A Clean Burn – Burning Man 2024

For the first time in several years there were tickets for sale until the last minute for Burning Man 2024. The mud fest last year seemed to discourage a few people. But this year was exceptionally nice, at least up until Sunday afternoon by which time we were long gone. From past experience, we’ve noticed we tend to burn out after awhile on the playa so we planned this year for about 5 days, arriving Tuesday evening with the plan to pack up Sunday morning after then Man burn. We arrived around 7:00 pm and after pitching the tent and building our camp we headed out to visit the Man. (click on images for full screen view – use browser Back button to return)

An other-worldly light-monster roamed the playa.

We also stopped in at the temple before calling it a long day and packing it in.

The next morning we were ready to head out for adventures with the DateTrike.

We quickly ran across the very shiny tall “Liberty” statue in deep playa which Ellen dubbed “Miss Liberty on Weight Watchers.” Preparing this blog, I like to go through the Burning Man Art Installations guide to be able to say something about the artists. But “Liberty” was nowhere to be found.

Some sleuthing revealed that the artist, Michael Benisty, is a bit controversial. Apparently his pieces are manufactured in China, shipped to the playa to be erected for “showing,” and then quickly sold profitably to art collectors. This rubs some the wrong way, since the Burning man principles abhor commercialization and commodification of anything, especially art. So it appears that his presence is tolerated but his work was not listed in any of the art guides.

Down the Rabbit Hole,  by Darrell Ansted and Katie D’Arcangelo from Boulder, CO

The theme of this year Burning Man was “Curiouser and Curiouser” so there were many pieces that evoked Alice in Wonderland characters. The “Dust Bunnies,” our standard DateTrike decorations, felt at home with all the rabbits.

Full of Tricks is an unexpectedly interactive jack-in-the-box-esque installation loosely based on concepts from Watership Down. Heather Laurie & the Hellions, Bend, OR.

The rabbits are all over the playa.

Ethereal Essence of Odin The beauty of this magnificent creature and the indisputable, genuine love, loyalty and friendship for all beings. Pintail and El Tapo of Walnut Creek, CA

While admiring this piece, a fellow approached and asked our thoughts. Ellen said she like the piece and the man confessed he was the artist. It was his dog, a Doberman, he loved dearly which died at 4 1/2 years old of a canine disease. He gave Ellen a very nice necklace with a medallion of the dog engraved on it.

Banana for Scale by  Caroline Kamm from Brussels, Belgium. The banana is used online as a universal measuring stick, to provide a concept of scale when photographing objects. Banana for Scale plays with the disorienting size and contrasting visual cues of Black Rock Desert, by placing a massive inflatable banana on the playa.

Rhinoceros 2024 and Mechanical Bull 2023, made from found objects and new steel by Barry Crawford, Silver Springs, NV. (click on little images for big images)

Barry Crawford is a master at evoking the power of large animals with his metal fabrications. The Rhinoceros reminded me of last year’s Mechanical Bull, also pictured. He looked good at night as well.

Mariposa is a 26′ wide aluminum butterfly by Christopher Schardt from Oakland, CA.

The swing gently rocks the wings up and down. Powerful classical music plays as the wings put on a wonderful light display. A beautiful piece.

COQUÍ, a symbol of artist NiNo’s homeland in Puerto Rico.

When you slip inside the frog you find yourself in forest greenery and hear the sounds of frogs chirping in the rain.

Hábitat,  by Mark Rivera aka Kidnetick from Santurce, Puerto Rico; to show the beauty of coexistence and community through a sculpture that feels like it is a living organism, breathing and thriving when whatever is living inside can live together in peace.

Prismatic Perspectives from the outside will appear to be a little house entirely made of doors and windows…but not just any doors. These doors have stories to tell… by Alyssa Oliveira, Alpine Artists Collective of Alpine Meadows, CA

I loved this little house.

The World Reimagined was created to showcase all aspects of African culture, creativity, and technical skills of the underrepresented, both on the continent and in the Diaspora. Project Aikido, London, UK

 “I’m Fine” speaks to a situation familiar to all of us, when we automatically respond with “I’m fine” to the question “Are you ok?” even though we might be feeling pain, anxiety or confusion deep down. Oleksiy Sai, Kyiv, Ukraine.

Naga & The Captainess, Deep in the Black Rock Ocean, treasure and cargo are streaming out of the broken hull of a ship – the Aldrovanda… by Cjay Roughgarden, Stephanie Shipman, and Jackie Scott from Oakland and San Francisco, CA

This was a major piece on the playa and focal point for art cars and performance. We negotiated the crowd to listen to the Black Rock Symphony and Black Rock Choral Ensemble perform here one evening. It was mobbed so we could not see the performers, but the sound system managed to mic the orchestra and the choir very well and they reverberated beautifully through the site.

The Temple of Together is about the light that emerges when we come together with all parts of ourselves and with the oneness we share with every other living being. Caroline Ghosn, Oakland, CA

The temple was glorious, one of the prettiest ones in years. If you need a good cry, spend a couple of hours reading some of the messages at the temple.

Friends, are where you find them. We met up with old acquaintances and made new ones. Ellen’s musical connections help out, and just about every bar is ready to welcome you on a hot afternoon. Across the street from our camp, I met Dan, K6FJ, a ham radio operator; his tall antennas to help locate our camp at night.

Burn Night was perfect weather and glorious sunset. All the art cars gathered around the Man. We parked ourselves near El Pulpo, the flaming octopus. the mans arms went up at nine o’clock and the fireworks started. Capturing the fireworks is not my specialty, but if you want to see some of the best in the world, google can help you find some nice videos. In the last few years, a giant explosion actually sets the man burning. I resorted to the internet to find the frame in a video that captured that moment. And… he is gone.

With a great burn behind us we were ready to head home…

and we were cleaner than when we arrived! That did not last, however. Our neighbor Dan across the street stayed for the Temple Burn that evening. His report:

“The temple burn was a white out. When it was over we couldn’t see in any direction. It took a while to find our bikes and we used the GPS to find 5:30 and Esplanade. We had to walk our bikes back. We couldn’t even see people until they were right next to us. We left Monday morning and the winds picked up to over 40 mph. I couldn’t see the car in front of us. Once when the dust cleared I was 4 lanes to the left. I moved over to the far right lane and even the flags along the fence, outside the passenger door, disappeared. If took 5 hrs. to go from the greeters station to the blacktop. Then there was an accident on I-80. It took 14 hrs. to go the 320 miles home. After all this I’m already planning for next year.”

And so are we…