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Burning Man 2008: Building Black Rock City

posted by Scott Beale on Monday, August 18th, 2008

early burn

joe the builder

the long day

John Curley has been posting a bunch of great write-ups and beautiful photos to The Burning Blog documenting the birth of Black Rock City as it is being built by BRC-DPW for Burning Man 2008. John’s recent posts include Saturday’s Little Man Burn and the evolution of center camp.

photos by John Curley

Related Posts:

- Burning Man 1990-1995 Photos, The Birth of Black Rock City

- How To Experience Burning Man 2008 Remotely

- Burning Man Launches Burning Blog

- Bad Day At Black Rock (Cacophony Society Zone Trip #4)

- Flip Your Lid! Black Rock Arts Foundation Fundraiser

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filed under: Burning Man, Photography

this blog post was written by Scott Beale on Monday, August 18th, 2008


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    So funny how people often are in denial of how they like the intimacy of a much smaller burn, and a lot of these people work for the organisation who let it slowly morph into a giant rave, but still they organize a pre-burn for themselves... of course it came organically but still it feels like the week before is the best time on the playa really. More intimate, and just with the people building and creating something, no giant rave camp disturbing the desert or the night, at that time you can feel like you're with a nice group of people and in a special place that the black rock desert is.

    Just like in the old days, you felt like you were part of some cool kids club, when you're there the week before, it's the same thing. A lot of people who joined the organisation also wanted that and a lot more, I admit it of course. Sad that they haven't tried to push onto creating a week that still has some intimacy, and is more about creating something profound that dancing for 7 days all drugged out (and of course that's the not true for everyone. But the yearly census shows a scary little thing, every year 1/2 of the crowd is made of virgins,... can we still have 1/2 of those virgins bring back what we all found so profound at Burning Man beyond the rave?)

    This is more a shout for help than criticism. Burning Man has built an important momentum that would be hard to recreate with a small regional. The momentum is important because it's bringing $12 millions in cash this year. But still the organisation only redistributes $500K!!! for the art. And there's more than $200K that goes into the man itself. $500K is about 4%, that's ridiculous. As a community we're not investing $12M into this event, so that only %4 goes back into the art. You need a courageous leader to step up and decide to change this. It would be very easy to turn that $500K into a $1M art and other things budget. Simply taking used lumber and hay bales for the man will already free up $200K. Limiting the equipment rental and generators could free up another $250K. In turn there would be less paid work needed freeing up more money. We would need to look at the details all together as a community, but we can't since the financial chart is such general idea of what is being spent and how. We might even be able to raise the art budget to maybe $2M, but let's not stretch it, I trust our leaders to publish more honest numbers with all the details, so that we can help them figure all this out. Anyways $1M would double the "large scale" (large in size or in idea) artwork that we see out there... can you imagine. That would mean doubling the amount of people gathering and creating together, and maybe supporting new ways that foster community. What an embracing of the Burning Man culture that would be, can we wait much longer for this to happen?

    Other things need some renewal, such as

    But maybe all these things would happen if one thing would change. It's like in US politics, there are so many things to change.. healthcare, education, voting, military spending, but before doing so, if we were to stop all private funding into political party, then we would start to have real leaders, not just billionaires or actors, and then these other things would just slowly change naturally.. because they would get pressure from only one source: the PEOPLE that voted for them. Well it feels that the same kind of thing is needed at Burning Man... maybe if the leadership would slowly one-by-one step out of their roles, to let new YOUNG people, who still have the energy, and believe in the dreams, take over and replace the old and decaying guard, who might start to be more worried about their retirement (which makes sense, we all DO) than the Burning Man experiment. Let the YOUNG dreaming ones step up to the plate, and renew the experience for everyone. And let the leaders change from times to times. Anywhere people get old and tired, and we also get tired of that.

    PLEASE....

    Olivier.
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    I hadn't finished my thoughts... so just to complete:


    Other things need some renewal, such as the design of the city. It'd be nice to have seperate camps at a distance from each other.... maybe we could have the rave camps a bit further out, so they still can do their thing, and we can do ours.

    Another thing that needs change is the way it is expected of all artists and theme camps to have their piece/show ready on monday when the gate opens. WHY?? Why don't we let people join in the construction, be part of that community with real sweat. Be part of something bigger. On monday when the gate opens it's like crashing down from a night on drugs. You've been building, creating with others, and then it's done... you're just there to put on the show for other to watch. Watching is too passive... you need to GIVE again the opportunity for all to truly participate. Does it really matter if the shows only goes on for 2/3 days... no, the show is even more important if everyone that's watching it has been given an opportunity to make it happen!!!! And that's why John Curley who is writing this nice little essay is on the playa with us right now!!!



    And I should add, that you could get the participants to build the man and bring the used lumber. Just let them do it, it's their burn, isn't it?? Wouldn't that make it important instead of raising it high on a pedestal like a Christ we should all knee before?
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    “So funny how people often are in denial of how they like the intimacy of a much smaller burn, and a lot of these people work for the organisation who let it slowly morph into a giant rave, but still they organize a pre-burn for themselves... of course it came organically but still it feels like the week before is the best time on the playa really. More intimate, and just with the people building and creating something, no giant rave camp disturbing the desert or the night, at that time you can feel like you're with a nice group of people and in a special place that the black rock desert is.”

    I know of a few people that used to Burn back when there guns on the playa that haven’t been to Burning Man in ages that still love to go out to the playa for 4th of July. It’s kind of a secret tradition.

    “maybe we could have the rave camps a bit further out..”

    Or maybe they could have their own separate camp, 2 miles away. Call it the rave ghetto. I think you’re on to something, that sounds like a great idea.

    “And I should add, that you could get the participants to build the man and bring the used lumber. Just let them do it, it's their burn, isn't it??”

    I’ve got a one word response to that suggestion. “Lawsuit”

    Yeah. Not going to happen.

    Check your watch. It’s not 1996 anymore. My girlfriend was making fun of me the other day, she was teasing me and was all “Burning Man people have a hard time letting things go.” and I would have to agree with her. Funny because all this time I though the Burn was this cathartic release; you project onto The Man all of your failures, your shortcomings, your regrets. Then you spend a week being a fool and celebrating your flaws and seeing which of them will kill you first. Then you burn it. Then you have a brand new year to create brand new failures, brand new shortcomings, and brand new regrets. Maybe this time you’ll put them all up on a bitching 40 foot Aztec temple alter the size of a Home Depot. Fuck Yeah!

    But maybe it’s not about that. Maybe Burning Man is really all about people that have a hard time letting go of the past. It’s something to think about.
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    "“Burning Man people have a hard time letting things go”

    Speaking for myself, as both an instigator & participant of the first six years (in the black rock) its not that I have a problem letting go, its that I have a problem with what the event has become. Artwork & hard work of all the "true" participants aside, I think the core has been corrupted (IMO). It is now a business that masquerades as something opposite. This event was something that I & many others cared deeply about. In some ways many of us wished it had faded long ago & perhaps given birth to something better, something regional that effected each location in a more grassroots, creative/positive way. Just think of what could be accomplished if all that energy creating complex art/camps/etc as well as the financial end were focused back into the attendee’s native community…
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    As a participant and volunteer of several years, I say: oh puhLEASE, someone save us from the sanctimonious "It was so much better before other people got here" crap.

    So it got bigger, more people heard about it, and now there's music in some camps. So what? I thought part of the whole original idea was about freedom of expression, and to many who go that freedom is expressed in music and dancing. And here's an idea: instead of trying to force people doing things you don't like somewhere else, how about YOU try camping somewhere else?

    Radical self-reliance. Change your own situation instead of complaining about how much you wish other people would change theirs.

    Oh, and to respond to the other poster:

    "It is now a business that masquerades as something opposite."

    Y'know, I know I'm not the only person volunteering who gets really sick and tired of hearing that. Look: the numbers of what came in and what went out are posted publicly every year, even though BM is a private LLC and isn't required to do so. Here's a link, just click on your favourite year and then click the side link for Financial Summary: http://afterburn.burningman.com/

    Look at the money spent on creating the event, and you might notice that there's a hell of a lot more going on than just art funding.

    And hey, again with the radical self-reliance: if you really REALLY just do not have it in you to make the change you want to see in BRC, if you just can't get over how much everything started to suck right after the person behind you arrived, then here's a thought: go out to the desert during one of the numerous events out there that happen before and after burn week. The one right around 4th of July is probably your best bet, because then even if some horrible music person has the audacity to camp near you then there are multiple groups camping miles apart and you can just go somewhere else to complain about 'em. ;)

    The whole event is like anything else in life: you can make it what you want it to be, or you can sit around whining about how unfair it is that other people get involved. Your choice.

    Burning Man Was Better Next Year.
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    hey, thanks so much, Scott!
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    It's pretty interesting. I posted the same comment on the Burning Man blog, and my comment is still "awaiting moderation", while others who posted after me are already visible.

    I wonder why... I wasn't being obscene, I wasn't being rude.
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    "I wonder why... I wasn't being obscene, I wasn't being rude"

    The ORG does not approve of ANY kind of dissent.

    American Dream???
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    Woohoo, nice to see Joe the Builder (second pic, red shirt) on Laughing Squid! If you don't know Joe you should find him and say hi. A nicer and more ingenious guy than most of the incredibly nice and ingenious people who walk the playa and the hills of SF.
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    nice thread ... everything falls apart, 2nd law of thermodynamics .... an earlier generation had the rainbow gathering, recently was/is burning man ... a "next" will certainly appear ... is it true that microsoft is a burning man sponsor? lol, just joking, but it won't be long.
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    where is josh
 
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