2017 Art Theme: Radical Ritual

[trilobyte]

Beyond the dogmas, creeds, and metaphysical ideas of religion, there is immediate experience. It is from this primal world that living faith arises. In 2017, we will invite participants to create interactive rites, ritual processions, elaborate images, shrines, icons, temples, and visions. Our theme will occupy the ambiguous ground that lies between reverence and ridicule, faith and belief, the absurd and the stunningly sublime. The human urge to make events, objects, actions, and personalities sacred is protean. It can fix on and inhabit anyone or anything. This year our art theme will release this spirit in the Black Rock Desert.

Read more here, discuss below

[Chowski]

Virgin Sacrifice, fed by the customers of White Privilege Ocean. Finally, a theme we can all get behind. Let the blood of the Parasite Consumer Class lie thick upon the altar of The Man Temple!

[trilobyte]

Yeah, I guess being jaded and hating on others is one way to go... but not my cup of tea. I'm excited at the possibilities for great art, and am curious to see how others interpret the theme. I love the pagoda concept, but am not sure how I feel about indoor man.

[The Rod]

Oh yay now the man burn is also a temple burn. Let the shooshing begin.

[Simon of the Playa]

[Ano]

This is cool and all, but my hopes for a return to the skeleton man get dashed every year... I want my skeleton back. The man outline with clothes just isn't as cool, in my opinion.

[Eric]

As always, I'm "whatever" about the theme (sorry, the eternal theme is "Burn Shit and Blow Shit Up", regardless of the baggage that's hung on it), but I really hate the Man caged in the pagoda. I'm not sure who had the bright idea of taking the symbol of the event, and the beacon we all orient ourselves to for a week, and burying it in a building.

[Ratty]

Man in the cage. Not liking it at all. The theme fits right into my camps plans this year. If everything works out as planned it will look like we followed the theme. TBAnnounced later. (Not a secret, just not hammered out yet.)

[Traveller in Time]

So far the Radical Ritual seems to be to free the man

[Chowski]

Yeah, I guess being jaded and hating on others is one way to go... but not my cup of tea. I'm excited at the possibilities for great art, and am curious to see how others interpret the theme. I love the pagoda concept, but am not sure how I feel about indoor man.

Jesus Christ, dude, it's Burning Man. Lighten up a little.

This is a great theme. It allows plenty of room for the tiresome vegan yoga crowd to be earnest and annoying, for the White Privilege Ocean customers to pretend that their Selfie Vacation has some mystical component, and for the rest of us to make fun of them! Win-win-win!

[June Cleaver]

It is what it is. Carry on

[some seeing eye]

The theme is always a tabula rasa, no different this year.

The complex mechanical man systems in 2016 didn't quite work out.

I'm happy the man will be on the ground and hope that continues. Over the years the man budget has inflated just because. A plain man, feet on the ground would be my ideal. Simple, cheap, effective.

[Raoul]

I like the 2014 Man - maybe not the skeleton version, but with both feet on terra firma. Although I also am not a big fan of Man in a box cage pagoda, the theme is growing on me. Think of all that has been done throughout history in the name of ritual - some of it beautiful and some of it terrible and most of it somewhere in the middle. Other than possibly influencing what I make for gifts this year, I doubt the theme will have any direct impact on the Burn for me, but it does give a lot of room for interpretation that could lead to some really interesting art.

Hopefully, now that we have a theme, we can move on to more important business, like complaining about ticket prices.

[Doctor VonBacon]

I am.... underwhelmed.

I give this a hearty "meh."

[lucky420]

It is what it is. Carry on

Shuse me but that's carrion.


carrion

[Sham]

There seems to be some confusion as to whether the Man and the Temple are being combined as one pavilion this year.

I confirmed that these will be separate locations as they have always been in the past.

[June Cleaver]

It is what it is. Carry on

Shuse me but that's carrion.


carrion

Well allrightythen

Man inside walls...
They---->>>>> Fucked yer burn

[Dr. Pyro]

Third. Worst. Theme. Ever.

[Doctor VonBacon]

...and where the hell am I going to find a virgin in BRC for ritualistic sacrifice?

Does nobody think these things through?

[CrispyDave]

Same old theme...
Rituals:
1. Get a ticket
2. Get a vehicle pass
3. Bitch about not getting a Ticket or Vehicle pass
4. Find a ticket
5. Bitch about the theme
6. Bitch a little more
7. Bitch about Larrys friends getting their Camp-In-A-Box and tickets free
8. Drive, Drive, Drive
9. Build a camp
10. Party Rituals....
11. Pickleback rituals
12. Wait in line and go home.

If it isnt a ritual then you haven't done it before... Quit your bitching...

[Simon of the Playa]

1481072984041.jpeg (46.26 KiB) Viewed 12586 times

[AntiM]

Man in a Box.

Some assembly required.

[Simon of the Playa]

don't dream it...

[Simon of the Playa]

peep show man.

[Dr Helix]

Make the man flame retardant, but the pagoda highly flammable. Then we watch as the pagoda burns down to reveal the man in his glory. Then blow him up. Now that's theater!

[homo ardentum]

Very much in line with what's transpired this year...perhaps the Man comes from south of the border?

WE WILL BUILD A WALL AND BURNERS WILL PAY FOR IT

[June Cleaver]

Make the man flame retardant, but the pagoda highly flammable. Then we watch as the pagoda burns down to reveal the man in his glory. Then blow him up. Now that's theater!

Yes, yes!!, yes please. The kind of artistic expression "dat's da bomb!!"

[Elliot]

Make the man flame retardant, but the pagoda highly flammable. Then we watch as the pagoda burns down to reveal the man in his glory. ... ...

I once attended a small private event that was inspired by and paid homage to BM. They had a "Temple Burn", with a Temple of maybe four feet tall, which we could not see inside. It had a "mail" slot, and we stuffed it with written messages -- same concept as the BRC Temple.

When it burned down, it revealed a "Man" inside, made of stout steel, and of a design symbolic of this group.
Even blase old Burner me was impressed.

[Elliot]

There seems to be some confusion as to whether the Man and the Temple are being combined as one pavilion this year.

I confirmed that these will be separate locations as they have always been in the past.

Can you point us to further information?

I like the Theme plenty -- all kinds of potential. But using the word "Temple" for the Man Pavilion is surely an error? I hope, and halfway expect, this will be corrected soon.

[Sham]

Can you point us to further information?

I like the Theme plenty -- all kinds of potential. But using the word "Temple" for the Man Pavilion is surely an error? I hope, and halfway expect, this will be corrected soon.

I asked the question directly to a key person who builds the Man pavilion. I hope it's corrected and cleared up soon, but it was clear from my questions that there will be TWO installations as they have always been in the past.