B u r n l o g

Burning Man Grows Up, an article at CNNMoney by Chris Taylor, tells of Green tech companies coming to the burn 2007 in a sort of “world’s fair” exposition context.

This, no doubt, will cause some waves. Here are some interesting quotes from the article:

America’s biggest counterculture jamboree is also a $10 million business. Now, Business 2.0 reports, it’s trying to leverage its brand — and save the planet — by (gasp!) inviting corporate participants.

So the organization decided that the companies that come this summer will have to play by Burning Man’s rules. The first letter inviting corporate participants was pulled off the website after only a few days; Harvey says it made the event sound too much like a trade fair. The revision stated explicitly that no marketing whatsoever would be allowed at the event.

Clean-tech companies can exhibit their technologies, but their products can’t display a logo. No marketing material will be allowed. Company reps can’t even demonstrate their wares in the pavilion; they have to turn them over to Burning Man, which will demonstrate the technologies in whatever artistic form it chooses.

Still, some attendees fear that the arrival of corporations - even without business cards - is the death knell for Burning Man. ‘I’m sure the corporations are thinking, OK, this year those are the terms,’ says one prominent Burning Man artist involved in building the Man itself. ‘But now the door’s open. In the end, the money wins.’

This brief rundown of common misconceptions on Burning Man is both spot on and seems slightly misguided in its intent to inform the uninformed:

Burning Man: Fact & Fiction by Scott G

Sure, I’ve had to “answer” to family and friends about many of these fallacies. So, in this sense, I find setting the record straight useful for those who ask. The document can help clear up some facts, I suppose.

On the other hand, the existence of document points to a sort of rift between mainstream and fringe aspects of our culture that I’m not sure is worth bridging. Can the burn really be adequately explained to those outside of it and should it be at risk of detracting from the experience in the process? There is an anarchist element to the event that can only be killed and propped up prettily, like an insect on display without natural context, by trying to name and explain it.

For instance, has anyone tried to explain to the uninitiated about naked folks at the festival? First, you have to say there aren’t that many and then you have to patiently clarify the obvious and extremely simple concept of “who cares?”. So what if some folks want to be naked? Why should it even matter at any level? I’m happy there are people who can shed the ridiculous uniforms of conventional society. Same with the drug concerns and the supposed debauched pagan elements and whatever else non-participants want to dredge up as too freaky.

Another illustration is in a chef attempting to enumerate the finer points of cuisine without the food to taste or a musician explaining the historical and emotional values of major vs minor scales to someone without the musical examples to accompany the lesson. What makes up Burning Man largely doesn’t exist in the Default World so concrete examples outside the event are few.

In other words, Burning Man as a cultural event seems pretty removed both physically and culturally from mainstream America and can’t readily be related to someone who’s never been. People should just go check it out without worrying too much and, if not, refrain from jumping to conclusions since few things in this life are like the kindergarden notions we initially are compelled to categorize with.

Glide Magazine has a not terribly interesting article for noobs about Burning Man except that its focus is on music at the festival.

It makes me wonder if more diverse and live forms of music might actually be crawling toward the burn. I’m encouraged that many people have commented that our Ice-Flø project to bring a mobile live music stage in the shape of an iceberg might be exemplary of a shift interest toward more preformance-based music.

See what the Flo-Go camp is up to at the Ice-Flø site.

Indybay has a write-up about the Lotus Girls’ Serpent Mother on world tour.

The Serpent Mother, one of the world’s largest interactive fire sculptures, will appear at the Fire Arts Festival in Oakland (July 2007). Featuring 41 large flame effects, operated by audience members and/or a computer, the Serpent Mother is a creation of the Flaming Lotus Girls, a female-driven San Francisco arts group that built the Serpent for her debut display at Burning Man in 2006.

The Serpent Mother, one of the world’s largest interactive fire sculptures, will appear at two upcoming events: the Fire Arts Festival in Oakland (July 2007) and Robodock in Amsterdam (Sept. 2007).

The “Truth Burn” Project is scheduled to appear at B-Man ‘07 to raise awareness via a demonstration of the shady circumstances surrounding 9/11 and the architectural anomalies that occured.

Richard Gage, AIA, founder of Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth, and John Parulis are organizing the project.

According to IndyBay.org, Gage, who is a respected architect with much experience in the heavy steel construction, has been garnering some attention among other architects and those, myself included, who question the web of fallacies and inconsistences around so much of the official explanation of events on 9/11.

I’ll definitely be interested in this installation. Some quotes about the project at Truth Burn:

The “Truth Burn” Project is an attempt to refocus the National gaze on a specific side of this event- the actual theoretical mode scientists and engineers have proposed for what really brought down the world trade towers and building 7. This would be the use of explosives and the steel burning incendiary called “thermate”.

…By using a controlled demolition technique to destroy this artwork, we hope to provoke a wider examination about what really happened that day in September. We also want to demonstrate the speed and destructiveness of the incendiary, in a test use of the method to bolster the controlled demolition theory of a growing body of scientists, engineers and other professionals.

Found the Robot Rumble photoset on Flickr.

Couldn’t resist the ridiculous live-action cartoon of these wacky folks as the “BoxBots” do battle!

Maybe some will show up at the burn. I could see a BoxBot camp for Robot Rumbles!

Somebody launch this camp PLEASE!

The Steampunk Tree House folks are throwing a “Roots to Roof” fundraiser party on June 9th.

Featuring: Loop!Station, Mark Growden, Kinetic Steam Works, Exxothermia, Orion Fredericks, THERM, Copper Lantern Fire Theater, Dept. of Spontaneous Combustion, Jamie Vaida and the “Goes Around Comes Around,” Spy Girl Friday, Jeremy Krentz & His Tesla Coil, One Man Banjo, DJ Delachaux, DJ Halon, DJ D. Vennerbeck & His Steam Powered Mixological Arts, plus Special Guests…

• Art by Michael Christian, Ben Carpenter, Jamie Vaida, Steven Rademaker
• Sponsored by The Crucible
• Lighting by reFRACTion
• Admission: $15- $15,000
• Location: NIMBY Warehouse // 1649 28th St., Emeryville, CA 94608 //
  (between Mandela Parkway & Peralta)

ALERT: SF Pre-Compression Flambé Changed To June 9! - San Francisco

Saturday June 9th, 8PM to 5AM (no entry after 4AM)
21+ with I.D.
At Space 550 - www.space550.com
550 Barneveld, San Francisco 94124 (bet: Oakdale & Industrial)
$10 before 10pm; after 10pm: $15 in costume; $20 no costume Check tinyurl.com/yrlrjl for updates!

A UNIQUE PRELUDE TO BURNING MAN 2007…A COMMUNITY GATHERING OF ARTISTS, VISIONARIES, TRASHIONISTAS, PERFORMERS, DANCERS AND SPECIAL SURPRISES!