go to my place where I can make things happen and tell sci fi stories of Claude the Dragon’s world. I like to go to my safe imaginative place, which refreshes me to come back to my reality when I need to. “ It’s important to have the Self Expression Stage since every time we take Claude anywhere people share their talent whether it be opera singing or written poems.

Participants will be able to touch, see and hear the sculptures. Claude chops his jaws, turns his head and breathes fire. Claude the Dragon, and other fire sculptures, will perform day and night. People love to pose with Claude and discuss the many items he is made of. Did you know he has Black Bart’s Gun on him which was donated years ago. Black Bart was a famous stage coach robber from the Gold Rush days who used to leave poems behind after robberies. Claude also has swords and so many other interesting items.

During certain periods, Burners will be allowed to enter the belly of Claude to learn how he works. We’ve often had huge lines of children who come again and again and again. Being a Dragon is intriguing for all.

Participants can also feed “Tough-love” ball bearings so she poops them out into a bucket. She will also piddle a beer into a bucket if you feed it into her mouth, everyone gets a real thrill out of that!

We so often have participants get excited about the sculptures that we want them to share their art too. Burners can use our Megaphone with microphone or PA system on our Open Expression Stage to share their poetry, songs, and other creative talents evoked by our Piazza.

This year we are adding sculptures by Michael Conley who was inspired by Gabe Zanotto. His art is different and exciting as it’s too made solely of recycled metal parts.

artistGabe Zanotto, Italian by descent, born in Venezuela, studied in Italy then went into the U.S. Navy. In ‘79 he visualized Claude. His daughter, Tasha, remembers “ My Dad brought me into his garage and told me he was gonna make a dragon. I said ‘Ok Dad, do it.’” “I like the idea of people 500 years from now seeing him.” Gabe “looks forward to leaving something behind.” Michael Conley Inspired by Gabe to weld metal art started 10 years ago. Born in Illinois then came to N. California in ‘74.

[email protected]


Burning Man 2015


ProjectThe Dragon Smelter is an 18 foot high steel sculpture that creates metal art and shoots fire from its head and tail and a crucible built into its belly.

We will take this creature out to the desert, fire it up and use recycled aluminum cans to create original sculptures right there on the playa. Made from 85% recycled steel, it has a built in kiln for melting aluminum cans and scrap, which we pour into sand molds and create original sculptures right there on playa.

At the heart of Burning Man is positive transformative change. Transforming metal into sculpture is our art, practice and passion. This year we would love to once again bring this process of transformation to the Playa and share it with others. As part of the theme “Carnival of Mirrors” for this upcoming 2015 Burning Man we maintain the thought that currency and how citizens engage with it, reflects a labyrinthine and often “masked” relationship between individuals and impacts the entire society in ways that are, in reality, a real “Carnival of Mirrors”. How one “makes” money, as well as uses it, remains a profound “reflection” of both ourselves and society at large. We believe deeply in the Burning man ethos, where trade, barter and gifting are the “norm” and monetary transactions the exception. To that end we want to further explore and redefine the notion of currency, unmask it, and reveal it as a reflection of the default society we live in. Our recycled coin would still be a medium of

Dragon Smelter by: Danny Macchiarini and the Dragon Smelter Crew



exchange, but its true value would be to the beholder, in essence, a reflection of their actual actions, interactions and beliefs. In keeping with the Burning Man values, we seek to design and create a coin that is gifted and about the beauty of the object, the action of creating currency itself which generates positive energy within the participant. These will be our “Labyrinthine Reflective” coins.

The Dragon Smelter has been a part of Burning Man interactive art since 2000 thanks to the vision, creativity and hard work of Danny Macchiarini.

artistMacchiarini studio and gallery was founded by Peter Macchiarini, whose life was dedicated to the creation of innovative metal sculpture, jewelry, drawings and photography. As Peter Macchiarini got older, his son Danny began consistently working in the shop. Danny himself had spent much of his life creating sculptures and jewelry, and making artwork. Growing up in the 1950’s and 60’2 Peter taught Danny the metalwork craft for jewelry and sculpture, as well as form and design concepts to aid in the development of Danny’s own artistic expression. In the early nineties, Danny began to work side by side with Peter to help with his father’s failing health and the business side of the shop. By the time Peter died in 2001 Danny was a working artist creating and selling his own work and carried on the Macchiarini Creative Design Studio. Danny Macchiarini’s work has been enjoyed and celebrated throughout the Bay Area as an important metal work artist.

contacthttp://www.macreativedesign.com

[email protected]


Burning Man 2015


ProjectInspired by the wonder of childhood carnival rides, Dreamland is an immersive and interactive environment that encapsulates the energy of the Carnival of Mirrors. A whimsical experience of vivid colors, dazzling light and flame transport participants to the world of spectacle and the carnivalesque. Dreamland evokes not only the carnival of our collective memory, but that of our dreams: a fantastical space that stretches and warps our perspective, and shimmers and glows at the edges of our consciousness. Tranquility envelops us as we step into its shadows. It exists as a reverie–its leisurely intoxication punctuated by ecstatic pandemonium when submerged in its interior.

Dreamland creates an environment where participants and artists collaborate in a disruption of the ordinary. Sound, light and motion slowly enter and exit our awareness, establishing a dream state and space that subverts and liberates our assumptions of reality through whimsy and chaos. The continuous

Dreamlandby: FLUX Foundation



and cumulative transformation of a larger negative space combines with the exquisite scale and form of Dreamland to instigate what the Situationists refer to as a denouement. In this moment, the audience is no longer comprised of individuals; the notion of singularity is inherently dropped. The unexpected creates self-awareness, and shock and spectacle suspend social norms to allow authentic interaction among participants. As social barriers are broken, the boundary between art and audience is removed. Through a common experience of the spectacular, the art is no longer confined to the form itself but becomes a “social organism as a work of art.”

Undulating light and carnivalesque music spill across the desert night, beckoning participants to investigate. Bursts of flame punctuate the prismatic glow, seemingly random in duration and intensity. Upon approach, it becomes evident that the light, flame and music are connected parts of a singular attraction. Manifesting in the distance as a shimmering mirage, Dreamland crystallizes in machine-like form upon approach: a solitary spinning metal structure rises from the playa, disrupting the horizon. Yet, if it is a machine, it is a machine of dreams. Its whimsical, riotous character slowly unfolds in undulating waves of light that emanate from its elements. The jaunty, vintage sounds of the boardwalk drift on the breeze and are mimicked by a helterskelter of whirling armature, oscillating light, and shimmering fabric.

ArtistsOur mission at FLUX is to engage people in designing and building public art as a catalyst for education, collaboration and empowerment. As a volunteer-based non-profit, we believe that every step in the art-making process is an opportunity to share ideas, knowledge and skills and create something monumental. Our process is radically-collaborative, allowing for each person’s artistic input to become an integral and valued part of the whole while maintaining the artistic integrity of the artwork.

contacthttp://www.fluxfoundation.org/dreamland

[email protected]


Burning Man 2015


projectSeveral months ago, we intercepted an odd radio signal that seemed to emanate from deep space. The signal was garbled, but after much audio enhancement we could discern the phrase “This is Empire. We’re coming home.” Could this be the rumored secret lost space mission from the 1960’s code name EMPIRE? If so, and they are coming back to earth 50 years later, what will they be arriving in? Their Saturn V powered rocket ship… or some alien vehicle they have managed to drag out of the stars?

Project EMPIRE intended to explore our tiny corner of the solar system in a secret interplanetary mission. Instead, these travelers, not tourists, ended up traversing the wondrous universe and are finally able to come home with the help of alien technology. The vehicle that arrives is equal parts sculpture and performance art.

This project will create not only a sculpturally beautiful alien ship, but a narrative story for the crew and ship to exist in. During its performance, crew members will live the narrative and show the wonders of the galaxies utilizing projections and sound design. Someone walking upon this scene will be

EMPIREby: Jon Sarriugarte and Kyrsten Mate, Empire of Dirt

from: Oakland, CA


transported to an alternate reality of a crew returning to Earth after a long absence and many adventures.

The ship itself is truly alien; it evokes a water creature or ancient shelled animal. This ship provides a canvas for metalwork and surface detail. Originally the crew crashed their Earth ship, EMPIRE, far across the galaxy after mistakenly transporting through a wormhole. On this alien world, they secured the admiration of dwellers of the planet, who helped them build a new vessel using alien biomechanical ships and the EMPIRE’s original Saturn V rockets. The ship and crew possess both 1965 Earth technology and otherworldly attributes. Fusing old and new, biology and mechanics, Terran and Alien.

artistJon Sarriugarte was born and raised in Boise, Idaho. In 1987 he made the trip out to California to create the metal furniture company Form & Reform. He has studied and worked as a blacksmith/fabricator for over 25 years; pouring his creativity into both work and the local community where he is a civic leader and board member of the West Oakland Commerce Association. He co-owns the Kraftworks building in West Oakland that houses over 20 industrial craftsmen and performance artists.

Jon is married to Krysten Mate, a sound designer who has worked on Oscar winning films. Jon and Krysten have a wonderful girl named Zolie Mae.

Contacthttp://projectempire.org/

[email protected]

[email protected]

We’ve uncovered a sketch in NASA’s own archives, boldly listed online for anyone to see. We think the date to throw the unwitting off the case, however, we know better.


Burning Man 2015


Fire Helixby: Frogma


projectFire Helix is a 12’ tall rotating double helix made of steel with 40 flame poofers located at dna nodes firing parallel with the ground. Control pads that surround the piece allow participants to fire the poofers causing the helix to spin.

The double helix is the building block of life. Fire is one of the building blocks of civilization. Together we believe there is an elegant mix of meaning that draws the mind to the ephemeral questions of what brought us here and what will we do with the fantastic tools and opportunity we find ourselves surrounded by.

There is something about fire in motion that captivates us in both mind and spirit. The moment becomes everything and we lose ourselves in the purity of the now. As the mind unwinds in this state we often have realizations that only occur when everything else fades into the background. This simple captivating experience is what Fire Helix embodies.


artistFrogma has been creating large scale playa art since 2007. We have a passion for creating experiences that ultilize the unique environment of the playa to craft art that couldn’t easily be born anywhere else. We have built: Perspective 2007, Spark 2009, Perspectives 2011, The Runway 2013 & were a 2012 BRAF grant recipient to take Perspectives to London’s Southbank Centre for the 2012 Summer Olympics. We love playa inspired art and will continue to share it with the world.

contacthttp://www.onemandown.com/FireHelix.htm

[email protected]


Burning Man 2015


projectA vast, star-shaped, domed ceiling of lights and motion. Moving images of shooting stars, Hubble photos, aurora borealis, and various visions of heaven are depicted by 21,000 LEDs hanging 10-15’ above the ground. Find the hidden camera in the middle to add your face to the mix.

Firmament is a space of reverent peace and beauty, a place to contemplate the infinite complexity and beauty of the cosmos. It follows in the grand Burning Man tradition of unexpected, interactive delights for those with curiosity enough to wander into deep-ish playa. They will arrive, seeing that it is a large LED piece. They will have seen LED art on the playa before, but never a 52’ diameter dome of light, filling their field of view.

Firmamentby: Christopher Schardt

from: Oakland, CA


The visitors wander through it, enjoying the images from outer space, historical imagination, and/or computer algorithms. Then they happen to cross directly under the very center. They notice something changed in the imagery right at that moment. They go back and see if it happens again. It does! They look up to see what it might be, and their animated faces are projected many times life-size on the LEDs, spinning and flying around. Their laughter triggers more changes to the

animation.

The visitors decide to sit, perhaps in the very center or perhaps in one of the 6 wedge-shaped alcoves at the edge of the piece. At some point they notice that they can’t hear the normal Burning Man noises anymore. All they hear is the soft, soothing, ambient music being played by 6 speakers around the piece.

In the daytime, a visitor’s experience is more about appreciating the strong lines of the pyramid and ceiling. Being made of Aluminet shade cloth, the ceiling provides respite from the midday sun, perhaps for an afternoon nap.

The 52’ diameter, domed ceiling is made of 48 equilateral triangular panels made of shade-cloth containing 450 down-facing LED”s in a triangular grid suspended 10’-15’ in the air. The structure that supports the ceiling is a 6-sided pyramid 42’ tall and 47’ wide made of aluminum poles. The pyramid supports the edges of the ceiling, while holding up its middle with adjustable ropes that drop straight down. In this way, a large space uninterrupted by columns is created. At each of the six points of the star-shaped ceiling is a 10’ tall mini-pyramid holding it up. Shade cloth covers two of its three sides, forming an alcove that may be used by visitors who might enjoy a little privacy, or shelter from the wind.

artistChristopher Schardt is an Oakland-based artist/engineer/programmer. He spent a childhood building things. In 2000 he started bringing that spirit to Burning Man, creating: • 2003 - Yantra - 40’x92’ temple of religious symbols • 2011 - Garden of Rockets - 3 kinetic sculptures propelled by propane thrust • 2012 - Char Wash – more thrusting propane, this time with visitors on the inside In 2014, he pivoted to LEDs, creating several LED displays, all controlled by his iPad app, LED Lab.

contacthttp://pbase.com/schardt/firmament

[email protected]


Burning Man 2015


projectKaleidoscopes mesmerize us from a very young age. It’s amazing how the simple construction of mirrors in a cylinder formation can create such a complex sea of fractals and patterns that are ever-changing. They invite us to play, to spin, to see the evolution of infinite patterns and appreciate the old while being excited for the new.

The intimate moment we experience looking through a Kaleidoscope cannot be shared with anyone because they are too abstract to describe and too fleeting to capture. It forces us to appreciate the very moment in front of us.

We want to promote this childhood awe and wonderment. We want participants to come play with it, create and discover. To take a nap inside during sunrise, or have a wild dance party during dusk. The Kaleidoscope is just a tool, and we’re excited to see what amazing and beautiful ideas the people of Black Rock City can do with it.

Our Kaleidoscope is made of cedar, spruce and steel. The scope is about 12 feet long, and has 3 plexiglass mirrors inside that create the Kaleidoscope effect. The scope is also lined with LEDs that, when reflected off of the mirrors, looks like a galaxy of stars.

Giant Kaleidoscopeby: David Abraham + David Fradkinfrom: Richmond Hill, ON, Canada


The scope is open on both ends, allowing participants to crawl inside (our record is 5, but we’re happy to test it with more) or just poke their heads in and see participants on the other end of it. Because the construction of the scope is a tapered cylinder rather than parallel, the patterns looking in from each end of the scope are very different from one another. Each creates a very different fractal formation. Participants can run around and look in from each end and get a much different pattern from one side to the next.

The entire scope sits on a base with large casters that allow it to spin easily. There are also large captain wheels on either side for easy spinning.

One of our favorite things to do with the Kaleidoscope is put people inside (the more the merrier) and spin the scope around using the giant captain wheels on each end. Everyone inside gets an intimate experience with one another bumping and smushing into each other, and everyone on the outside watch the endless sea of limbs and body parts spinning.

The scope is also a really great place to lie down for a nap, and upon awakening finding yourself in a reflections wonderland, not a bad way to start a day on the playa

artistsDavid + David are both artists/designers/makers based out of Toronto.

“Art is nice to look at, but it’s even better when you get to play with it.” – David

“When you look at toys from your childhood, do you ever wonder what it would be like if you could make them gigantic and play inside of them?” - David

contacthttp://www.thegiantkaleidoscope.come

[email protected]


Burning Man 2015


It is our pleasure to announce our dream project: the “Hall of Mirrors Arcade.” Our arcade is a place of fun, spectacle and non-stop entertainment for participants of all ages. These three art pieces are larger-than-life representations of popular parlor games. We are thrilled to announce our location at 10:30 at the base of The Man, inside the Midway!!

This larger-than-life arcade will be a beautiful and entertaining gathering place for participants of all age. Our games are re-imagined representations of popular games and machines -- each with a twist -- which invites people to play whilst enjoying interaction with others.

Our arcade games will be designed and painted by enthusiasts from the Washington D.C. and Baltimore Burner communities. Artwork will decorate the surfaces in a stunning display of themes and color. By using both conventional and ultraviolet lighting, the arcade will be playable daytime and nighttime; a visual spectacle for the senses!

Arcade games are interactive art!!

PINBALLOur pinball table is a unique design based on modern pinball machines but with one major twist: It is so large that it invites many people to play it cooperatively! Single ball play will encourage people to trade positions and take turns so that many people can play it per hour. By “single ball play” we mean the machine will reset its score each time a ball is launched, so the goal is to keep the ball in play and score as many points as possible while it is still your turn. Once the ball leaves the play field, the turn is over and others are encouraged to step up and participate!

Hall of Mirrors Arcade

by: Alexander Griffinfrom: Gaithersburg, MD


The play field will be generously populated with many standard pinball elements: score lanes, bumpers, catch pockets, holes, spinners and drop targets. Each one will have bright LED lights to make the whole table interact and flash, just like the original machines. Specialty lighting at night using ultraviolet LED strips will add an extra dimension to the gameplay; the table elements will be painted with flourescent paint making this table a gorgeous artistic spectacle.

PACHINKO“5…4…3…2…1…Go!” …and the team of seven people (who met each other just a few minutes before) scoop up handfuls of balls and race up the steps of Pachinko. They drop them down into the maze of pins, hoping a few will get to a scoring target. As one person runs out, they race down the other and someone else is right behind them with another armload. In another 15 seconds they’ll know whether or not they beat the last team’s score...

Pachinko parlors have been popular across Japan for almost 80 years. Several thousand machines have been exported to other countries, so many people visiting the Hall of Mirrors Arcade would have seen, played, or perhaps even owned one of these machines. The maze and ball elements of Pachinko seem rather simple; but the dancing interaction of the balls will mesmerize people for hours and hours.

The idea of our Pachinko Game is to have a reservoir of balls at the bottom of the machine. People will gather one, two, or an armload of balls and carry them up the stairs to the balcony positioned just behind the play field. Atop the balcony they will drop the balls into slots in the top of the machine. The balls bounce and careen through the maze of hundreds of pins and obstacles, with some of them landing in “score pockets”. When this happens, lights will flash and bells will ring -- just like the original Pachinko machines!

A team of players has just 180 seconds (counted down on the machine’s 3-digit display) to get as high a score as they can. Visual cues from the lights and sound cues from the bell will indicate the start and end of every round. When a round finishes, the score is flashed for 20 to 30 seconds. Afterwards both the score and timer reset for a new round.

All teams are spontaneously formed by whoever happens to be around Giant Pachinko when a round starts or is in progress. People can jump in at any time as space allows, or drop out if they get tired from climbing up and down the stairs. Everyone works together!


FOOSBALL REIMAGINED“Let’s play Foosball!” We wanted to build this life-sized Foosball “table” so visitors to the Arcade can make pick-up teams for a fast paced game of Foosball. But instead of having people outside the table manipulating levers, we want the people to “BE” the players... instead of soccer players on bars; we have people play atop 360 degree swivel seats!

The ball is an actual soccer ball, and the arena’s goal areas and seats are

indicated with Red or Blue theme elements both with paint and LED lights. We believe as few as six people can effectively play Foosball Reimagined, and a game with all twelve seats occupied is very exciting to watch.

A giant flip-card style scoreboard will stand six feet tall above the playfield. LED light strips integrated into the arena’s rim will illuminate the whole play field so that nighttime games can be played as easily as daytime.

The arena walls are about 36 inches tall, and goal areas are mostly open so it should be easy for participants to enter or exit at any time. The seat centers are 48 inches apart, which should be optimal for game play and far enough apart to keep people from kicking each others’ shins.

The beautiful turn-of-the-century Victorian-era carnival styling fits perfectly with the overall (coordinated) theme of the Hall of Mirrors Arcade. Aesthetically pleasing LED lighting illuminates the playfield inside and outside for nighttime gameplay.

MARBLE LABYRINTHYou remember those little tabletop games you used to have, the one where a marble was on a table that you tilted back-and-forth with two knobs? You had to get the marble through the maze without falling in to any holes along the way.

Well, we’re making a giant 6 foot by 6 foot GIANT marble labyrinth, with a twist! It is so big that the controls are too far apart for one person to manage. So two people must work together to solve the maze! But don’t worry; we didn’t put in any holes to trip into. Instead, you will need to

work together to move the marble to achieve goal positions scattered across the table!

Our labyrinth is patterned after Black Rock City itself, and its maze of roads and amazing camps. Some key elements of the City will be evident like Center Camp, and The Man himself. Previous large-scale art projects from the DC Burner community will be featured in miniature -- do you remember what year each piece was on the Playa?

As we take on and solve each challenge, Marble Labyrinth becomes a more amazing art piece for Hall of Mirrors Arcade, possibly the most intriguing of the games!

artistAlexander Griffin a.k.a. “Wolf” has been attending Burning Man and several regional events since 2009, and is an active participant of the Washington DC Burner Community. Notable art participation at past Burns includes:

Polygonia (2010)

DC CORE (2013)

Pyramid of Possibilities (2014)

Hall of Mirrors Arcade (2015)

Wolf thrives on dreaming up inter

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