Burning Man

''')'( is an iconic representation of The Man.
Because of the variety of goals fostered by participatory attendees, known as "Burners", Burning Man does not have a single focus. Features of the event are subject to the participants and include community, artwork, absurdity, decommodification, and revelry. Participation is encouraged.

The Burning Man event is governed by 10 principles, which are radical inclusion, gifting, decommodification, radical self-reliance, radical self-expression, communal effort, civic responsibility, leaving no trace, participation, and immediacy.10 principles of Burning Man

Radical inclusion - Anyone who can afford a ticket is welcomed and there are no prerequisites to be part of Burning Man. All participants are expected to provide for their own basic needs and follow the minimal rules of the event.
Gifting - Instead of cash, event participants are encouraged to rely on a gift economy, a sort of potlatch. In the earliest days of the event, an underground barter economy also existed, in which burners exchanged "favors" with each other. While this was originally supported by the Burning Man organization, this is now largely discouraged. Instead, burners are encouraged to give gifts to one another unconditionally.
Decommodification - No cash transactions are permitted between attendees of the event which is in accordance with the principles of Burning Man

. Cash can be used for a select few charity, fuel and sanitation vendors as follows:

Café beverages such as coffee, chai, lemonade, etc., which are sold at Center Camp Café which is run by the organizers of the event.
Ice. Ice sales benefit the local Gerlach-Empire school system.
Tickets for the shuttle bus to the nearest Nevada communities of Gerlach and Empire which is operated by contractor not participating in the event Green Tortoise.
A re-entry wristband, which allows a person to leave and re-enter the event and may be purchased at the gate upon exit.
An airport use fee, payable at the airport upon first entry.
Diesel and biodiesel sold by third party contractors
RV dump service and camp graywater disposal service.
Private portable toilets and servicing, which can be arranged with the official contractor.

Radical self-reliance - Because of the event's harsh environment and remote location, participants are expected to be responsible for their own subsistence. Since the LLC forbids any commerce, participants must be prepared and bring all their own supplies with the exception of the items stated in Decommodification.
Radical self-expression - Participants are encouraged to express themselves in a number of ways through various art forms and projects. The event is clothing-optional and public nudity is common, though not practiced by the majority.Burningman.com Event PreparationWhat I Saw at Burning ManThe event is clothing-optional, and public nudity is common.
Communal effort - Participants are encouraged to work with and help fellow participants.Burning Man: Participate Main
Civic responsibility - Participants are encouraged and assume responsibility to be part of a civil society in which federal, state and local laws are obeyed and communicate this to other participants.
"Leave No Trace" - Participants are committed to a "leave-no-trace" event. They strive to leave the area around them in better condition than before their arrival to ensure their participation does not have a long term impact on the environment.
Participation - Burning Man is about participation.
Immediacy - Participants are encouraged to become part of the event, to experience who and what is around them and to explore their inner selves and their relation to the event.

Art

Art on the dry lake is assisted by the Artery, which helps artists place their art in the desert and ensures lighting (to prevent accidental collisions), burn-platform (to protect the integrity of the dry lake bed), and fire-safety requirements are met.

Since 1995, a different theme has been created, ostensibly by Larry Harvey, for each year's event. For 2006 the theme was Hope and Fear and for 2007 it was The Green Man. It determines to some extent the design of the Man (although his design and construction, while evolutionary, has remained relatively unchanged) and especially the structure on which he stands (an Observatory for "Vault of Heaven," a Lighthouse for "The Floating World"). These themes also greatly affect the designs participants employ in their artworks, costumes, camps and vehicles.

Burning Man primarily features outsider art and visionary art, though a great variety of art forms are presented during the event. Creative expression through the arts and interactive art are encouraged at Burning Man. Numerous Theme Camps, registered and placed by the LLC, are created as event and residence centers by sizable sub-communities of participants and use extensive design and artistic elements to engage the greater community and meet the LLC's interactivity requirements. Music, performance, and guerrilla street theatre are art forms commonly presented within the camps and developed areas of the city. Adjacent to the city, the dry lake bed of Lake Lahontan serves as a tabula rasa for hundreds of isolated artworks, ranging from small to very large-scale art installations, often sculptures with kinetic, electronic, and fire elements.

Artwork is generally viewed as a gift the artist makes to the community, although art grants are available to participants from the LLC via a system of curation and oversight, with application deadlines early in the year. Grants are intended to help artists produce work beyond the scope of their own means, and are generally intended to cover only a portion of the costs associated with creation of the pieces, usually requiring considerable reliance on an artist's community resources. Aggregate funding for all grants varies depending on the number and quality of the submissions (usually well over 100) but amounts to several percent (on the order of $500,000 in recent years) of the gross receipts from ticket sales. In 2006, 29 pieces were funded.

Various standards regarding the nature of the artworks eligible for grants are set by the Art Department of the LLC, but compliance with the theme and interactivity are important considerations. This funding has fostered artistic communities, most notably in the Bay Area of California, the region that has historically provided a majority of the event's participants. There are active and successful outreach efforts to enlarge the regional scope of the event and the grant program. Among these is the Black Rock Arts Foundation (BRAF).

While BRAF does not fund any installations for the event itself, it relies on the donations from the LLC for a significant portion of its funding, and does facilitate presentation of work created for the event in outside venues as well as offering its own grants for artworks that typify interactivity and other principles and traditions the event.

Mutant vehicles

A Mutant Vehicle, often motorized, are purpose-built or creatively altered cars and trucks. Participants who wish to bring motorized mutant vehicles must submit their designs in advance to the event's own DMV or "Department of Mutant Vehicles” for approval and for physical inspection at the time of the event. Not all designs and proposals are accepted. The event organizers, and in turn the DMV have set the bar higher for what it deems an acceptable MV each year, in effect capping the number of Mutant Vehicles. This is in response to constraints imposed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, who grant permits to hold the event on federal property, and to participants who want it to re

Bikes

Bicycles and tricycles are extremely popular for getting around on the dry lake. Mountain bikes are generally preferred over road bikes for riding on the dried silt, which is normally hard but becomes loose with traffic. Participants often decorate their bikes to make them unique. Since lighting on the bikes is critically important for safety at night, many participants incorporate the lighting into their decorations, using Electroluminescent wire (a thin, flexible tube that glows with a neon-like effect when energized with electricity) to create intricate patterns over the frame of the bike. On the night the Man burns (Saturday), thousands of bikes and art cars drive around, creating a visual display similar to Las Vegas at night, except that the lights are mobile.

Temple of Forgiveness

In addition to the burning of the Man, the burning of a temple, The Temple of Forgiveness, has become an activity at the event. David Best's temple projects were ritually burned from 2000 to 2004.

In 2005, Best stepped aside to allow for another artist, Mark Grieve, to build his own interpretation of a temple. Grieve's temples were seen in both 2005 and 2006. However, in 2007 David Best took over the temple building duties for one last time. Best has stated that it is time to hand the temple over to the community, and in 2008 the "Basura Sagrada" temple was a collaboration of Shrine and Tucker Teutsch 3.0, built with the extensive help of their friends and the greater Burning Man community.
In 2009, the Temple for Burning Man was built in Austin, Texas

Black Rock City

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Black Rock City, often abbreviated to BRC, is the name of the temporary city created by Burning Man participants. Much of the layout and general city infrastructure is constructed by Department of Public Works (DPW) volunteers who often reside in Black Rock City for several weeks before and after the event. The remainder of the city including theme camps, villages, art installations and individual camping are all created by participants.

City planning

The developed part of the city is currently arranged as series of concentric streets in an arc composing, since 1999, two-thirds of a 1.5 mile (2.4 km) diameter circle with the Man Sculpture and his supporting complex at the very center (46 in 2007). Radial streets, sometimes called Avenues, extend from the Man to the outermost circle. The outlines of these streets are visible on aerial photographs.

The innermost street is named the Esplanade, and the remaining streets are given names to coincide with the overall theme of the burn, and ordered in ways such as alphabetical order or stem to stern, to make them easier to recall. For example, in 1999, for the "Wheel of Time" theme, and again in 2004 for the "The Vault of Heaven" theme, the streets were named after the planets of the solar system. The radial streets are usually given a clock designation, for example, 6:00 or 6:15, in which the Man is at the center of the clock face and 12:00 is in the middle of the third of the arc lacking streets (usually at a bearing of 60° true from the Man). These avenues have been identified in other ways, notably in the 2002, in accordance with "The Floating World" theme as the degrees of a compass, for example, 180, 175 degrees. and in 2003 as part of the Beyond Belief theme as adjectives ("Rational, Absurd") that caused every intersection with a concentric street (named after concepts of belief such as "Authority, Creed") to form a phrase such as "Absurd Authority" or "Rational Creed". However, these proved unpopular with participants due to difficulty in navigating the city without the familiar clock layout.

The Black Rock City Airport is constructed adjacent to the city, typically on its southern side. The airport serves a variety of aviation traffic, including private airplanes, helicopters, hot air balloons, ultralights, gliders, and skydivers.

Center Camp

Center Camp is located along the mid line of Black Rock City, facing the Man at the 6:00 position on the Esplanade. This area serves as a central meeting place for the entire city as well as contains the Center Camp Cafe, Camp Arctica and a number of other city institutions.

Villages and theme camps

Villages and theme camps are located along the innermost streets of Black Rock City, often offering entertainment or services to participants..

Theme camps are usually a collective of people representing themselves under a single identity. Villages are usually a collection of smaller theme camps which have banded together in order to share resources and vie for better placement.

Theme camps and villages often form to create an atmosphere in Black Rock City that their group envisioned. As Burning Man grows every year and attracts an even more diverse crowd theme camps are Black Rock City's own subcultures similar to what can be found in every other city.

Volunteering

The Burning Man event is heavily dependent on a large number of volunteers. Many of these participants donate their time and energy to the event

Safety, policing and regulations

Black Rock City is patrolled by various local and state law enforcement agencies as well as the Bureau of Land Management Rangers. Burning Man also has its own in-house group of volunteers, the Black Rock Rangers, who act as informal mediators when disputes arise between participants and between participants and law enforcement.

Firefighting, emergency medical services (EMS), mental health and communications support is provided by the volunteer Black Rock City Emergency Services Department (ESD).

Transportation

Commercial airports

The airport with regular commercial service closest to the event is the Reno-Tahoe International Airport in Reno, Nevada, approximately a 3-hour drive. An airport spokesperson said in 2009 that 15,000 burners arrive to the event via the airport annually, making it the second-busiest time for them. In 2008 and 2009, an information desk for burners was organized in Reno airport.

San Francisco, seven hours away by car, is the nearest airport with a high volume of international service

Temporary airstrip

A section of the Playa is used for a non-permanent airport, which is set up before each event and completely erased afterward. Pilots began camping there randomly about 1995, and once compelled to add structure, it was established in a form acceptable to the BLM in 1999 through the efforts of Tiger Tiger (Lissa Shoun) and LLC board member Mr. Klean (Will Roger). Though it receives logistical support from BMORG and operates an event gate and box office for them, it is technically an independent entity (theme camp). It is found on the Klamath Falls Sectional, using a CTAF of 122.9 MHz. The Black Rock Unicom is operational on that frequency during daylight hours. The runway is simply a compacted strip of playa, and is not lighted. Because of the unique air traffic and safety issues associated with the airport, pilots are strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves with the published information and procedures.

Advantage Flight Solutions operates an air charter service that flies to and from the Reno airport.

Shuttles

There are prepaid shuttles, originating in Reno and San Francisco, that move participants to and from the event. During the event there is also a paid shuttle between the event and the nearby towns of Gerlach and Empire. Exiting and reentering the event requires an additional fee, and is highly discouraged.

Other

Participants also share rides and hitchhike.

Criticism

Concerns regarding the "Leave No Trace" policy

Burning Man takes place in the middle of a large playa and while not inhabited by humans itself, the area around the playa is home to many animal and plants.

Supporters of Burning Man point out that participants are encouraged to leave no trace (LNT) of their visit to Black Rock City and not to contaminate the area with litter, commonly known as MOOP (Matter Out Of Place). Despite the BLM and LLC insistence on the practice of LNT, the amount of residual trash at the site has increased over the years.

Damage to the Playa

While fire is a primary component of many art exhibits and events, materials must be burned on a burn platform. At one time, burning was allowed to take place directly on the ground of the playa, but this practice allowed burn scars to form and was discontinued. On the last day, public shared burn areas are prepared for participants to use. While Burning Man does provide instructions on how to build a Burn Platform and what not to burn, there are concerns on whether some participants do not follow these instructions to the detriment of the environment and the participants.

Even water is not to be dumped on the playa, and used shower water must be captured and either evaporate off, or collected and carried home with each participant. Methods used for evaporating water normally include a plastic sheet with a wood frame. The playa dust often blows into these catch basins and some participants end up with a muddy mess to take home. Careful design of small scale evaporating ponds has become an engineering competition, to see what works best.

The Bureau of Land Management, which maintains the desert, has very strict requirements for the event. These stipulations include trash cleanup, removal of burn scars, dust abatement, and capture of fluid drippings from participant vehicles. For four weeks after the event has ended, the Black Rock City Department of Public Works (BRC - DPW) Playa Restoration Crew remains in the desert, cleaning up after the temporary city and making sure that no evidence of the event remains.

Burning Man and its effect on global warming

A group of San Francisco scientists are calculating how much the event will contribute to global warming. They have created the CoolingMan organization and have implemented a system that will calculate how much greenhouse gases Burning Man participants will create. The project has inspired many to look for positive ways to get involved in the global warming and climate change movements by seeking out solutions. The CoolingMan website suggests ways that Burners may offset the damage by planting trees or investing in alternative energy solutions.

However, in 2007 Burning Man's "Green Man" theme received criticism for Crude Awakening, the 99-foot oil derrick that consumed 900 gallons of jet fuel and 2,000 gallons of liquid propane to blast a mushroom cloud 300 feet high into the sky.

In an attempt to offset some of the event's carbon footprint, 30- and 50-kilowatt solar arrays were constructed in 2007 as permanent artifacts, providing an estimated annual carbon offset of 559 tons.

On-site photography restrictions

Despite presenting itself as an event promoting self-expression, the terms of the Burning Man ticket require that participants wishing to use video-recording equipment (including, in practice, most digital cameras) sign over copyright in their images to Black Rock City, and forbid them from using their images for anything other than personal and private use. This has been criticized by many, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

A Burning Man spokeswoman replied that the policies are not new, were written by a former head of the EFF, were used when suing to block pornographic videos and ultimately arose from participant concerns: "We’re proud that Black Rock City (a private event held on public land) is widely acknowledged as a bastion of creative freedom. [5]ut that protection participant's freedoms does necessitate the acceptance of some general terms of engagement when it comes to cameras... EFF seems to think that anyone attending any event somehow has an absolute right to take photographs, and then to do whatever they want with those images without any effective restriction or manner of enforcement. While we believe that such rights do make sense for any of us taking pictures in purely public spaces, this is not true in the private space of Burning Man — if it were it would mean that Burning Man couldn’t protect participant privacy or prevent commercialization of imagery."

Cost

While originally free, since 1995 the event has been charged for, with tickets rising in price each year.
A financial report and detail of expenditures is posted on the event's website.

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Copyright Citations

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