Who says the American Dream is DEAD?For those of you who give a flying red white and blue fuck about the ART that will grace our temporary, autonomous space on that desolate GODFORSAKEN dustbowl of a playa this year, well, let me tell you, from a quick look at the 150+ art installations ART blurbs;
HONORARIA, THEME, PLAYA and even CAFE ART, it looks like we've got another year of YANKEE DOODLE DANDY ART that is out there to entertain, inspire and otherwise elucidate your Burning Man addled brains. Put down your shopping lists, faux fur, EL wire and camp agendas for a few moments here and I dare you to finish reading about the ART that hardworking creative people will be installing out there on that POST APOCALYPTIC landscape so you can have something to stand next to when you're getting your picture taken to show all your friends back in well .... AMERICA.
HONORARIA, THEME, PLAYA and even CAFE ART, it looks like we've got another year of YANKEE DOODLE DANDY ART that is out there to entertain, inspire and otherwise elucidate your Burning Man addled brains. Put down your shopping lists, faux fur, EL wire and camp agendas for a few moments here and I dare you to finish reading about the ART that hardworking creative people will be installing out there on that POST APOCALYPTIC landscape so you can have something to stand next to when you're getting your picture taken to show all your friends back in well .... AMERICA.
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First off, our fearless leader, his HOLINESS and CANDIDATE for PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, Mr, LARRY MILHOUSE HARVEY, decided this year to spurt forth a theme related to the AMERICAN DREAM. He juxtaposed the "patriotic urge of mass identity" where George W. Bush is your DADDY with the patriotic urge of "home" and a "shared culture" which is seemingly MORE PURE and LESS FASCIST so the we can all grok it ...comrade.
WHERE ELSE do so many people of different cultures and ideologies come together to build a HOME where they can share their potlatch, where all over you have a CORNUCOPIA unmatched in our planet's history with BBQs on sunny days and partying every night; where political parties accuse other political parties of using the POWER STRUCTURE for their own means at the expense of others, where we're always thinking that the GOOD OLD DAYS were the best days and those are far behind us, and that our FOUNDING FATHERS really knew what they were doing, but sometimes maybe we've lost our way.
WHERE ELSE can you see FOSSIL FUELS BURNED with such great abandon, yet also have plenty of people who are innovators attempting to power their FANTASY LAND with alternatives? Where else do you have people trying to get in illegally, way out in the desert with the Border Patrol trying to keep them out, with PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD who have heard of us thinking, someday, they'd like to come here? Where else do you see such a cavalcade of IDEAS and see such a community of people who can weather the WORST OF STORMS and come together when they're needed for a common purpose to shine and show what they’re really made of?Yep, with all its problems, America isn't so bad.
WHERE ELSE do so many people of different cultures and ideologies come together to build a HOME where they can share their potlatch, where all over you have a CORNUCOPIA unmatched in our planet's history with BBQs on sunny days and partying every night; where political parties accuse other political parties of using the POWER STRUCTURE for their own means at the expense of others, where we're always thinking that the GOOD OLD DAYS were the best days and those are far behind us, and that our FOUNDING FATHERS really knew what they were doing, but sometimes maybe we've lost our way.
WHERE ELSE can you see FOSSIL FUELS BURNED with such great abandon, yet also have plenty of people who are innovators attempting to power their FANTASY LAND with alternatives? Where else do you have people trying to get in illegally, way out in the desert with the Border Patrol trying to keep them out, with PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD who have heard of us thinking, someday, they'd like to come here? Where else do you see such a cavalcade of IDEAS and see such a community of people who can weather the WORST OF STORMS and come together when they're needed for a common purpose to shine and show what they’re really made of?Yep, with all its problems, America isn't so bad.
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And, as we all know, this THEME, like just about every other before it, pissed everyone off and threatened to make Burning Man a PARIAH in the INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY but once the alkaline dust and the ROCKET’S RED GLARE settled, ART projects began racing in like an army of BLM Tahoes and Silverados stocked to the gills with automatic spotlights, infrared scopes, sawed off shotguns and tazermatic confusion inducing stun machines race to the spot where any fence jumping, unwashed and illegal hooligan is trying to jump the trash fence to sneak into the PROMISED LAND of BLACK ROCK CITY.
This year Mr. HARVEY asked us to consider the Dystopian slide of the American Dream (with shades of Hope and Fear 05's "tarnished squalor of the Gilded Age") but to "leave narrow and exclusive ideologies at home" and to "carefully consider your immediate experience" as it relates to the possibility of "Freedom, opportunity, inventiveness (and) the power to transform one's self."
I'm not sure exactly WHAT THE FUCK that means, but I do know that living in America with all of its foolishness and all of its perks, has provided an environment of shared bonds and wealth that sustains all of us who attend this little Bacchanalian GREAT AMERICAN HOLIDAY that’s not your father’s labor day, unless of course your father comes to BURNING MAN, to the Temporary Autonomous Zone that just keeps rebuilding and tearing down, coming back to one of the most inhospitable places on the planet. It is TRUE, all is not good in our fine little country, for there is America the plundered, where Nationalism can be manipulated so that forces who don't give a fuck about our country can GLOM ONTO FEAR to fleece us like a flock of red white and blue sheep.
Freedom can disappear overnight, and that is usually how it disappears.BUT EXERCISING RADICAL SELF EXPRESSION, I believe is one way to thwart their malevolent intent, so really, this whole exercise in creating a community with values that are counter to the worst parts of America, but that are entirely in line with the best parts of our society, IS NECESSARY and when it’s all said and done, WE'RE JUST DOING OUR CIVIC DUTY.
But enough of that bullshit. What's the FUCKING ART looking like this year?~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BIG PENIS ART
He had a hard year in ‘07 so It is quite possible that THE MAN will take the place of the BIGGEST PENIS this year, up on his INTERNATIONAL TOWER that will be locked down tighter than an Israeli Airport and that will be surrounded by Pavilion pieces like ELLIS ISLAND – BLACK ROCK CITY by Amy Shapiro and the TALKING VOTING BOOTH by Eric Griswold.
The latest Michael Christian joint with Auriah Milanes, Scottie Chapman and David Andres is called ELEVATION and is... "a fully climbable mountain constructed of winding tube steel ladders that elevate to a seated perch for one on its peak, at 54 feet." I fully expect the first person to reach the summit to be none other than our Veep DICK CHENEY who will SNARL, SWEAR and SWEAT for some time before he expires from dust and sun exposure and tumbles to the ground, to be rushed away by the Secret Service to an undisclosed bunker beneath the Re-animation Wing of the Reagan Presidential Library. Once he’s gone, the rest of us will be able to climb up there. Expect long lines.
BASURA SAGRADA is this year's big ass temple and it promises to be another huge throbbing structure on the playa made from all kinds of recyclable things. Rest assured, they will burn it all, so don't despair, fire and catharsis happens on Sunday I assume. From the description: "The temple is comprised of five main structures, with a group of outlying buildings growing towards a central nave clad in a series of spires that reach towards the sky." As always, it will be a place to grieve, a place to contemplate and a place to hear people screaming for other people who are standing to SIT THE FUCK DOWN on that most peaceful Sunday night when we're all contemplative and shit.
BABYLON - by Philip Raiser is an installation where you'll have your picture taken and then it'll be projected onto this 100 foot tower. This project kind of reminds me a little of 05’s Headspace by Matteo. It'll be interesting to see if ANYONE at Burning Man is so vain as to want to actually see themselves projected across the playa for all to gaze upon because we all know that Burners are generally kind of camera shy, but I wish them the best.
It figures that the FLAMING LOTUS GIRLS would have what looks to be one of the largest penis on the playa, and it looks like MUTOPIA isn’t going to disappoint. There is a SEED POD, there is a SWIRL, there is a PHILOSOPHY, and I’ve heard there are red white and blue colors involved somehow. And it looks to be larger than the SERPENT MOTHER, but I’m not sure of that. Count on this being a nightly destination.
I'm also betting on another installation, ALTERED STATE, by Kate Raudenbush to be not so much just a big penis up there, but a BIG INFLUENCE. I kick myself for missing the Belgian Waffle, aka Message Out of the Future as the NEXT BIG THING in ‘06, so I'm putting some chips on Raudenbush. She's doing a "symbol of the United States Capitol" that "becomes a mirage of mythical creatures fabricated of elaborately carved white steel. Each cut is rendered in the archetypal graphic style of Pacific Northwest Coast Indian imagery." It looks big, not HUGE big, but BIG nonetheless.
MUTOID WASTE CO... SPAGHETTI WEST TEN is a MOBILE piece that is an "animatronic fire-breathing metal horse" that pulls a covered wagon, "one-third Little House On The Prairie and two-thirds Horseman Of The Apocalypse" All Hail the Anarchist Robo-Demigods. I miss Draaka and Contessa. Bring on the MUTOID WASTE.
KETCHUP by Bruce Bender, is a 31’ tall bottle of Ketchup in the 4:30 Plaza. While not one of the biggest penis structures, it is American as all get out.
My bet for LANDMARK THAT PEOPLE USE TO NAVIGATE disappearing and causing countless people who have lost it, THE MAN and most of the other large lit up structures on Sunday to get lost and to stumble somewhere far from where they *thought* they were headed is the LIGHTHOUSE by Pippin A.E. Wigglesworth-Weider. The project is a "wooden framework standing eleven meters tall. On top it emits a friendly revolving light" and "may be seen as a reference for navigation". For us Americans who never moved over to the Metric system in the 70s when we had a chance and could have stopped measuring temperature by the heat in a chicken's underarm, 11 meters is 36.09 feet.
ILLUSION by Benson Trent reminds me of 04's Jadu Beta by Saul Melman but with big balls instead of piled plastic things with little dusty chill spaces inside. It is the space of several football fields and it lights up at night so it will be unavoidable.
And FINALLY something as obvious and bound to happen eventually, as say, someone climbing up and setting THE MAN on fire prematurely, comes WELCOME TO FABULOUS BLACK ROCK CITY by Steve Roper. My bet for one of the most photographed art pieces on the playa this year, it is the newest epic piece to someday live in Las Vegas' Neon Boneyard, or perhaps it will replace that Jetson's Signage that was just removed this year from behind the BMHQ in San Francisco, over by 280.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So we move onto RANDOM ART PROJECTS that stand out after several readings. I don’t have the FLAMETHROWER SHOOTING GALLERY here because it is in the FIRE FIRE section, but it and the following are a few of my favorites....
CHECKPOINT DREAMYOURTOPIA by DADARA. As he has for years at Burning Man, DADARA presents a his surreal take on the theme that touches on the whimsical and beautiful, yet that carries a message. It is a truly interactive piece that is a “border control checkpoint, where one can enter the world of his/her own dreams" I highly recommend this one.
POOL by Jen Lewin. I don't know if this will be this year's CUBATRON or LIGHT HARPS or not, but it is a light sculpture and I really enjoy big colorful lights doing interesting shit at night on the playa when things are getting weirder and weirder by the moment. They calm me.
GARDEN AND GROTTO OF MANIFEST DESTINY by Randy Polumbo brings to mind Jeremy Lutes Lily Pond in 2002 with sex toys and is, a "flower field comprised of bizarre satellite-shaped blossoms" that are "techno-organic LED illuminated flowers with solar panel petals and stamens are made of softly glowing sex toys". I hope this pans out because it sounds delightful.
STOP DON'T GO DON'T STOP by Thomas Fjallstam is a traffic light intersection. I just want to go sit there for a moment and watch the lights change without having to see cars passing along.
ZSUZSU: THE CRYBABY DRAMA QUEEN by Mister Jellyfish. There is a BUZZ about this already. I have no idea what to expect, but “She refuses to come out but demands your attention and gifts. ZsuZsu blames you for her discomfort and inconvenience. She also hates heat, dust, loud music, art and "Heepies". ZsuZsu's Spiteful Tower is a replica of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, erected in front of her trailer and festooned with red lights-- a bar graph "mood meter" to indicate her current state of angst. Participants are invited to push buttons that communicate different messages to ZsuZsu through her intercom in an attempt to influence her feelings. When ZsuZsu's mood reaches its peak, the door opens and her robotic body leans out for a surprise tres magnifique!”This Year’s FINE ART mention goes to the SHRINE OF FORTUNA by Art Farm, a “mixed-media painting and altar installation” that features “an eight foot by twelve foot portrait of a beautiful woman, representing Fortuna, the goddess of fortune and fate.” You will understand when you see the tattooed altar where every idea dripped down and made a mark. We’re fortunate to have her grace our playa.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NATIVE AMERICANA ART The reality of the people who lived on this continent for EONS before EUROPE EMPTIED OUT THEIR PRISONS and chased all their religious fanatics to the “NEW WORLD” is well represented this year and includes:
AMERICAN NIGHTMARE by Damian Phoenix. I’m intrigued by the "ancient spirit that has roamed these lands since the dawn of time; the old Aztec priests used to call upon it during their sacrificial rituals. It is the god with no name - the watcher - and it has seen the destruction and reconstruction of the United States.” This is no Playa Chicken. Sounds most righteous, yo.
AMERICAN DREAM CATCHER, as cliché as that sounds, is "similar to a traditional Native American dream catcher but in a semi-collapsed state. It represents how the pressures of attaining the American Dream have taxed and burdened our entire earth." There will be monitors embedded in this project perhaps in 05 "Bed in your Head" style.
OTHER PROJECTS IN THE SAME VEIN INCLUDE: NATIVE AMERICAN TEMPLE by Ronald Cincinnati that "embodies a convergence of history, architecture and spirituality at a crossroads where indigenous cultures confront the American Dream." OUR RELATIONS by Sharon Strong Armstrong is "a prayer spoken by Native American people acknowledging the web of life that connects all beings; an installation of masks, embodying the spirit of that prayer, envisioning a world where we honor the earth as our home." TRASH FENCE by Bob Noxious -- A large American Indian tipi is adorned with every nation's flag. And SELF EVIDENCE by Robert Bengtson, et al is a sculpture of 12 figures tattooed with the constitution that lead into a tipi.
Raudenbush's ALTERED STATE also includes Pacific Coast American imagery and I appreciate the hell out of the SNARK in this one: RESERVATION by Kim Chee that "represents Black Rock Desert land repatriation for territory stolen by the US Government years ago - a superb example of the gift economy in action!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FIRE FIRE FIRE!!!
I've mentioned the FLAMING LOTUS GIRLS project MUTOPIA, and there is so much there you should check it out yourself at mutopia.wordpress.com/
--
Everything I know about BURNING PROPANE and enjoying it without second guessing myself, I learned at Burning Man and that’s why, of all the FLAMING ART PROJECTS this year, my favorite as written is the FLAMETHROWER SHOOTING GALLERY by Matisse Enzer, a shooting gallery "county fair-style" that encourages radical self expression by "encouraging participants to ..play with fire and shoot things"
Fuck yea. Nuff said.
Close to MY HEART is a project named PYROCARDIUM by False Profit Labs that is 15' tall and has a stethoscope participants can use to make flames that dance with their heart beat. Sounds warm. Sounds worth checking out.
CIRQUE de FLAMBE PYRO CIRCUS is having what they say is their last show on the playa after 10 years. This is the org that includes Wally Glen’s Pyro Boy among other notables and they were spinning fire before it became the craze. Hell, they started the craze. If you've never attended one, this is your last chance on the PLAYA. "One show only will be held on Wednesday, August 27th at 10 PM out in front of the Cirque de Flambé camp.
"The LAST CIRQUE de FLAMBE goes into that DARK FLAMING NIGHT in the same year as another time honored Burning Man institution as SPIKE'S FUNERAL PYRE sends their VAMPIRE BAR into FIERY OBLIVION as a fantastic towering shrine to the “infernal wickedness and a tribute to all those depraved souls who found joyous and infinitely sinful love within its malevolent and unholy confines” A DARK WAVE GOODBYE to one of the coolest dance camps on the playa. EVER.
PSWARM by the Dept. of Spontaneous Combustion are a bunch of machines that " include 15' long, 9' tall 2-rider behemoths weighing over 1,000 lbs each and geared to walking speed. Each features a propane fire effect capable of 40 ft plumes of fire" and they roam in the playa in a pack. A forty foot fireball is something that will get your attention.
This year Mr. HARVEY asked us to consider the Dystopian slide of the American Dream (with shades of Hope and Fear 05's "tarnished squalor of the Gilded Age") but to "leave narrow and exclusive ideologies at home" and to "carefully consider your immediate experience" as it relates to the possibility of "Freedom, opportunity, inventiveness (and) the power to transform one's self."
I'm not sure exactly WHAT THE FUCK that means, but I do know that living in America with all of its foolishness and all of its perks, has provided an environment of shared bonds and wealth that sustains all of us who attend this little Bacchanalian GREAT AMERICAN HOLIDAY that’s not your father’s labor day, unless of course your father comes to BURNING MAN, to the Temporary Autonomous Zone that just keeps rebuilding and tearing down, coming back to one of the most inhospitable places on the planet. It is TRUE, all is not good in our fine little country, for there is America the plundered, where Nationalism can be manipulated so that forces who don't give a fuck about our country can GLOM ONTO FEAR to fleece us like a flock of red white and blue sheep.
Freedom can disappear overnight, and that is usually how it disappears.BUT EXERCISING RADICAL SELF EXPRESSION, I believe is one way to thwart their malevolent intent, so really, this whole exercise in creating a community with values that are counter to the worst parts of America, but that are entirely in line with the best parts of our society, IS NECESSARY and when it’s all said and done, WE'RE JUST DOING OUR CIVIC DUTY.
But enough of that bullshit. What's the FUCKING ART looking like this year?~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BIG PENIS ART
He had a hard year in ‘07 so It is quite possible that THE MAN will take the place of the BIGGEST PENIS this year, up on his INTERNATIONAL TOWER that will be locked down tighter than an Israeli Airport and that will be surrounded by Pavilion pieces like ELLIS ISLAND – BLACK ROCK CITY by Amy Shapiro and the TALKING VOTING BOOTH by Eric Griswold.
The latest Michael Christian joint with Auriah Milanes, Scottie Chapman and David Andres is called ELEVATION and is... "a fully climbable mountain constructed of winding tube steel ladders that elevate to a seated perch for one on its peak, at 54 feet." I fully expect the first person to reach the summit to be none other than our Veep DICK CHENEY who will SNARL, SWEAR and SWEAT for some time before he expires from dust and sun exposure and tumbles to the ground, to be rushed away by the Secret Service to an undisclosed bunker beneath the Re-animation Wing of the Reagan Presidential Library. Once he’s gone, the rest of us will be able to climb up there. Expect long lines.
BASURA SAGRADA is this year's big ass temple and it promises to be another huge throbbing structure on the playa made from all kinds of recyclable things. Rest assured, they will burn it all, so don't despair, fire and catharsis happens on Sunday I assume. From the description: "The temple is comprised of five main structures, with a group of outlying buildings growing towards a central nave clad in a series of spires that reach towards the sky." As always, it will be a place to grieve, a place to contemplate and a place to hear people screaming for other people who are standing to SIT THE FUCK DOWN on that most peaceful Sunday night when we're all contemplative and shit.
BABYLON - by Philip Raiser is an installation where you'll have your picture taken and then it'll be projected onto this 100 foot tower. This project kind of reminds me a little of 05’s Headspace by Matteo. It'll be interesting to see if ANYONE at Burning Man is so vain as to want to actually see themselves projected across the playa for all to gaze upon because we all know that Burners are generally kind of camera shy, but I wish them the best.
It figures that the FLAMING LOTUS GIRLS would have what looks to be one of the largest penis on the playa, and it looks like MUTOPIA isn’t going to disappoint. There is a SEED POD, there is a SWIRL, there is a PHILOSOPHY, and I’ve heard there are red white and blue colors involved somehow. And it looks to be larger than the SERPENT MOTHER, but I’m not sure of that. Count on this being a nightly destination.
I'm also betting on another installation, ALTERED STATE, by Kate Raudenbush to be not so much just a big penis up there, but a BIG INFLUENCE. I kick myself for missing the Belgian Waffle, aka Message Out of the Future as the NEXT BIG THING in ‘06, so I'm putting some chips on Raudenbush. She's doing a "symbol of the United States Capitol" that "becomes a mirage of mythical creatures fabricated of elaborately carved white steel. Each cut is rendered in the archetypal graphic style of Pacific Northwest Coast Indian imagery." It looks big, not HUGE big, but BIG nonetheless.
MUTOID WASTE CO... SPAGHETTI WEST TEN is a MOBILE piece that is an "animatronic fire-breathing metal horse" that pulls a covered wagon, "one-third Little House On The Prairie and two-thirds Horseman Of The Apocalypse" All Hail the Anarchist Robo-Demigods. I miss Draaka and Contessa. Bring on the MUTOID WASTE.
KETCHUP by Bruce Bender, is a 31’ tall bottle of Ketchup in the 4:30 Plaza. While not one of the biggest penis structures, it is American as all get out.
My bet for LANDMARK THAT PEOPLE USE TO NAVIGATE disappearing and causing countless people who have lost it, THE MAN and most of the other large lit up structures on Sunday to get lost and to stumble somewhere far from where they *thought* they were headed is the LIGHTHOUSE by Pippin A.E. Wigglesworth-Weider. The project is a "wooden framework standing eleven meters tall. On top it emits a friendly revolving light" and "may be seen as a reference for navigation". For us Americans who never moved over to the Metric system in the 70s when we had a chance and could have stopped measuring temperature by the heat in a chicken's underarm, 11 meters is 36.09 feet.
ILLUSION by Benson Trent reminds me of 04's Jadu Beta by Saul Melman but with big balls instead of piled plastic things with little dusty chill spaces inside. It is the space of several football fields and it lights up at night so it will be unavoidable.
And FINALLY something as obvious and bound to happen eventually, as say, someone climbing up and setting THE MAN on fire prematurely, comes WELCOME TO FABULOUS BLACK ROCK CITY by Steve Roper. My bet for one of the most photographed art pieces on the playa this year, it is the newest epic piece to someday live in Las Vegas' Neon Boneyard, or perhaps it will replace that Jetson's Signage that was just removed this year from behind the BMHQ in San Francisco, over by 280.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So we move onto RANDOM ART PROJECTS that stand out after several readings. I don’t have the FLAMETHROWER SHOOTING GALLERY here because it is in the FIRE FIRE section, but it and the following are a few of my favorites....
CHECKPOINT DREAMYOURTOPIA by DADARA. As he has for years at Burning Man, DADARA presents a his surreal take on the theme that touches on the whimsical and beautiful, yet that carries a message. It is a truly interactive piece that is a “border control checkpoint, where one can enter the world of his/her own dreams" I highly recommend this one.
POOL by Jen Lewin. I don't know if this will be this year's CUBATRON or LIGHT HARPS or not, but it is a light sculpture and I really enjoy big colorful lights doing interesting shit at night on the playa when things are getting weirder and weirder by the moment. They calm me.
GARDEN AND GROTTO OF MANIFEST DESTINY by Randy Polumbo brings to mind Jeremy Lutes Lily Pond in 2002 with sex toys and is, a "flower field comprised of bizarre satellite-shaped blossoms" that are "techno-organic LED illuminated flowers with solar panel petals and stamens are made of softly glowing sex toys". I hope this pans out because it sounds delightful.
STOP DON'T GO DON'T STOP by Thomas Fjallstam is a traffic light intersection. I just want to go sit there for a moment and watch the lights change without having to see cars passing along.
ZSUZSU: THE CRYBABY DRAMA QUEEN by Mister Jellyfish. There is a BUZZ about this already. I have no idea what to expect, but “She refuses to come out but demands your attention and gifts. ZsuZsu blames you for her discomfort and inconvenience. She also hates heat, dust, loud music, art and "Heepies". ZsuZsu's Spiteful Tower is a replica of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, erected in front of her trailer and festooned with red lights-- a bar graph "mood meter" to indicate her current state of angst. Participants are invited to push buttons that communicate different messages to ZsuZsu through her intercom in an attempt to influence her feelings. When ZsuZsu's mood reaches its peak, the door opens and her robotic body leans out for a surprise tres magnifique!”This Year’s FINE ART mention goes to the SHRINE OF FORTUNA by Art Farm, a “mixed-media painting and altar installation” that features “an eight foot by twelve foot portrait of a beautiful woman, representing Fortuna, the goddess of fortune and fate.” You will understand when you see the tattooed altar where every idea dripped down and made a mark. We’re fortunate to have her grace our playa.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NATIVE AMERICANA ART The reality of the people who lived on this continent for EONS before EUROPE EMPTIED OUT THEIR PRISONS and chased all their religious fanatics to the “NEW WORLD” is well represented this year and includes:
AMERICAN NIGHTMARE by Damian Phoenix. I’m intrigued by the "ancient spirit that has roamed these lands since the dawn of time; the old Aztec priests used to call upon it during their sacrificial rituals. It is the god with no name - the watcher - and it has seen the destruction and reconstruction of the United States.” This is no Playa Chicken. Sounds most righteous, yo.
AMERICAN DREAM CATCHER, as cliché as that sounds, is "similar to a traditional Native American dream catcher but in a semi-collapsed state. It represents how the pressures of attaining the American Dream have taxed and burdened our entire earth." There will be monitors embedded in this project perhaps in 05 "Bed in your Head" style.
OTHER PROJECTS IN THE SAME VEIN INCLUDE: NATIVE AMERICAN TEMPLE by Ronald Cincinnati that "embodies a convergence of history, architecture and spirituality at a crossroads where indigenous cultures confront the American Dream." OUR RELATIONS by Sharon Strong Armstrong is "a prayer spoken by Native American people acknowledging the web of life that connects all beings; an installation of masks, embodying the spirit of that prayer, envisioning a world where we honor the earth as our home." TRASH FENCE by Bob Noxious -- A large American Indian tipi is adorned with every nation's flag. And SELF EVIDENCE by Robert Bengtson, et al is a sculpture of 12 figures tattooed with the constitution that lead into a tipi.
Raudenbush's ALTERED STATE also includes Pacific Coast American imagery and I appreciate the hell out of the SNARK in this one: RESERVATION by Kim Chee that "represents Black Rock Desert land repatriation for territory stolen by the US Government years ago - a superb example of the gift economy in action!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FIRE FIRE FIRE!!!
I've mentioned the FLAMING LOTUS GIRLS project MUTOPIA, and there is so much there you should check it out yourself at mutopia.wordpress.com/
--
Everything I know about BURNING PROPANE and enjoying it without second guessing myself, I learned at Burning Man and that’s why, of all the FLAMING ART PROJECTS this year, my favorite as written is the FLAMETHROWER SHOOTING GALLERY by Matisse Enzer, a shooting gallery "county fair-style" that encourages radical self expression by "encouraging participants to ..play with fire and shoot things"
Fuck yea. Nuff said.
Close to MY HEART is a project named PYROCARDIUM by False Profit Labs that is 15' tall and has a stethoscope participants can use to make flames that dance with their heart beat. Sounds warm. Sounds worth checking out.
CIRQUE de FLAMBE PYRO CIRCUS is having what they say is their last show on the playa after 10 years. This is the org that includes Wally Glen’s Pyro Boy among other notables and they were spinning fire before it became the craze. Hell, they started the craze. If you've never attended one, this is your last chance on the PLAYA. "One show only will be held on Wednesday, August 27th at 10 PM out in front of the Cirque de Flambé camp.
"The LAST CIRQUE de FLAMBE goes into that DARK FLAMING NIGHT in the same year as another time honored Burning Man institution as SPIKE'S FUNERAL PYRE sends their VAMPIRE BAR into FIERY OBLIVION as a fantastic towering shrine to the “infernal wickedness and a tribute to all those depraved souls who found joyous and infinitely sinful love within its malevolent and unholy confines” A DARK WAVE GOODBYE to one of the coolest dance camps on the playa. EVER.
PSWARM by the Dept. of Spontaneous Combustion are a bunch of machines that " include 15' long, 9' tall 2-rider behemoths weighing over 1,000 lbs each and geared to walking speed. Each features a propane fire effect capable of 40 ft plumes of fire" and they roam in the playa in a pack. A forty foot fireball is something that will get your attention.
SHIVA VISTA will be worth checking out. Large fire, dancers, music, “a place where humans and machines enter into a fusion of fire, movement and sound.”
Then there are the FUCKING JERKS THERMAL LANCE by Vince Brown. I like their name, but I'm not sure if I should be all ha ha ha fucking ha, or be a little apprehensive, because they promise to "set fire to items considered non-flammable. See rocks become lava and steel on fire," and they might just burn up my FURRY COSTUME and BLINKIES and GLOWSTICKS without asking me, which brings us to our next project, the ….
COG or the COALITION in OPPOSITION to GLOWSTICKS led by Laurent Martin aka Lowrent the Clown who will be registering people to collect and confiscate glowsticks throughout the event in an attempt to reveal the waste of Americans (see next section - MASS CONSUMPTION). They sound like a little bit of Green and a whole lot of in your face FUCKTARDATION, but in a good way. Perhaps they’ll be enlisting the Chupacabra Police in their raids.I support them because glowsticks are lame, but they'll get extra points if they can figure out what to do with my VINEGAR and FIREFLIES in a BIODEGRADABLE RICE CONDOM EARTH MOTHER GLOWY ALTERNATIVE SLEEVE.They'll get my glowstick when they pry it out of my COLD DEAD FINGERS. Bring it on CLOWN.
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BEST ART PROJECTS TO ADD SOME CULTURE TO YOUR CARNAL DESIRES
If you’re looking for interesting places to introduce a little culture into the constant throbbing in your over sexed genitalia with your friend of the moment, well, Burning Man is the place to find that situation that’s “just right”. When the public spankings, Jiffy Lube, Random nakedness and pole dancing grows old, there are always ART PROJECTS to bring a little bit of CULTURE to the PARTY IN YOUR PANTS.
I remember checking out White Noise, a little white house out on the playa in 04 and finding a tall, tan man on the bed jacking off in there. Later we arrived to an orgy taking place. It became the house with the bed where the blankets stood up on their own. If they didn’t burn that installation, well, they probably should have.
This year's private INSTALLATIONS WITH BEDS include AMERICANS CAN DREAM by Deborah Windham, an installation where her “bedroom will be recreated on the playa so folks can rest and write in my bedside table.” Sounds kinky.
TV/SACRED COUCH by Ellen Henrici, Robin Robinson and Alan Masaoka, see TEEVEE Below, but there is a couch and a TV so you can watch X-Files and do it doggy style, or at least imagine you are.
I’M A CRIMINAL IN YOUR PRAYERS by nanni.ji a.k.a. nike Schroeder. Oh Boy. This one is “Inspired by covers of the Playboy Magazine, participants are invited to lie on the padded ground beneath a shadestructure where, into the roof, a collection of lifesized portraits of nude women are sewn with thread onto a canvas.” I suspect this may become a pilgrimage site for many first time Frat Boys who are looking for release. Who knew ART could be so LIBERATING?
And while we’re on the subject, it looks like THE RUBBER DUCK CASINO from 02 broke wind for other Bars to be listed as ART on the PLAYA including this year’s
FLORIDA SOUNDS by Erin Grubs that is “a creative interpretation of the best of Florida with great music of many genres, good conversation and most likely...cocktails!”What, no STRIPPER POLE? FLORIDA? COME ON! Ah, wait a second, here’s another playa art installation,
BAR by Coyote's Forever. “A bar with a dance pole out in the middle of nowhere.”Now THAT’S AMERICA.
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We haven’t touched on the various incarnations and interpretations of the “AMERICAN DREAM” so let’s start with …
AMERICAN AS ... MASS CONSUMPTION In a land of Starfucks, Hellco and McEverything, we have Wholly Burgers and the Cult of Barbie so why not,
McLIGHTENMENT by Michael Brown and Violet McKeon that will be “providing that quick fix of illumination which everyone seeks.” With Golden Arches. Again with the Golden Arches.
I kind of like The SHRINE TO THE OVEN MITT by Steven Goodman that seems more whimsical than ironic. It is a "10 foot tall Oven Mitt Wind Chime" with "oven mitts as banners, fluttering in the wind" and there will be spaces for more oven mitts, so right now, if you're reading this, go grab your crappiest old oven mitt (if you have more than one, you CAPITALIST GREEDMONGER) and pack it away to bring to the playa. I imagine that this piece is sponsored by the OVEN MITT CORPORATION of AMERICA as a clever ploy to get us all to give away our oven mitts so we'll have to buy more when we arrive home. Dude, Burning Man has SO SOLD OUT.I really like AMERICAN DREAM AUTOMATED ATM MACHINE by Brad Templeton, "An ATM Machine that dispenses special "playa money," satirizes money as the American Dream."CHASING THE AMERICAN DREAM by Hedy Sirico hits the WALMART you probably stopped at on the way out to the Playa, PYRAMID SCHEME by Taylor Kohn might try to sell you a TIMESHARE in BLACK ROCK CITY and RAGS TO RICHES by Mik Phipps address the American obsession with affluence and cash as does THE $HRINE by Lukku that is "a structure that incarnates the American dollar. Three golden dollar signs reflect the sun by day, and at night shine out across the playa" This project will burn on Friday. GARAGE SALE by Elena Duchovny asks have you ever wished "you could just have a garage sale for all the useless stuff inside your head?"
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OK, let me catch my breath, I'm twitterpated from so much excitement. If you’ve read to this, well congratulations, you have an attention span. I hope you enjoy the ART OUT THERE THIS YEAR and don’t hesitate to use this inspiration to MAKE YOUR OWN NEXT YEAR cause none of this shit would exist without people seeing something in their mind’s eye then working their asses off to BRING IT TO FRUITION.ONWARD!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AMERICAN AS TEEVEE... KILL YOUR TV .. I AM YOUR GOD, etc, ad nauseum,You can't have America without TV, or Burning Man without at least one sculpture that tortures Philo Farnsworth’s little insidious invention and this year is no exception.
ALTERED TV/SACRED COUCH by Ellen Henrici, Robin Robinson and Alan Masaoka reflects "American culture's fixation on its favorite pastime. Participants sit on a couch and view themselves and BRC on a mirrored television screen.” Don’t spill the bong. See also, BEST PLACES TO CHANCE UPON CARNAL ART HAPPENINGS.
BURN YOUR TELEVISION by Rachel Kadner, is a grouping of mosaic TV's. DROWNING IN THE AMERICAN DREAM by Patrick Plummer is a blackened pool that "represents the fears and delusions the American advertising industry uses to manipulate consumers." Hope he lights that one up so we don’t fall in. REALITY BMTV by Richard Wells discusses the idea of 15 minutes of fame and is NOT a NEW BURNING MAN THEMED SHOW with a panel of judges that include Larry Harvey and Chicken John, DAWG, who are coming to a town near you to find the BURNIEST PERSON IN AMERICAN.
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AMERICAN SERIOUSNESS - Yes, here are the serious projects that caught my eye.
EYES WIDE OPEN MEMORIAL by KennyBlunt & Danielle Thorburn has been coming since 2005 as a tribute to the people in our armed services who have died in this long war. It is a moving piece that I highly recommend checking out.
HOUSE OF WAR by Dan Webster "exemplifies the new American culture of "Endless War:" The War on Terror, The War Against Islam, The WarAgainst Privacy"
U.S. NUCLEAR TEST IMAGES 1945-1962 Greatest Achievement/Greatest Horror by Douglas Robertson is a "ceramic and glass exploration of America's above ground nuclear test images"
TABLE FOR ONE by Mark Mindrup is a "POW/MIA memorial ...remembrance of soldiers and sailors who have been lost and the families that are still waiting for their return.""
I HAVE A DREAM" by Dave and Jeanete Monachello is "An el-wire animated portrait of Dr. King's 'I Have a Dream Speech'"
AIDS MONUMENT by Tschermernig Johan Klaus is “a memorial to the victims of this disease, and expresses the hope that we can find a solution to this global problem through information, humanitarianism, and help, staying away from political, religious and economic interests. It also stands for tolerance, humanity and courage.”
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And yes, we cannot forget AMERICAN AS ... OWNING A HOME IN SUBURBIA
Everyone wants a permanent place on that DESOLATE EXPANSE of LIFELESS DRIED LAKEBED so we’ve got:
NOPLUA by Moonrock Collective are "Desert Oasis Townhomes ... Nestled between the beautiful Jackson and Calico Mountain ranges in the great expanse of the playa, these exclusive 240 modern townhomes command sweeping views of Gerlach, Empire, and beyond." And PLAYA ESTATES by Christine McCaull, "Black Rock City's very own gated community." Not to mention EAST BLACK ROCK by David Brandt, "East Black Rock, the outskirts of town, Population Zero."
Expect foreclosures and eventual economic meltdown.
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AND LASTLY....WHERE WERE YOU IN 2007? GREEN PROJECTS IN AN OFFSHORE DRILLING YEARAlternative energy and green lifestyles have always been and will always be part of our community and they’re out in force this year. My favorites include:
THE GYRE CLEANUP PROJECT by Sundance Owen brings awareness to the fact that there is a shitload of floating plastic in the ocean that's getting trapped in this vortex called the Garbage Patch. Evidently someone needs to go out there with a big nets and grab all that shit (along with some tasty TUNA) and bring it to shore where we can turn it back into petroleum we can use to fuel our cars. I certainly don't want to EAT TUNA FULL OF PLASTIC, so more power to this idea.
REDWOOD RESURRECTION by Daniel Dancer brings awareness to the fact that "95% of this country's old growth forests" are gone. The project will include the cutting of a tree made "entirely of human bodies . . .naked for the trunk and roots " There will be dancing and drums and "birds will sing and then the entire tree will dance" so take a break from stretching and TAI CHI in the Center Camp Café and LOAD UP THE BONG, slap on some PATCHOULI and head on out to join in the BLESSED BE REVELRY, kind BROTHERS AND SISTERS.
Now, if they use a REAL CHAINSAW to cut down this “TREE”, count me in!!
RECYCLE ME by Mike Gudgus is the latest proud incarnation of the BIG LETTERS ON THE PLAYA school of ART where people erect BIG WORDS like FUCK and TRUTH and MY FRONT TEETH so large that you can’t help but check it out and wonder what the artist really meant with those words… The project is a 3-d phrase made of recycled steel and aluminum cans that goes to a good cause after the burn.
Which leads us to THE END by Bob Marzewski. This project is the words, THE END in twenty foot tall letters. I enjoy that ”THE END is located at the end of the playa and will burn at the end of the event.”
And that ‘s the end of this ART REVIEW for 2008. I hope you all have a GREAT BURN THIS YEAR. BE SAFE, BE GOOD AND GENEROUS TO EACH OTHER AND DON’T FORGET TO CHECK OUT THE ART!
THANKS MOZE, You rock as always!
http://jmosbaugh.blogspot.com/
photo mr. nightshade
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