Oh, good...a chewing gum-and-shoestring installation.diane o'thirst wrote: Remember: MacGuyver.
Negative Burn
slipping further
yeah "it's what you make of it" may be true to some extent, and this thread probably does happen this year, but this was my fourth burn, and it's the first one in which a large number of my veteran friends said they only had an okay time. No, I didn't have a big theme camp, no i didn't volunteer like crazy, and if your definition of Burning Man says that i "should", please back waaaayyy up because i could care less about your definition and i don't go to all that trouble to get out there just to have your opinion shoved at me.
and i do like the suggestion about no new admissions after say Wednesday, though insisting you are part of a registered theme camp is way silly. ticket cap: I like that idea.
personally i found the way that the Man burned to be a little too blatantly telling. I liked the base in 2001 (my first year) best: plain and simple, and went up like a giant torch within seconds of ignition. This year it was all conceptually topheavy with all that look-how-arty-and-interactive-we-are stuff, and when it lit, the fire burned all off to the side while Man was largely unignited overhead. Enough of the bigshot pretense, put up a big old base, light that shit and stand back.
and i do like the suggestion about no new admissions after say Wednesday, though insisting you are part of a registered theme camp is way silly. ticket cap: I like that idea.
personally i found the way that the Man burned to be a little too blatantly telling. I liked the base in 2001 (my first year) best: plain and simple, and went up like a giant torch within seconds of ignition. This year it was all conceptually topheavy with all that look-how-arty-and-interactive-we-are stuff, and when it lit, the fire burned all off to the side while Man was largely unignited overhead. Enough of the bigshot pretense, put up a big old base, light that shit and stand back.
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Rob the Wop
- Posts: 1814
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Re: slipping further
Literacy helps, but in order to clear things up for you- No Spectators is written on your ticket. So I guess that means even the event coordinators think you should do something other than look at other people's art, listen to other people's music, and drink at other people's bars.schnoidl wrote:No, I didn't have a big theme camp, no i didn't volunteer like crazy, and if your definition of Burning Man says that i "should", please back waaaayyy up because i could care less about your definition and i don't go to all that trouble to get out there just to have your opinion shoved at me.
Enjoy the Budweiser and hope you, and those like you, kill off Burning Man quick. Lingering deaths aren't very pretty.
[b]The other, other white meat.[/b]
babble what?
uh, literacy helps? because I didn't read my ticket?
I put in my energy how I see fit, and anyone who thinks I need to justify my actions is a poor example of The Burning Man Spirit, as if that's something that would survive any attempt at definition. as someone once put so aptly, "any sentence that begins with 'the true spirit of burningman..', I really don't care to hear the end of"
if I want to spectate, that's my goddamn business, and if you don't like it, then don't look. you get your worldview off the back of a ticketstub? how utterly original. gasbag.
and i don't drink Budweiser either. in fact I don't drink at all on the playa, seems like a really stupid choice.
and, oh, if I had volunteered like crazy and was a shining example in your eyes, that would discount the majority of opinions I've heard from people that said they felt it was distinctly off this year (which I've heard before, but this year seems to be the consensus)? how long will that hold up? nope, nothing wrong, everything's perfect. Stick with the smug posturing and denial, you're nearly a Republican, sweetie.
ps >>and this thread probably does happen this year<<
I meant "every year"
I put in my energy how I see fit, and anyone who thinks I need to justify my actions is a poor example of The Burning Man Spirit, as if that's something that would survive any attempt at definition. as someone once put so aptly, "any sentence that begins with 'the true spirit of burningman..', I really don't care to hear the end of"
if I want to spectate, that's my goddamn business, and if you don't like it, then don't look. you get your worldview off the back of a ticketstub? how utterly original. gasbag.
and i don't drink Budweiser either. in fact I don't drink at all on the playa, seems like a really stupid choice.
and, oh, if I had volunteered like crazy and was a shining example in your eyes, that would discount the majority of opinions I've heard from people that said they felt it was distinctly off this year (which I've heard before, but this year seems to be the consensus)? how long will that hold up? nope, nothing wrong, everything's perfect. Stick with the smug posturing and denial, you're nearly a Republican, sweetie.
ps >>and this thread probably does happen this year<<
I meant "every year"
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playasnake
- Posts: 163
- Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2003 9:32 pm
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Rob the Wop
- Posts: 1814
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- Contact:
Re: babble what?
Whatever. Enjoy other people's efforts.schnoidl wrote:uh, literacy helps?
blah
blah
blah
end whine
[b]The other, other white meat.[/b]
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playasnake
- Posts: 163
- Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2003 9:32 pm
Re: babble what?
maybe if you had volunteered like crazy you would you have realized that you have been talking to the wrong people.schnoidl wrote: and, oh, if I had volunteered like crazy and was a shining example in your eyes, that would discount the majority of opinions I've heard from people that said they felt it was distinctly off this year (which I've heard before, but this year seems to be the consensus)?
millions of people eat mc donalds every day... that doesnt mean its good.
most of the people i talk to had the best year ever.
now DOWN IN FRONT DAMMIT!
e pluribus unimog
spectation
so lemme get this straight, if I bring art to the playa, I'm a great guy, but everyone who stands around admiring it sucks?
yeah you'll be missed
sure you will
you're more fascist than you know
yeah you'll be missed
sure you will
you're more fascist than you know
Negative vs. Positive
Some thoughts...
1996, part 1:
It was my first Burning Man. I came for just one day. I flew to Reno, rented a car, and arrived on the playa in street clothes--gray slacks and a dress shirt. It wasn't a pretty sight. A flatbed truck went by filled with people, and someone with a bullhorn yelled at me, "Go home! Go home! The Man will burn without you!"
1996, part 2:
At dusk I asked a passing woman to spray paint me white, then I put on strings of wooden beads I'd made the week before and taped glowing feathers to my fingers. I danced through crowds of people around the Man, interacting with everyone I passed.
1997:
I arrived on playa Tuesday night in an 18-foot truck containing my theme camp, the Hualapai Nuclear Power Station. I had a spot reserved for me on the Esplanade in the Blue Light District, the village I was part of. Larry and Marion greeted me by name, and someone handed me some Champagne. I walked out to the Man, whose legs I had built some weeks before, and looked up at my signiture on the inside of his ankle. Later that week, while taking a break from building my camp, I was ridiculed as being a spectator because I was wearing gym shorts and a plain t-shirt.
Here is what I learned from these experiences:
1) I learned never to judge anyone by their clothes/costume as that is not a good way to evaluate what they are contributing to the community.
2) I do NOT wish to fit in at Burning Man in terms of a dress code.
3) My enjoyment and fulfillment at Burning Man is very strongly tied to the art that _I_ bring, less so to what others bring. If I am successfully interacting with other people, and they are reacting positively to my art, I feel very satisfied.
4) First-time burners are my audience. Whether they brought anything artistic to the playa or not, they can still appreciate what I have brought, and that's enough to make my experience a positive one. If I inspire them to come back next year with their own art, that's even better.
The only thing that could ruin the artistic part of Burning Man for me is if the people attending stop showing any interest in art. It's still a helluva party, as John Law says, but it's the _personal_ art that makes it special. For me, BMan is a place where non-artists get inspired and start doing art in spite of themselves. I never felt like an artist until I went to Burning Man, but the interesting thing is that I started _feeling_ like an artist even before I did my first art piece.
See you on the playa,
Fracas
1996, part 1:
It was my first Burning Man. I came for just one day. I flew to Reno, rented a car, and arrived on the playa in street clothes--gray slacks and a dress shirt. It wasn't a pretty sight. A flatbed truck went by filled with people, and someone with a bullhorn yelled at me, "Go home! Go home! The Man will burn without you!"
1996, part 2:
At dusk I asked a passing woman to spray paint me white, then I put on strings of wooden beads I'd made the week before and taped glowing feathers to my fingers. I danced through crowds of people around the Man, interacting with everyone I passed.
1997:
I arrived on playa Tuesday night in an 18-foot truck containing my theme camp, the Hualapai Nuclear Power Station. I had a spot reserved for me on the Esplanade in the Blue Light District, the village I was part of. Larry and Marion greeted me by name, and someone handed me some Champagne. I walked out to the Man, whose legs I had built some weeks before, and looked up at my signiture on the inside of his ankle. Later that week, while taking a break from building my camp, I was ridiculed as being a spectator because I was wearing gym shorts and a plain t-shirt.
Here is what I learned from these experiences:
1) I learned never to judge anyone by their clothes/costume as that is not a good way to evaluate what they are contributing to the community.
2) I do NOT wish to fit in at Burning Man in terms of a dress code.
3) My enjoyment and fulfillment at Burning Man is very strongly tied to the art that _I_ bring, less so to what others bring. If I am successfully interacting with other people, and they are reacting positively to my art, I feel very satisfied.
4) First-time burners are my audience. Whether they brought anything artistic to the playa or not, they can still appreciate what I have brought, and that's enough to make my experience a positive one. If I inspire them to come back next year with their own art, that's even better.
The only thing that could ruin the artistic part of Burning Man for me is if the people attending stop showing any interest in art. It's still a helluva party, as John Law says, but it's the _personal_ art that makes it special. For me, BMan is a place where non-artists get inspired and start doing art in spite of themselves. I never felt like an artist until I went to Burning Man, but the interesting thing is that I started _feeling_ like an artist even before I did my first art piece.
See you on the playa,
Fracas
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Rob the Wop
- Posts: 1814
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Re: Negative vs. Positive
And THIS is exactly the reason that I used to go. You can find all the professional art you want in a gallery, what you brought to the playa, what I brought to the playa, enriched the experience of those around us. I would rather see someone ordinary become inspired to create than watch someone professional display the art they do on a daily basis.Fracas_ wrote: The only thing that could ruin the artistic part of Burning Man for me is if the people attending stop showing any interest in art. It's still a helluva party, as John Law says, but it's the _personal_ art that makes it special. For me, BMan is a place where non-artists get inspired and start doing art in spite of themselves. I never felt like an artist until I went to Burning Man, but the interesting thing is that I started _feeling_ like an artist even before I did my first art piece.
[b]The other, other white meat.[/b]
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Rob the Wop
- Posts: 1814
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Re: spectation
Nope. If you come to the playa with the expressed purpose of just standing around looking at everyone else's hard work- then you suck. Or, to be more accurate, you're sucking the life out of the event.schnoidl wrote:so lemme get this straight, if I bring art to the playa, I'm a great guy, but everyone who stands around admiring it sucks?
yeah you'll be missed
sure you will
you're more fascist than you know
[b]The other, other white meat.[/b]
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bryan koester
- Posts: 18
- Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2003 10:33 am
- Burning Since: 2000
- Camp Name: FKO's Ice Creams
- Location: oakland,ca
(I got an email from someone who suggested that the best way to discourage non- commited types was to remove ice, cafe and porto pottys. The cops can spend their time seacrching for playa deficators. No one who was not incredibly wealthy or commited could easily show up.
Personally,I think this would just cuase more RV's and playa slips)
Fracus, Thanks for the great story.
It brings back memories of my own first
playa artist school(rebar and rain) days.
It's disturbing to know that many veteran artist are not returning
to the desert for maybe good reasons.
But many veteran artist are returning and new ones becomming.
I found a lot of "first time" artist on the playa this year.
In a way, this is a great sign. It can mean that so many newbies
are learning to become thier own artist.
(even if I didn't care for much of it.)
More importantly(for me) is the notion that,
even if all of our community values do not surrive the population growth,
(Lets face it, radical self expression, radical self relience are pretty heavy concepts for many still intergrated into the matrix everyday life.)
Our desert fesstival IS passing a few ideas out into the world.
This can only help bring great things off the playa and bring them back into our everyday life.
I may have had a "not so great year" this time but that does not change that I still participate in a great thing. I'm not talking about the fesstival. I'm talking about why the fesstival exist. It is an attempt to fulfill and need.
That attempt is worthwhile for me.
It's so easy to be supportive of great change when your having fun.
More difficult when your not, but no less neccessary.
xxoxo
fucko
Personally,I think this would just cuase more RV's and playa slips)
Fracus, Thanks for the great story.
It brings back memories of my own first
playa artist school(rebar and rain) days.
It's disturbing to know that many veteran artist are not returning
to the desert for maybe good reasons.
But many veteran artist are returning and new ones becomming.
I found a lot of "first time" artist on the playa this year.
In a way, this is a great sign. It can mean that so many newbies
are learning to become thier own artist.
(even if I didn't care for much of it.)
More importantly(for me) is the notion that,
even if all of our community values do not surrive the population growth,
(Lets face it, radical self expression, radical self relience are pretty heavy concepts for many still intergrated into the matrix everyday life.)
Our desert fesstival IS passing a few ideas out into the world.
This can only help bring great things off the playa and bring them back into our everyday life.
I may have had a "not so great year" this time but that does not change that I still participate in a great thing. I'm not talking about the fesstival. I'm talking about why the fesstival exist. It is an attempt to fulfill and need.
That attempt is worthwhile for me.
It's so easy to be supportive of great change when your having fun.
More difficult when your not, but no less neccessary.
xxoxo
fucko
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buckethead alien
- Posts: 2456
- Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2003 8:07 am
- Burning Since: 1997
- Location: Wrong Island
Re: spectation
I say that the informed spectator can be great. I remember standing out in the deep playa at Mike Light's bomb photographs installation, which I helped install, and having an amazing conversation about the U.S. nuclear program with a naked vet who served on Navy ships during the Pacific tests. Did he bring art? No, but it's still one of my best playa memories. I love the spectators when they interact with those of us who do shit in BRC; otherwise, who'd we get our feedback from? Other artists are too busy most of the time.Rob the Wop wrote:Nope. If you come to the playa with the expressed purpose of just standing around looking at everyone else's hard work- then you suck. Or, to be more accurate, you're sucking the life out of the event.schnoidl wrote:so lemme get this straight, if I bring art to the playa, I'm a great guy, but everyone who stands around admiring it sucks?
yeah you'll be missed
sure you will
you're more fascist than you know
Buckethead, Buckethead you are like an Alien
Buckethead, Buckethead your head is like a dish
Buckethead, Buckethead sometimes you wear the Maybelline
Buckethead, Buckethead sometimes you're full of fish
Buckethead, Buckethead your head is like a dish
Buckethead, Buckethead sometimes you wear the Maybelline
Buckethead, Buckethead sometimes you're full of fish