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Academic meet and greet Fri., Sept. 3, 2010 at Burning Man

The latest Jack Rabbit Speaks, the official email newsletter for Burning Man, has the following announcement:

“GET BRAINY WITH BURNING MAN: A MIXER FOR ACADEMICS FRI 9/3 2:30-5:00 PM

Have you published an article about Burning Man? Written a book on BRC? Do you teach at a university or are you enrolled in an advanced degree/phD program? Do you have a subscription to academic libraries?

In short…are you a Burning Nerd? We want to meet you! Join us for a small cocktail meet and greet in BRC. Friday, 2:30-5 PM (location TBA). Meet members of the Burning Man organizing staff and mingle with other academics studying Burning Man from intellectual angles!

Please RSVP to academics [at] burningman [dot] com for your official invitation with location details and other info as it develops.

Can’t make it, but want to make sure you and your work are on our radar? We’d love to hear from you: academics [at] burningman [dot] com.”

I will be there, and I look forward to catching up with old colleagues and meeting new ones!

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The Great Metropolis Face-off, Burning Man vs. the Big Apple (and others), round 9: waiting in line

As a recent NYTimes article describes how norms about public space and waiting in line can change:
“There is a feline quality to standing in Indian lines. Certain parts of the man behind you — you don’t know which — brush against you in a kind of public square spooning, the better to repel cutters. (Women do less touching.) Still, this is no deterrent to cutters. They hover near the line’s middle, holding papers, looking lost in a practiced way, then slip in somewhere close to the front. When confronted, their refrain is predictable: “Oh, I didn’t see the line.”

But in a churning India, the line has new resilience. Businesses are becoming vigilant about enforcing queues, and a growing middle class, more well-off and less survivalist, is often less eager to cut.”

A recent trip abroad reminded me that, relatively speaking, waiting in lines in the U.S. tend to unfold as relatively civil affairs. Most people maintain a respectful distance from others and line up in order. (This is, of course, excluding the occasional tragic shopping stampede or bad subway car manners in the Big Apple.) At Burning Man, waiting in line offers social or artistic opportunities, with the inspired endeavoring to make otherwise humdrum waits memorable. What if your local airport applied such concepts? How might your experiences with going through security be different?

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Lee Gilmore’s Theater in a Crowded Fire: Ritual and Spirituality at Burning Man now available

Religious studies scholar Lee Gilmore’s book and dvd about spirituality at Burning Man, published by University of California Press, is now available. This book should appeal to those generally interested in Burning Man, as well as academics and students in ritual studies, religious studies, anthropology, sociology, art, and American Studies. Click here and here to find more links about her work.

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The spread of interactive art to Governors Island, NYC

Two weekends ago, I biked to the free ferry that runs between Manhattan and Governors Island, the latter of which is open during the summer through early fall. My purpose: participate in FIGMENT, an interactive art exhibit organized by local artists and inspired by Burning Man principles. After stuffing my bike onto one of four bike racks lined up in the carport part of the ferry, I pedaled my way around the island, stopping at art exhibits (plus a distant view of the Statue of Liberty) and performances along the way. Even though FIGMENT is now gone, the mini-golf course and other installations remain through Oct. 2010. A bike isn’t necessary to explore Governors Island (you can rent a bike or a multi-person bike); you can also easily walk the island by foot.

Here are two examples of the 2010 FIGMENT art installations:

Cradle made from an oil drum and military attire (like Rosemary's Baby cradle)
Stryofoam packing material recycled - a totem to consumer goods?
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Burning Man’s PRECOMPRESSION Sat., June 19th in San Francisco

For those of you in the Bay area, this is a chance to participate in a pre-Burning Man event in San Francisco. Bring your art, volunteer, and meet new friends!

“Burning Man presents a Mega-PRECOMPRESSION…
Launching our 25th BURNING MAN Season!!!
Saturday, June 19, 2010
8pm to 4am; Come early to avoid the line and not miss the fire performances!
At The Concourse Exhibition Center and parking lot next door
635 8th St (enter at 7th St & Brannan), SF, CA 94103

$25 Advanced sale here. $30 Door in costume/playa finery; $35 street clothes; 21+ over; Outside Fire Art & Sculpture Garden; Inside Art & Artifacts

Art • Music • Performance * Fire Artistry * Theme Camps * Art Cars * You!

A historic & spectacular night! Celebrate on the original Summer Solstice weekend it all began in 1986 with a fiery and festive Precompression event in the heart of San Francisco! Ramp up your Radical Self-Expression because tonight marks the launch of the 25th Burning Man season and we want YOU to pARTicipate!

Join MANY longstanding playa favorites! Look back at where we’ve come from and get a sneak preview of Metropolis 2010 projects and where burners are going as a global community and culture.

Music & Performances: Mutaytor; Copper Lantern Fire Theater; Soul in the Machine; Vau de Vire Society; Capacitor; MoPo; Nocturnal Sunshine; Space Cowboys (8ball, Deckard, Zach Moore, EricHz, Kapt’n Kirk); UBUV; Afrolicious; Pyronauts; Scot Jenerik; Hookahdome; Gooferman; Smoove; Fou Fou Ha!; Dex Stakker; Hybridz ‘R Us; Mancub; Bad Unkl Sista; ICON; Tom Jonesing; EO; The Fossettes; Hobo Gobbelins; Shredder Hoops; Metamorphosis Ballet; Imps of Sneth; Firish; Kiss & Tell; Dark Sparkle Burlesque; CaroLuna; Isopop; Monkey Chant; DJ Dragonfly; Vulcan Crew; Neon Bunny; Ian Michael Smith & Bliss Butterfly; Mo Corleone; Shovelman; Alt Tal; Justin Credible; Spiral; Magician Brad Barton; beatbox by One Mouth Band; Matt Jalbert; SatsiSonik; Whiskey Devil; Nancy Asiya Belly Dance; a Kidnap Fashion Show “curated” by Animal Control; and MEGA-many more!

Art & Artifacts: Jennybird Alcantara; Dana Albany; Maricela Alvarez; David Best; Bruce Beeley; Joegh Bullock; James Cole; Karen Cusolito; Dan DasMann; Tony Deifell; Chris De Monterey; Wally Glenn; Emma Hardy; Justin Gray; Flaming Lotus Girls; Flux Foundation; Al Honig; Laura Kimpton; Kinetic Cab Company; Lasers&Lights.com; Danny Macchiarini; Nightshade; Playaflies; Kitty Gordon; Jess Hobbs and Rebecca Anders; $teven Ra$pa; Pierre Riche; Mini Man & The Mini Man Crew; Brad Templeton; Todd Williams; Ben Zero; and more!

Art Cars & Camps: Playapus Corralus; Bed Rock Hot Rod Taxi; PhotoBoof; Tundra Bunny; Nautilus X; The UNIMOG; Black Rock Indie Fest; Peoples Spa; Workshop Corner; Earth Guardians; Little Shop of Horrors, Excellent Adventure Display, etc and HOORAY!

So, dust off that playa spirit and dress to express! This night is the focal point of a full month of celebrations and events leading up to our 25th Burning Man event and the year beyond. You won’t want to miss it! More info and schedules: www.burningman.com/special_events

Artists, art cars, non-sound theme camps, and acoustic performers still interested in participating, email: flambelounge@burningman.com. Especially string musicians to play unamplified in the sculpture garden after our sound permit ends outside.

To volunteer: SEvolunteers@burningman.com
www.burningman.com”

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The Great Metropolis Face-off, Burning Man vs. the Big Apple, round 8: disorientation

Black Rock City denizens quickly learn not to take their city for granted. A theme camp, art project, or landmark might be here one day and gone the next, disorienting those who rely upon such markers to return to their home camp. (A few may give up and choose to snooze elsewhere for the night.)

During a construction boom, cities like New York City also are characterized by transience. An empty lot or new construction often generates some head-scratching about what existed in that spot weeks or months before. Sometimes the changes are inexplicable, like the addition of a store devoted to plastic shoes to a historic townhouse. Preservationists still mourn the replacement of buildings like Penn Station.

For more changes in Manhattan, such as the conversion of Fifth Ave. from stately residential homes to stores/office buildings, see Max Page’s The Creative Destruction of Manhattan, 1900-1940 (1999, University of Chicago Press). For perspective on more recent changes, see Sharon Zukin’s Naked City: The Death and Life of Authentic Urban Places (2010, Oxford University Press).

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Burning Man film festival in San Francisco, June 12-13, 2010

For those of you in San Francisco, you have the chance to celebrate Burning Man’s history via film. Films include a documentary about the artist David Best, who constructed the temple that appears on the cover of my book!

Please read the official press release below:

“Burning Man Film Festival-San Francisco: A Unique Two-Day Film Retrospective to Commemorate 25 Years of Burning

(San Francisco, May 26th, 2010)—The Official Burning Man Film Festival will showcase 20 short and feature length films when it takes place on June 12-13, 2010 in San Francisco. The Film Festival will offer theatergoers a unique look at Burning Man through the eyes of filmmakers who’ve documented various aspects of the Burning Man event and culture throughout the years. Saturday’s “Then” line-up will feature films shot between 1991 and 2004 and Sunday’s “Now” queue boasts an array of films shot from 2002 to 2010. The festival will be held at the Red Vic Movie House at 1727 Haight Street, SF, CA 94117.

“This festival is a rare and unique opportunity to see Burning Man from the beginning,” said festival co-producer David Marr. “[The Film Festival] is a chance to see how [Burning Man] was created and what effect it has on us today.”

Program highlights include a Midnight screening of Juicy Danger Meets Burning Man by David Vaisbord on Saturday evening with a cocktail party, roving performers, and a grand raffle. On Sunday, David Best, known for his elaborate temple structures at Burning Man will be available for a Q & A before the screening of The Temple Builder, a film by Dearbhla Glynn and April Blake that looks closely at David Best’s life and work.

To view the Burning Man Film Festival-San Francisco program, visit www.burningman-filmfest.com.

The Burning Man Film Festival-San Francisco is one of several special events coming up in June to kickoff a year-long celebration of 25 years of Burning Man. For more information on upcoming events, please visit www.burningman.com.”

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The Great Metropolis Face-off, Burning Man vs. the Big Apple, round 7: living the dream

The Big Apple, thanks to a rehabbed image (i.e., I heart NY), now inspires visitors and denizens to live the dream. Visitors avidly pursue a checklist of the hot restaurants, coffee shops, clubs, museums, shows, and parks that they should patronize, lest they miss out. Others imagine that their social and cultural lives will improve with a move to the big city. For those of us who live and work here, enjoying NYC’s amenities requires effort, particularly when coping with a demanding career and other responsibilities.

Recently, two Burner friends and their 1.5 year-old baby visited NYC. Normally, we only get to visit while living and volunteering at Black Rock City, so it was interesting to duplicate some activities with them in the Big Apple.

Getting together with a bunch of people in…
…the Big Apple: everyone arrived between 20 to 40 minutes late due to public transportation, work, etc.

…Black Rock City: everyone rolls in on playa time.

Enjoying participatory art in…
…the Big Apple: We visited the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) where the baby’s presence triggered interactions and reactions that even the notoriously “odd” sociologist Erving Goffman or performance artist Marina Abramovic’s participatory art could not provoke. One person immediately bestowed upon my friends an extra, free ticket that they couldn’t use. Several patrons smiled at the baby, including two young women who turned away from watching Abramovic at work to interact with the baby. Two different security guards, a man and woman, both cooed at the baby. However, a few patrons displayed or verbalized their displeasure within earshot of my friends when the baby let out a few complaining noises. To soothe the baby, my friend pushed her stroller around me and Abramovic’s vehicle; she counted off the circles, in homage to one of Abramovic’s performances.

…Black Rock City: lots and lots of art, small and large, that don’t involve climate control, guards, or a bag check.

Finding a bathroom in:
…Black Rock City: relatively easy, just look for the colorful banks of portable toilets and bring your own hand sanitizer.

…the Big Apple: not-so-easy, after a fruitless stop at a fast food restaurant, we had to go to a friend’s apartment.

Learning about art-making in:
…Black Rock City: easy, just walk up to the artist and ask. Maybe s/he will give you a lesson.

…the Big Apple: possible if friend whose apartment you need to visit for the bathroom happens to be a working artist.

Commuting in:
…Black Rock City: easy to walk, bike, or hitch a ride with an art car. Bicycling is a lot of fun under the starry sky.

…the Big Apple: involves lugging a baby carriage up and down the stairs because some subway stations don’t have working elevators, triggering a group effort. No stars, unless you pass by a movie set on the way.

Our friends have returned home after a whirlwind visit; hopefully, we will get to repeat our activities in Black Rock City.

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The Great Metropolis Face-off, Burning Man vs. the Big Apple, round 6: pests

As mentioned by a comment to a previous post, the Black Rock Desert’s environment is so arid and alkaline that it doesn’t support insect or wildlife. For visitors who normally attract mosquitoes or are squeamish about pests and vermin, the absence of such critters can be a temporary, welcome relief. On occasion, however, insects inadvertently hitch a ride in vehicles headed to Burning Man, leading to unexpected encounters. One visit to a portable toilet ended with a monstrous, dust-encrusted grasshopper clinging determinedly to my pants leg, leading to a frantic, impromptu dance on my part to shoo it off, much to the amusement of bystanders.

New York City is a different matter. Cockroaches, mice, and rats are never far away; pest control products are displayed prominently in hardware stores and prompt feverish discussion about “effective” methods among strangers. Lately, bedbugs are on the rise, as explained in overwhelmingly graphic detail by this article (warning: very high in the squick factor). Tip: never pick up furniture or wood materials from the streets – if you do decide to take something home, do a thorough inspection for unwanted guests.

Black Rock City: virtually no pests, unless you count the large sound system or the person shouting on the megaphone near-by when you’re trying to sleep.
Big Apple: many, many pests.