Las Vegas Review-Journal: Where the rows of tents and RVs end, a virtual outdoor museum begins. Stretching over two miles into the open desert, structures large and small rise from the pale dust: a cluster of lighthouses, the front half of a 747 airplane, a net of undulating lights. In every direction there’s something new to feast your eyes upon, or even climb or crawl into. At nightfall, the installations become illuminated or otherwise transform and present an entirely different landscape to explore.
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I always feel myself longing to go to Burning Man every time it comes up every now and then. It seems like the ultimate culmination of being carefree, being in a "no-bounds-to-your-creative-abilities" sort of environment and living in the midst of the moment. I know a couple of friends who have been to Burning Man before (some of which actually went this year) and seeing their photographs always makes my heart yearn a little bit more! I think because I am such a large fan of installations, knowing that there are these massive sculptures at Burning Man makes me crazy. There's also something extremely cathartic and therapeutic knowing that many of these beautiful and intricate installations get destroyed after the festival is over. It is always a good habit to practice being not attached to one idea for too long; sometimes it gives way for better content to be produced.
Burning Man is at the top of my list right next to Harajuku Street, so I love reading any article about it. I feel on the fence on the increasing number of art not destroyed at the end of burning man. Part of me finds that the burning of the art after burning man make the experience greater. It makes the moments you experience the art feel special knowing it will only be available for a short time. Making it a more incredible experience knowing how rare the opportunity to experience it is. On the other hand I love the idea that more people are able to view the incredible artwork that happens at burning man. I think it would also benefit the artist more with more exposure and the opportunity to profit from their work afterwords. Not to mention it would spread awareness for Burning Man and help grow the Burning Man community.
I’ve heard a lot about Burning Man but didn’t actually know what it was until reading this article. From previous pictures and things I’ve heard I assumed it as a music festival, and even though now I know that it is an art show, I can still see the cultural connection. There is something very communal yet also lonely about putting a bunch of installations in the middle of the desert and letting people walk around and observe them together. It’s cool how the dust creates an eerie vibe amongst all of the artwork. I think it’s great that there are organizations which will fund artists to make these massively grand installations and give them an outlet through which to have an engaged audience. I think interactive installation art is the neatest thing, and I feel like we got a small taste of it during Arcade last year. I would love to explore more about it through scenic elements that draw an audience member in. What I’m still confused about is the whole “burning” thing. How much of the art do they burn every year? Is it a tradition thing, or something symbolizing the fragility and temporariness of art? It feels kind of wasteful, but I guess if there’s nowhere else for it to go you might as well make a spectacle of getting rid of it.
This article has reaffirmed what in my heart I've always known- I have to go to Burning Man. I always knew that it was just a group of strange people, surrounded by strange things in the desert, but this article showed me just how beautiful it can be. The crow sculptures are really incredible, with just their scale and how perfect they look out in the desert, like a real life Magritte painting. It looks like a more artistic less frightening Mad Max, and that's really something I can get behind. But what really strikes me about the whole thing is that the art gets burned. I love the idea that art is temporary and really there's some sort of catharsis in tearing down what you've created to move onto the next thing. it prevents you from fidgeting forever, and now with photos you can still see it, but the physical piece is gone. That's why I love theater, you build something, put your all into it, then tear it down, and do the same thing again. Like the article says, there really is something so primitive, and human about burning things down. However, if I were to do it, I would find a way to make the art installation have the least footprint and the least waste possible. I personally would not use all that lumber, because really, what's the point in that.
I've never had a desire to go to burning man until now--mainly because I had no idea what it consisted of. The cliche that's always surrounded burning man is that it's an "out there" convention--but I hadn't heard much about the artistic side of it. The article makes it seem like it would be an incredibly interesting convention--especially the destruction part, which to some may seem harsh, but I actually seems really cool in practice--it shows how art isn't forever and how everything is ephemeral. It does seem very similar to theatre in practice, because theatre as well is short lived art, and even if it can be photographed and recorded, it is not the same in that format. After the show closes and everything is struck, the art is gone, even if the show is done again in a different space. That's probably what makes me so interested in burning man, because its so unique and because everything lasts for such a short time.
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