B u r n l o g

I’ve lately been tracking Kinetic Sculpture Racing (KSR) and the derby-like DIY race events it fosters around the country. This struck me as an interesting mutual influence scenario with artists’ kinetic sculptures off the Playa influencing art at the Burn and vice versa.

Wikipedia has an entry describing the advent of KSR:

The Kinetic Sculpture Race has been an annual event in Ferndale, California since 1969. It began when local sculptor Hobart Brown “improved” the appearance of his son’s tricycle, and was challenged to a race down Main Street by Jack Mays. Soon, another twelve machines entered to inaugurate the first race. Neither Hobart nor Jack won; instead, the first winner of the Kinetic Sculpture Race was Bob Brown of Eureka, California whose sculpture was a smoke-emitting Turtle that laid eggs.

Today, KSR is usually about a hearty race over pavement, water, sand, dirt, and even mud. More general info about KSR can be found at Kinetic Kingdom which also features the Kinetic Grand Championship race.

Here are a few links to sites and galleries of these amazing projects. Go out to a race near you and bring a bit of the Burn to the “default world” and support your local kinetic sculpture racers! Better, yet, build your own.

• ePlaya’s Kinetic Sculpture Racing Camp, BRC: “Only once did we lose a Kontraption in 2007, and we found it near The Man within hours. The dust storm was no doubt a factor, which we understand. But do try your very best to bring the silly thing back, and if you cannot, PLEASE tell us where it is — absolutely no hard feelings.”
• Laughing Squid’s tracking of Bernal Heights Hill Soap Box Derby 2007 Photos and Bike Kill V, Chaotic Bicycle Olympics in Brooklyn
• da Vinci Days Kinetic Challenge, Oregon: “…get ready for our human-powered, all-terrain competition with road-worthy, mud-sloshing, water-slogging kinetic sculptures!”
• Kinetic Universe, Inc., Arcata, California: sports the motto “Adults having fun so children desire to grow older”.
• Baltimore Kinetic Sculpture Race, Maryland: “The eight-hour race covers 15 miles–mostly on pavement, but also including a trip into the Chesapeake Bay and through mud and sand.”
• Prescott Valley Kinetic Sculpture Race, Arizona: “…while the judges cast a critical eye on all entries for any infractions. Bribes were generously doled out and readily accepted.”
• Klamath Kinetic Challenge, Washington: “If you missed the 2007 Klamath Kinetic Challenge you must be kicking yourself. It was great.”
• Port Townsend Kinetic Skulpture Race, Oregon: Celebrating its 25th year of races!
• 10th Annual Kinetic Sculpture Race, Ventura, California: “Where Art and Engineering Collide”

…On the Playa!

Look for the huge blue iceberg with live and DJ music pouring out for the thirsty party folk. We’ll be having a good ol’ time!

Here is one sweet set of wheels. I’ll be sure to keep a look out for the Crimson Crow on the playa: SFist: This Crow’s Gotta Fly — A Plan For Burning Man

Check out the many picts of the Ice Flo construction in progress.

It’s looking spectacular and will no doubt haul in tons of writhing burners to bask upon our chilly banks and hear the sweet music that will pour forth on the Playa!

The Mechabolic, A Trash-To-Fuel Land Speed Racer Slug is a… well, er… Just click the link above and go to Laughing Squid for the best description.

It defies my words. This from the The Mechabolic Project site:

The Mechabolic project is a large-scale bio-imitative installation of hydrocarbon based fuel production, transformation and consumption. Our goal is to create a fantastical, bio-machine hybrid environment –a burlesque of the “synthetic metabolism” of machines– recasting internal combustion engines and petroleum fuels as their parallel animal organs and plant generated carbohydrate foods.

As a physical sculpture, the Mechabolic will take the form of an exploded assembly of digestive and respiratory organs, laid out across the desert floor, and mashed up with their associated mechanical metabolic machines (i.e. internal combustion engines, refining gasifiers, anerobic digesters, liquefiers, process tanks, condensation towers, etc.). All features and functions will be rendered in the aesthetics of human anatomical illustration meets blown V-8 hot rod fetishism.

Yet more from Laughing Squid today: “Topsy-Turvy Bus Tours US Questioning Budget Priorities”.

“The Topsy-Turvy Bus, lovingly known as Topsy, was designed to dramatically depict America’s upside down budget priorities.

Topsy is a brainchild of Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s and noted artist Stefan Sagmeister, and was constructed by artist-mechanic Tom Kennedy (of “Ripper the Shark” and “The Whale” Burning Man art car fame).”

The S.F. Bay Guardian has the full scoop on La Contessa’s demise, including words from the creators, details on the stolen figurehead, and other historical bits of interest.

Laughing Squid has reported the sad news of poor La Contessa’s recent demise by fire. No news yet on why or who…

More about La Contessa’s construction and Playa history
Designed for Smooth Sailing or Rough Seas at Burning Man by Sally Slevin

1. The first night, howling at the setting sun.
2. The tiny symphony created by our bikes’ dingy bells and honker horns as we tried to keep together riding on the dark playa at night.
3. Heard while in the portapotties “Oh no! Lollipop down!”
4. Man with Megaphone at 7am Wednesday morning “Open up your damn bars or I’ll come into your tents!”
5. The cruel joke of someone singing Guns and Roses karaoke at full volume, not realizing the music was not also being amplified.
6. The silence at the Temple Burn.
7. The beautiful girl singing trance in the Skinny Kitty Teahouse at 4 in the morning.
8. Drunk guy on Pirate Ship Cruise in reaction to Baby Seal Club’s music “Whooohooo!!!”
9. Hearing large groups of people cheering in the distance and knowing something exciting was happening out there.
10. The complete cacophany as you stood on the Esplanade – torchy sounds of giant art pieces belching flames, carnival-esque mix of various electronic music DJ’s competing, people yelling.
11. Free Peoples at the Easel Park brunch.
12. Fudo & Mahnkae waking me up at 2 in the morning Monday night shouting outside the van “Choklit! Where are you?”