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Story by
mtraub
Published on September 9, 2008 in This Handmade Life |
Photo by The wings photograph is a sculpture titled "Spread Eagle" by Bryan Tedrick. Photo by mtraub. |
At the end of this past month, I left the humidity and concrete of Brooklyn to camp in the desert of Nevada for the sake of art and the American Dream. I had just finished my Summer Internship at the Storque, and with some handmade buttons in tow, I embarked on my first Burning Man journey.
["Altered State" by Kate Raudenbush: The structure looks like the Capitol, but is composed of white steel carved in the style of Pacific Northwest Native-American imagery.]
The Burning Man festival is a week long affair, where fifty thousand participants make the pilgrimage to the center of an otherwise uninhabited desert. Large-scale art installations that spit fire or provide a climbing challenge sit out in “deep playa” while the theme camps that compose the “city” hold bluegrass jams, tuna melt-offs, and post-modern breakdancing.
[Michelle in a mustache, watching a fireworks show at the Flaming Lotus Girls' piece.]
This year’s Burning Man theme was the American Dream, which translated to covered wagon art cars, political tepees, and Alexis de Toqueville quotes. I camped with friends of friends, drinking pickle juice with whiskey, eating dolmas, and building shade structures in colorful tutus.
["Dr. Rainbow" and Michelle contributing to a mural on our ride back from breakfast at The Shady Waffle camp.]
There are a few central tenets to the Burning Man community, such as a “gifting” economy in which I was gifted from strangers an orange peeler, a necklace, a bloody mary. Litter on the ground is called MOOP (Matter Out of Place) and is swiftly picked up by any passerby. No one is allowed to be a spectator, only a participant. At Burning Man, I was encouraged to hug strangers, contribute to sculptures, and make the place more beautiful.
[Giant night wire man sculpture!]
Everywhere I looked, I was inspired. These artists construct giant glowing ketchup bottles from which to serve the masses fresh (and remember, free!) French fries, giant pirate ship vehicles that glow on the horizon and blast James Brown, or bicycles pimped out in fake fur and EL wire. These projects were clearly labors of love. The only motivation here is bliss, and consequently the results were high quality, innovative, and affecting. I couldn’t help but be reminded of Etsy, in this collective joy of making things out of passion, contributing to a community, and believing that we can help each other do more.
[Michelle amidst Gary Miller's "Papover Rubrum Gigaxiticum"]
For more stories of the artistic and handmade experience, check out This Handmade Life.
| Tags | art, Burning Man, community, culture, desert, mtraub, Nevada, sculpture, the American Dream |
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34 comments Login to add your own!
pogoshop
I've got to see this someday! I'd heard of Burning Man, but never seen pictures. The poppies are sooo... beautiful!
Next year we should have a giant etsy meet-up out there!
thepairabirds
Great article! I had not heard of Burning Man until recently, and wasn't sure what it was. I'll have to look up more about this. And, the installation in the last picture is stunning!
MZahradnicek
Some of my good friends went to burning man this year. I love this article for letting me see some great pics and hear some fun stories form what I keep hearing about.
ezrascousin
Cool! Burning man has been on my list of "places to go" for years. I'll get there one day, I'm still working my way down the list!
Vanessa
Yay! Michelle, we miss you here at the Storque, but glad to see you're having fun...Now get back to school! heheh
bluecuddly
FrucciDesign
glassredefined
Always wanted to go myself - someday, Burning Man! Thanks for the reminder!
tangerined
For the past few years it's been a dream of mine to attend burning man. Quite a few of my wearable headpieces have gotten the chance to go, but I haven't been able to make the trek yet. Thank you for the photos and sharing your experience!
I'm going to start a Burning Man savings jar this month. Here's to getting there next year!
So thank you, all the more, for including my little horns up there. <3
annettemusick
Sorry we missed each other at the Burn!! Look out for my article in a few weeks. :)
studio27
Wow, I am so amazed to see coverage of Burning Man here in Etsy! It is definitely on my life list....thanks for the great article and photos.
BabydollATI2008
It is always a good and eventful time when artists come together and share their creativity.
TheSingingBird
Great to read this article here! A family member helped to build one of the Burning Man exhibits this year and he thought it was a great experience, there are some pictures on the artist's blog below:
http://www.artfarmmotel.blogspot.com/
SquidInkKollective
Short and sweet article! Great pictures. Can't wait to go one day. We had some friends there, if you happened to see a giant LCD-ridden metal squid dome thingey....
mpaperarts
Great pics! I didn't realize the quality of artwork there. I wanna go.
sillylittlelady
My friend just got back from Burning Man and I just blogged about her today! And a custom hat I made for her :)
SkyBox
bamboobaby
Perceptions
AshleyJacobsen
Michelle, wow, beautifully written article :) You are so Lucky to have seen that art up close and create it, connect with those people, and that sky out there, wow!
KisforCalligraphy
Beautiful article Michelle! You captured the spirit of Burning man perfectly!
autumnsarrival
How very cool is that? Such amazing pieces of art! The poppies and the "Altered State"- WOW!
choklit
Welcome home, Michelle! I just made it back from the Playa myself... dusty but oh so happy. Just wrote a blog entry about it...
http://choklitchanteuse.blogspot.com/
Anyone who hasn't been - it's pretty much indescribable - just come!
xoxox
signsofmylife
R I G H T O N !
perusing the front page my eyes fell on playa and i knew immediately BURNING MAN
ah YES indeed it was and the fondest memories of my 2005 playa adventure and literally in my life came rushing over me and OH how i wanted to be there! It is S E L F expression at it's FINEST...fantasy world you NEVER want to leave!
G R E A T article and photos!
Thanks SO much for the R U S H !
corgizmom
this is breathtaking. I would love to be able to attend this someday...
hopestreetdesigns
merdinha1
shellmitchell
Burning Man was amazing this year! I'm looking forward to going home again next year. Very glad you had an awesome experience.
kmwatkins
waltersbeads
thingsbuilt
i'm more into room service myself...but I'd love for our backpacks to be hitting the playa. they're the perfect upcycled fashion accessory.
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