ePlaya

From the most recent JRS:

Update: The 2014 Burning Man Temple

We're announcing an unexpected change for Burning Man 2014: this year's Temple in Black Rock City will not be the previously announced Temple of Descendents. Unfortunately artist Ross Asselstine was unable to agree to the terms of our agreement and elected to halt the project.

If you contributed financially to the project, thank you for supporting this community effort. The Temple of Descendents Crew will ensure your contributions are refunded.

We are happy to report that David Best has stepped up and agreed to build yet another of his incredible creations for Black Rock City in 2014. It will be entitled "Temple of Grace", and we'll have design details for you very soon!

Wtf

It's a bit late to completely design and build a whole new Temple!?!?

Does anyone know if Best will need a phalanx of volunteers to get this thing done? Any one have any details?
What a shitshow.

Must have been a fly in the soup some where.. Don't think there is any way I could help..

Mods: Do you want to combine the threads?

Fishy! I saw this and was thinking about making a post about it, but I'm too newbie. I loved the idea of the Temple of Descendants. Is there the possibility of no temple this year?

I'm just seeing this now - I considered merging this with the other thread, but that would probably just make things more confusing (since the other discussion is largely just thread-drift on a larger conversation). For those interested in reading what's already been said on the subject (a few pages worth), click here.

To answer snardy's questions.

I couldn't tell you whether it's too late to build a temple or not - I've never built one. Have you?

My understanding is that David was not racing to the drawing board to see what he could come up with, but that the Temple Of Grace was already a complete design that had already been reviewed.

Having built more temples at Burning Man than any other artist, I'm pretty sure David has an idea of what he'll need in order to pull off the project. I don't know the details of the size of his team or any volunteer needs, but will speculate that the teams will be largely the same (Ross Asselstine had been a part of David's crews since 2002, and the project was being built by the same family of builders).

@Christian - no there is not. As mentioned in that same JRS, David Best and the temple builders will be bringing the Temple Of Grace to the playa.

Expect to see some additional details about David Best's plans for the Temple Of Grace in the very near future.

Will they recycle the idea of the Temple of Descendants? For some reason I really like that theme.

I suspect that whoever does the temple in any particular idea will have their own idea of what to call it. If this same team does it, I expect that they will change the name as a way to put this behind them.

I am, however, talking through my hat.

Ross Asselstine posted an explanation on his fundraiser page of what the issue was - he felt that he could not shoulder the personal financial risk if fundraising failed, as the org was requiring that as part of the contract since they were paying for much but not all of it, and he specifically had an issue with the contract requirement that he was shouldering legal responsibility if someone was injured in the temple, he felt it should be covered by the og's insurance.

don't build it: and watch as everyone walks out there and just stands, waiting.
wow, with that ,I had this thought of not building it, and then, seeing people, who really want it, just starting to make stuff, big, small, pretty, stupid, heretical and reverent..........I wonder what, if anything, would appear?

No, it won't be a rehash of Ross' design. Aside from being really weak to rip off another artist's work, David's a pretty creative guy who had already worked up his own elaborate design. Being new to the event, you may not be familiar with his work. Spend more than three minutes searching for DAVID BEST TEMPLE BURNING MAN in google image search, you'll find a ridiculous number of amazing images of his spectacular creations.

Plus we have the Temple of Embrace...which will be amazing. Let's hope Mr. Best doesn't get a DUI this year

dj_john69 wrote:Plus we have the Temple of Embrace...which will be amazing. Let's hope Mr. Best doesn't get a DUI this year

Let's not call it the Temple of Embrace. The project is just called Embrace. I'm afraid their little publicity campaign might convince people that it actually is the temple and detract from purpose of the actual temple.

watchyourfeet wrote: I'm afraid their little publicity campaign might convince people that it actually is the temple and detract from purpose of the actual temple.

This would make me extremely happy. Not to knock David Best, or raise Embrace, but I love the idea of the Temple concept being taken down a peg or two.

VultureChow wrote:

watchyourfeet wrote: I'm afraid their little publicity campaign might convince people that it actually is the temple and detract from purpose of the actual temple.

This would make me extremely happy. Not to knock David Best, or raise Embrace, but I love the idea of the Temple concept being taken down a peg or two.

Ha okay, to each their own. I just didn't like that the Embrace crew was campaigning to be the temple and seemed to have people convinced that they were going to be the temple long before it was chosen. Maybe they would have been selected if they hadn't tried to force their way in.

andy wrote:Ross Asselstine posted an explanation on his fundraiser page of what the issue was - he felt that he could not shoulder the personal financial risk if fundraising failed, as the org was requiring that as part of the contract since they were paying for much but not all of it, and he specifically had an issue with the contract requirement that he was shouldering legal responsibility if someone was injured in the temple, he felt it should be covered by the og's insurance.

If true, that's so unreasonable of the org that I have to question if Ross is telling the whole story. I mean, who in his or her right mind would build one of the few 'official' structures of BM, for BM, for free, and the offer to shoulder both the risk of it not being funded AND any liability risk? I'd walk away too.

I was personally really stoked to hear this because I think David Best' temples are the best. It sucks that there is change, but I'm welcoming this change with open arms and am just as confident as ever that this will be another epic David Best piece of art.

DrYes wrote:

andy wrote:Ross Asselstine posted an explanation on his fundraiser page of what the issue was - he felt that he could not shoulder the personal financial risk if fundraising failed, as the org was requiring that as part of the contract since they were paying for much but not all of it, and he specifically had an issue with the contract requirement that he was shouldering legal responsibility if someone was injured in the temple, he felt it should be covered by the og's insurance.

If true, that's so unreasonable of the org that I have to question if Ross is telling the whole story. I mean, who in his or her right mind would build one of the few 'official' structures of BM, for BM, for free, and the offer to shoulder both the risk of it not being funded AND any liability risk? I'd walk away too.

Agreed. There's something missing to the story...

Really? This doesn't surprise me at all. Nor are a lot of other people surprised that this is how the admin side of temple works from the discussions I've seen elsewhere on the web. In fact one of the most common responses I've seen is "how did he not know this is how it works before he got so far into it?!"

Fair enough. I applaud David Best for taking that kind of risk on himself for so long, and stepping up to do so again.

remi wrote:I was personally really stoked to hear this because I think David Best' temples are the best. It sucks that there is change, but I'm welcoming this change with open arms and am just as confident as ever that this will be another epic David Best piece of art.

I have to agree, watching BM videos and pics for the last 10 years I've always loved Best's temples and always wanted to see one and was a little disappointed that he wasn't going to be making one this year. then the day before my birthday they announced that he is the builder this year after all.

Simon of the Playa wrote:THREE CHEERS FOR THE GIANT VAGINA!!!

ah yes...



"Belgian Waffle 2.0"



"The Giant Vagina" has legs....

I think I've seen that hat in some old Hindi tapestries!

Yoni Yurt.

It's a schtuppa stupa.

VultureChow wrote:

watchyourfeet wrote: I'm afraid their little publicity campaign might convince people that it actually is the temple and detract from purpose of the actual temple.

This would make me extremely happy. Not to knock David Best, or raise Embrace, but I love the idea of the Temple concept being taken down a peg or two.

I agree. I cringe reading articles that describe it as the spiritual center of burners etc. it makes us sound like some kind of cult.

^This^


i remember when there wasn't a "temple".


we got to pick our place of "spirituality".....silence and an imposed "respect" can go fuck itself.


seriously, fuck that shit....last year i pulled a prank at the temple with an amplified tickle me elmo doll. i may have pissed off some people, but you know what?


TOUGH FUCKING TITTIES....it's BURNING MAN FOR G*D's sake and NOTHING IS SACRED EXCEPT THE DUST AND THE DESERT THE SKY AND THE SUN.


freebird, baby, freebird.

you forgot FIRE. it's sacred....





oh yeah, one more aside about sacred.


"sacred dance"....yeah, whatever...you can call it sacred dance, but it's a bunch of ravers wearing white fucking linen, so Get The Fuck Over your california selves.

Cranky This Morning, Aren't We?


now THERE is the simon we all cringe when we see what he has written...finally.......



it's been way too kumbaya.

Either everything is sacred or nothing is sacred.........make up my mind!!!!!!!!!!!!