Karl "Baba'' Bralich's 2006 Burning Man Images

[karlbaba]

Karl "Baba'' Bralich's 2006 Burning Man Images are posted here.

http://www.printroom.com/ViewGallery.as ... _id=495856

A few more to come.

Hope you all had as great a time as I did and look forward to meeting more great beings next year.

Peace and Love to all

Karl

[Will]

Pictures listed on http://www.printroom.com/
Do you have a comercial permit for those photos?

[Kinetic IV]

How nice...people bust their asses and spend thousands of dollars to build all the art...then someone else comes along with a camera and snaps pics, puts 'em up on the web and makes money off it?

That sucks. And the token 10% donation doesn't make it look any better either.

[karlbaba]

Thanks for asking before flaming Will

I do

and I asked and received a particular stipulation in order to sell them via my online gallery.

Still, I'd be happy to discuss issues of capitalist exploitation of Burning Man once this topic reaches the bottom of the front page

;-)

Peace and love

Karl

[karlbaba]

[quote="Kinetic IV"]How nice...people bust their asses and spend thousands of dollars to build all the art...then someone else comes along with a camera and snaps pics, puts 'em up on the web and makes money off it?

That sucks. And the token 10% donation doesn't make it look any better either.[/quote]

It's worse and better than that. My burning man contract demands a 10% contribution but seems to exempt art gallery sales of which my online gallery is borderline. So rather than being generous, I'm only giving the organization the benefit of the doubt.

On the other hand, so far I've spent far more time and money providing free cds and digital files to the artists themselves than I've made selling prints. Most are very happy to receive the images and It's amazing how many werent' able to take their own pictures and how the amateurs out there didn't manage to track them down to give them copies.

(side note, if anybody's art car isn't credited or any artists pictured want files, please drop me some contact info)

and also, those great ass busting artists often sell their work after showing it at Burning Man. A good photo helps them do it and supports the arts for all of us.

Still, it's a valid question. Where do you draw the line on commerce?

Peace

Karl

[Kinetic IV]

The first post left it wide open to intrepretation so I just called it as I saw it. Your second post goes in depth and explains you have permission and the extra things you're doing. That sets things right.

Yeah my post was hot...but it got an explanation from you that will keep you from being nuked by some of the others around here...

As for the commerce question I have a much harder view on it than most do...I get pissed at the food carts setup in Gerlach after the event and the ticket scalpers and such...so I'm not the best person to ask that question of. I'm sure others will weigh in on it though.

And thanks for going out of your way to credit the artists and help them out. People pour their heart, soul, and wallets into this stuff and to have someone come in and make money off their work...it's worth speaking up for. Today it's the playa artists...tomorrow it could be your work that's involved. And I honestly do apologize for being so hostile....I do need to chill out a bit.

[karlbaba]

No worries about the hostility. I love ya!

and you were defending something you're passionate about. It takes some practice to hone the most effective way of dealing with folks you disagree with.

I'm kind of a mountain hermit in a way. It's ironic that I found out one of my old rockclimbing partners was seriously involved with the Conexus Cathedral. Never know who you are going to meet, or remeet.

I didn't want to post the commercial details in my first post since I thought that would be even more commercial and wanted folks who just wanted to look at images to have that opportunity without being "sold"

Sometimes these discussions are like bumping into someone accidentally on the dancefloor. You can wind up with a smile and a friend

Peace

Karl

[the fire elf]

Still, it's a valid question. Where do you draw the line on commerce?

i find this dialogue within myself as well...

and once again i find myself looking to the myriad of directions a dictionary splits words into...

1. an interchange of goods or commodities, esp. on a large scale between different countries (foreign commerce) or between different parts of the same country (domestic commerce); trade; business.
2. social relations, esp. the exchange of views, attitudes, etc.
3. sexual intercourse.
4. intellectual or spiritual interchange; communion.


2, 3, & 4 feel to be at the crux of my human experience, seeming to encompass the scope of my desires and fruitions; of sensing others, other's expressions, and my own role to create within that context...

1 feels alien...doesn't feel like it fits into my perception of the role of life and nature on this planet...on the playa or off...

and so i sit...philosophically having painted myself in a corner in the midst of people who would like nothing more than for me to show myself to be a productive citizen...

1. a native or naturalized member of a state or nation who owes allegiance to its government and is entitled to its protection (distinguished from alien).
2. an inhabitant of a city or town, esp. one entitled to its privileges or franchises.
3. an inhabitant, or denizen: The deer is a citizen of our woods.
4. a civilian, as distinguished from a soldier, police officer, etc.


i say 'let them wait until my way is clear'...

what say you?

[karlbaba]

I don't think there is a "right" answer although there may be wrong answers.

I can say this much, before I went to Burning Man, but now even more inspired by Burning Man, my business is inspired by human and spiritual values rather than by maximizing my profit.

If my prices are too high for the means of someone, I try to make them affordable. If a special cause needs a favor, I'm often there. My "Climbing" gallery is currently donating all profits to a medical fund for a climbing acquaintnace who broke his neck, and next week a museum has a 24x30 print that I donated go up for a charity auction.

I don't mean to sound to brag but maybe that information could be an example to those wrestling to interface with the default economy.

I'm not a saint, but I know my heart's in the right place. I find ways to do better, but try to nourish myself when I can.

I figure that's probably good enough except for ethical purists who I'm not actually working with.

Peace and respect

Karl

[the fire elf]

I'm not a saint, but I know my heart's in the right place. I find ways to do better, but try to nourish myself when I can.

I figure that's probably good enough except for ethical purists who I'm not actually working with.

Peace and respect

(i hear he's coming back with fire)

[Sensei]

Nice work, Baba. Really nice work.

[mikenmar]

How nice...people bust their asses and spend thousands of dollars to build all the art...then someone else comes along with a camera and snaps pics, puts 'em up on the web and makes money off it?

That sucks. And the token 10% donation doesn't make it look any better either.

Yeah, someone just "comes along with a camera and snaps pics...."

You obviously don't know the first thing about photography. I did a lot of photography at BM too, and let me tell you something: Putting aside the fact that photography IS art, good photography requires a helluva lot of ass-busting.

I can't tell you how many hours I put in walking all over the playa, lugging my camera and tripod. Then the were the hours I put in editing and processing my photos. Not to mention the thousands of dollars I put into my gear in the first place, only to subject it to the harshness of the desert dust.

And my work didn't even come close to Karl's in terms of artistic quality. Look at the light he gets: The majority of those photos were taken right around dusk or dawn. And there's a lot of them. I'd hazard a guess that he spent just about every dusk & dawn throughout the whole week doing nothing but lining up great shots, while everyone else was out partying.

Karl -- Your stuff is pristine. Really, really beautiful. You should know that some people out here have some appreciation for all the work you put into it.

[Kinetic IV]

I do know a minor thing or two about photography so I'm going to ignore that comment. My gripe was about someone potentially profiting off the work of others. That concern was addressed...if you read the thread you would have seen my apology for the earlier post along with an explanation of where I was coming from.

[mikenmar]

My gripe was about someone potentially profiting off the work of others.

RIght -- because we all know how easy it is to make money off photography...

[Kinetic IV]

Depending on your area of specialty there is some money to be made. Keep in mind that these images are from an event that stresses NO COMMERCE and that goes to extra efforts to control the media and the work of professional photographers....with that in mind I raised my objection. After the poster said he had official permission from the ORG to do what he was doing I backed off, apologized, and considered the issue closed until you came along.

Now unless you have some kind of point, agenda, or are trying to become the eplaya's latest troll go find another thread to comment on, perhaps get involved in the theme camp sound discussion and leave me alone.

[the fire elf]

My gripe was about someone potentially profiting off the work of others.

ventures a guess that any perceived profit you've ever made in your life was available to you solely due to the work of others...

[the fire elf]

an event that stresses NO COMMERCE

this is also "commerce":

2. social relations, esp. the exchange of views, attitudes, etc.
3. sexual intercourse.
4. intellectual or spiritual interchange; communion.


can we clarify the stress?

[the fire elf]

easy

ease is not the question...

principles of individuals when weighed against the principles of the event is...

least in my "un-Orthodoxly-medicated" perspective...

[gyre]

I think burning man is all commerce, but it's in a form strange to most of us.
Universal reciprocity.
Everyone gives what they can, and so does everyone else in return.
Those who give more, artistically or otherwise, gain praise and social status.
And if a Tuna Guy or Uchrion needed some particular item and asked you for it, how deep would you dig for it?
Now, how hard would you look, if it was some wasted raver wandering in looking for the same thing?
And next time you see one, hug a dpw guy.
If enough people do it, it might make them a little nuts.

While we're on the subject, anybody want to buy a "No Commerce Zone" tshirt?
Kinetic, you've got to have one.

[karlbaba]

I appreciate the different culture and perspective that "commerce-free" and gifting give to Burning Man.

Obviously we go back to a money economy when the Burn is over.

Stuff that gets sold before and after Burning Man is a grey area. Hopefully at least the spirit and lessons of Burning Man get applied to our everyday business. I'm still mailing out CDs and images to the folks involved.

I wrote a trip report that shares some of my perspective on Burning Man including Commerce. CHeck it out here

http://peaklightimages.com/dragon

Peace and LOve

Karl

[madmatt]

Karl "Baba'' Bralich's 2006 Burning Man Images are posted here.

http://www.printroom.com/ViewGallery.as ... _id=495856

A few more to come.

Hope you all had as great a time as I did and look forward to meeting more great beings next year.

Peace and Love to all

Karl

I'm printing out your pictures and selling them as postcards. I'll send you 10 % of the sales so you can donate it this great new charity called "Don'tFuckingCommercializeBurningMan.com"

How's that sound?

.

[the fire elf]

if a bird in the forest sleeps on a tree stuck by lightening and falls to the ground dead, there is a worm in the soil much blessed by the nurishment

say the tree stood between two knolls, each inhabited by trolls who enjoyed a mutual affinity towards the fowl, as it often carried messages between the two

one became embittered and retaliatory, feeling the loss of not only the friend but the communication with the other as well; he got an ulcer and irritable bowel syndrome

the other became reverent and inspired, feeling the conversation could not have come to a more natural close; he got out his art supplies


retaliatory; retail
[Middle English, from Anglo-Norman, variant of Old French, piece cut off, from retaillier, to cut up : re-, re- + tailler, to cut; see tailor.]


WWGMD?

(what would green man do?)

[blyslv]

Do you need viagra when you mastubrate?

[the fire elf]

mastubrate?

were you diddling yourself when you attempted to communicate?

[the fire elf]

[elizabethpwalker]

the person got a comercial permit for the use an в sell of photos. so why are people flaming up about it?

[AntiM]

Why did you revive a five year old thread?

[karlbaba]

I forgot about this thread

I make no profit and don't touch the money for my burning man prints that people can order online. Any money just goes to the printing service and it's what they'll charge you for your own pictures.

But to update the thread, here are links for 2009, 08 and 07 images. Wet your appetite for dust!

http://www.printroom.com/ViewGallery.as ... id=1818737

http://www.printroom.com/ViewGallery.as ... id=1677610

http://www.printroom.com/ViewGallery.as ... _id=890350

See you on the playa!

Baba