We all gathered, built our city, displayed our art, made our community with peoples of the world and finally we burned the Man. This year we arrived before the gates opened and were let in around 2:00 Sunday morning. We slept in and spent the morning building our camp. The weather was delightful when we kicked back to drink some tea before our first trip to the playa. [As usual, click on the pictures for full resolution in your browser. Each tiled group gives you a mini slide show.]
The DateTrike got us around pretty well this time, logging about 75 miles during our stay. But there were a couple of problems that needed to be addressed on the playa. A drive-axle pin kept falling out which I had to pound back in a couple of times, and some of the LED lights broke and required surgery. Usually the repairs could be made at camp where I had tools and spare parts. One time the pin fell out riding through town. I had to do a little bike wrestling and we limped back to camp with Ellen’s pedal power and the motor assist, but without my help. The trike’s built-in redundancy has proven to be valuable on the playa!
In the sunshine, in a dust storm, in town or on the open playa, the DateTrike did the job this time. Besides being transportation, we become part of the art. Back home, looking through the photos, I’ve found the Black Rock City – 2026 Art Listings to be helpful in identifying pieces and telling a little bit about them. I’ve kept my descriptions brief, but follow that link if you want more information.
This seems to be an unlisted art piece but that is Ellen and the DateTrike which looks like art to me. Far in the distance to the East are sails of the Chiton Chapel.
Many of the people we meet along the way want to talk about our ride, so I snap their picture.
Ellen played a gig at HOTD (Hair of the Dog) again this trip. Her friend Phil accompanied on a banjo uke, and she received warm compliments from an adoring fan in sparkly playa gear.
The first thing to visit is The Man. This year the man platform was a stylized tree stump with a viewing platform at the base of the Man. This gave the best views of the playa and the city.
Views from the Man back to town and out to the Temple. Arriving on the platform, we bumped into our friends Phil and Laura from Ebb and Glow Village. Laura found the best spot to take portraits in front of the Man.
The dust picked up after our visit to the man on Tuesday. Some art pieces benefit from a little dust drama on the playa canvas.
Titanic by Titanic’s End, Santa Rosa, Ca. is one of the monumental pieces on the playa this year. The ship sinks below the surface on a stormy dusty sea. Inside, the furniture floats on the dust, populated by occasional dusty travelers.
On our travels the art rises out of the dust. Eiffela Broken Dream by Philippe Maindron from La Gaubretière, France was one of the large pieces on the playa this year, as was The Gothic Folly by Alex Noerpel & Hunter Keene from New York, NY. Barely visible in the dust was Build Better Ruins by Alex McLean from Bellingham, WA. Finally, the whimsical google eyed BYTE: Chip and Terra by Jason Blanda & Andrew Lazorchak from Kinnelon, NJ stares at us. But we needed to get out of the dust!
In the midst of the dust storm, with visibility only a few feet, we literally almost bumped into a Dusty Corner of the Capital by La Famiglia of Oakland, CA with its Dusty Trattoria. Looking for shelter, we opened the door to find a group of Italians having a party and also waiting out the storm. Sometimes art and life are one and the same!
Eventually the storm abated a little. We headed directly into the wind and made landfall along the Esplanade. Once in the city we found our way back to camp. We had two days of heavy winds. The weather was cool and Wednesday evening brought rain that lasted through the night and into the next morning. The playa turned to mud and we were stuck in camp. Fortunately we had a good audio book to listen to, and I brought my ham radio along so there were a few things to keep us occupied while the playa dried up. The rain freshened up the playa surface. The dust diminished and the surface hardened where soft sand became more solid with a little moisture in it. The weather remained nice for the duration of our stay with plenty of time to explore more playa art.
Mundara by the Art Rising from Los Angeles, CA. A classic large wire welded art piece like we’ve seen often on the playa, this one enchants with its graceful back-bend and contemplative face. At night the art cars show up and make a party with the art and the fire of propane torches.
Elemental Dragon by Andrei Cirică and crew from Brasov, Romania. The artists assembled the piece from roots and branches found in the desert around Fly Ranch to create this organic piece with personality.
Notable art. Moth by Vitalii Kusaiko, Noginsk, Russia. The Oracle by Jean Collin-Satre & FAFA from Poissy, France & Berkeley, CA. Buho by Nicholas Palmer, South Lake Tahoe, CA. For They Know Not What They Do by Jai Hackl from Martinsville, Australia.
school by peter markel of Santa Cruz, CA is one of my favorites. Built from plastic soda bottles, the fish swim into the wind and undulate in the breezes.
More fantastic pieces worthy of more than a single photo, but I have to stop somewhere. Above and Below by Sean Orlando from Richmond, CA. Yggdrasil by Morten Ørtenblad from San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua & Roskilde, Denmark. Pandora’s Eye by Joe Di Marco & Hannah Yata from Wassaic, NY & Lords Valley, PA.
You don’t always have to be out on the playa looking at art. There is plenty to do in town, especially when the weather is not so good. The first morning Ellen found us “lobster rolls” for lunch, and an opportunity to sing at the Ebb and Glow piano bar. Evening with bad weather had us at the No Holes Barred Comedy Club.
There are many interesting people that you meet on the playa. Some just ride by on their pony unicycle, others you can talk with. We met Nina at school and enjoyed the sculpture. Jesse and Ellen chat with the Ethereal Essence of Odin in the background. YouTuber Jesse recently lost his Doberman and was there to seek solace with Odin. We met Sally Guzman, creator of In This Moment from Reno, NV. She was there to allow you to tell your story of loss in a safe place with one who would listen.
Yes, we were there having a grand time. We stopped for a break at the Disco Mushroom by Alpine Artists Collective
in Alpine Meadows, CA.
Correfoc by Daniel Nebot & Miguel Arraiz from Valencia, Spain – a stylized human silhouette. Penny the Goose by Mr and Mrs Ferguson Alameda, CA – the feathers made from thousands of penny coins. Fire Gnome by Fire Gnome Collective from Northampton, MA, Emeryville, CA, Los Angeles, CA, & Seattle, WA. The Council of the Animals, What to Do about the Humans by Quill Hyde from Tonasket, WA returns again to the playa where we saw it in 2022.
Sometimes words are art. The Golden Rule by Asher Amar from Los Angeles, CA spells the Hebrew phrase “ואהבת לרעך כמוך” — “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Sometimes you have to say NO by Darolyn Striley from Sacramento, CA, Chicago, IL, and Los Angeles, CA. Do What You Love was not in the art guide but seems like good advice!
The Sparkle Ponies line up to get their picture in front of the sparkly commercial art of Michael Benisty. As we have seen before, these art pieces are not in any of the guides from the Burning Man organization because of a reluctance to endorse commercial artists.
Bless my Meat by Dolce Remi and Esmeralda from Nevada City, CA. Note the hang glider flying along the trash fence. QUEEN: Quantum Universal Epic Era Now! by Sophi Kravitz and Ollie Tanner from Kingston, NY. The woman declares: I am 50+, I’m in my Power, I am Invisible, I give no Effs, I am Wise, I am Aging, Freedom from the Gaze, I am Becoming, I am You. Hero Armor by Zakhar Zakharov and Team from Kharkiv, Ukraine | Rotterdam, Netherlands | San Francisco, CA. commemorates those who left civilian life to defend the freedom of Ukraine.
Art at night is a totally different experience. Here are some nice examples. Zarvan by Gazelle Dasti from Reno, NV. Chiton Chapel byD’Milo Hallerberg from Santa Rosa, CA. Resonance Tree by Resonance Art Collective of Nevada City, CA.
Temple of the Moon by Moonlight Collective and the Temple Build Crew, Lead Artist James Gwertzman from Oakland, CA. As always the Temple is the spiritual center of Burning Man. It is a somber place or remembrance, grief, healing and release. The temple burns on Sunday night.
Art cars are part of the playa art scene even though they seldom get the official recognition of the sponsored art. here are just a few of the hundreds of creative mutant vehicles roaming the playa.
The Man must burn. The playa is alive Saturday night with art cars and bicycles bedazzled with bright lights and pounding out rhythms that blend into a cacophony punctuated with fireworks as the burn celebration comes to a climax.
And so we come to a close of another trip to the Nevada desert. We finished our pack-up Sunday morning and we were off of the playa and on our way home in less than an hour. Will we be back? That is always the question…
Squash Practice 