Burning Man 2013… Three Million Photos Later

October 21, 2013January 24, 2015 / Curt Mekemson / 17 Comments

The Man and his flying saucer at Burning Man 2013

I’ve had another thought about the flying saucer the Man was perched on for 2013. Maybe it was a huge clam. BTW, do you see the two small feet extending out from each side. Those were slides you could exit the Man on. I clocked myself at 60 MPH after Tom/Adios Lovering guaranteed it was a gentle ride down. Note to self: Never believe anything Tom tells me. But I knew that.

Having burned the Man in my last blog, it is time to wrap up Burning Man for another year. I decided to do so with photos. Enjoy.

Burning Man is located in the remote Black Rock Desert of Northern Nevada. These roads can be very lonely– except when Burning Man takes place. Local jurisdictions use the Burning Man traffic count to justify their annual highway budgets.

There is nothing lonely about the road when you arrive at the entrance to Burning Man. We lined up with umpteen thousand other people on Monday. The drive from our home in Oregon to Burning Man was eight hours. The last four miles took four hours. Did I mention dust?

A city of 60,000 grows up over night, literally. Black Rock City, for its one week of existence, is the third largest city in Nevada. I suspect the coyotes say, “There goes the neighborhood.” (Photo by Peggy Mekemson.)

People come to Burning Man for numerous reasons, but one of the most important is the art. It can be monumental such as this 60 foot tall woman, and...

People come to Burning Man for numerous reasons, but one of the most important is the art. It can be monumental such as this 60 foot tall woman (Truth Is Beauty) and…

…this seven ton coyote. Someone is standing in his mouth with a flashlight. Maybe it’s a dentist. People crawled all over the coyote until a few too many fell off. Equation: Number of beers = odds of falling.

A tail’s-eye view of Coyote during the day. Need a wire brush? One person rests in Coyote’s belly while another climbs up the sculpture.

The art of Burning Man is as different as the artists that create it. We discovered a whole tent full of beautifully rendered paintings with mythical/Eastern themes.

Art is often humorous, such as this collage featuring a puffy cloud with a Cheshire Cat grin and silverware.

Admittedly, much is strange.

And stranger.

Every blank wall begs for a mural. And usually gets one– or several.

This blank floor space demanded a snake.

A photo op of a photo op. Tom needed a photo and somehow decided that Peggy resting on his shoulders was better than me resting on his shoulders. I wonder why? Anyway, 60,000 people at Burning Man pretty much guarantees 60,000 cameras. Let's assume for the moment that each person takes an average of 100 photos, which is a conservative estimate in today's world of digital cameras. That means a conservative 6 million photos were taken at Burning Man 2013.

A photo-op of a photo-op. Tom needed a photo and somehow decided that Peggy resting on his shoulders was better than me resting on his shoulders. Anyway, 60,000 people at Burning Man pretty much guarantees 60,000 cameras. Let’s assume that each person takes an average of 50 photos, which is a conservative estimate in today’s world of digital cameras. That means upwards to 3 million photos were taken at Burning Man 2013.

What you see by day…

May appear considerably different at night. Are you ready for Halloween?

Strange creatures wander the Playa at night. In the streets of New York City, or London, or Tokyo… El Pulpo Mechanico would create a panic. Here its, “Oh look, here comes the octopus.”

Rooster mutant vehicle at Burning Man 2013.

Or maybe a giant rooster will come to visit.

The Toilet Bowling Alley at Burning Man 2013.

If you need a break, there are always games to play. I knocked down nine of the ten pins at the Toilet Bowl. (Next to the Toilet Bowl was a long string of port-a-potties.)

Decapitation warning sign at Burning Man.

Some games can be injurious to your health. Here’s a Burning Man style caution sign.

“Ouch, I think I’ll keep my head.” (Photo by Tom Lovering.)

You reach a point at Burning Man when your mind goes on overload, when you believe you have see it all.

You reach a point at Burning Man when your mind goes on overload, when you believe you have seen it all.

And then something happens to blow your mind. A man and his friends built this church to last for the week so he could get married.

Church of the Jerk wedding at Burning Man 2013.

We crashed the wedding. Well, we did ask, sort of.

Burning Man 2013 wedding at Church of the Jerk.

Vows were determined by spinning the wheel.

Later, we attended the wedding of Bone and Bonetta at the church. Bone has been wandering the world for 45 years. He rescued Bonetta from a Florida swamp four years ago. They finally decided to get married. Bone’s kilt was made by Ann Baughman, an 80 plus year old woman who lives in Kansas. Punkin aka Beth Lovering made Bonetta’s gown. Both are members of the International Society of the Bone.

Ken Axon of New York provides Bone with a pep talk just prior to the wedding.

Ken Axen of New York provides Bone with a pep talk just prior to the wedding.

Punkin solemnly recites the wedding vows.

The Cradle of Mir burns at Burning Man 2013.

A final burn. The Cradle of Mir.

Sunset at Black Rock City, Burning Man 2013.

The sun sets on Burning Man 2013.

Until next year. I hope you’ve enjoyed this series on Burning Man.

NEXT BLOG: I am close to finishing “The Dead Chicken Dance,” my book on the sometimes scary/sometimes humorous adventures I had as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the jungles of West Africa. I’ve posted several blogs on the experience. My next blog will be the introduction to the book.

A Seven Ton Coyote and Other BRC Wonders… Burning Man 2013

October 1, 2013January 24, 2015 / Curt Mekemson / 15 Comments

Caught in the early morning sun, Coyote raises his head and howls. Note the guy sitting beneath his chin. Much of the art at Burning Man is designed to be climbed on. Large helium balloons stretch off to the right.

I talked to a coyote once. I was hiking on the American River Parkway in Sacramento when I saw one disappear into the brush. I froze. A couple of minutes later he came back out and looked at me. I remained still and he continued to stare. Suddenly he raised his head up and gave a Coyote greeting, “Yip, yip, yee.” Translated loosely, it meant, “Why are you behaving so weirdly?” I raised my head and responded, “Yip, yip, yee.”

I don’t know exactly what I said but he sat down and howled again. I sat down and did likewise. Thus our conversation began. It went on for about fifteen minutes before we ran out of things to say, got up and headed off on in different directions. The experience had been close to magical.

I suspect my behavior would have been different had the coyote been 25 feet tall and weighed seven tons. Fortunately, Bryan Tedrick’s coyote sculpture at Burning Man this year was made of steel and not likely to eat anyone. (Burners were welcome to rest in his belly, however. That is they were until too many fell off.)

Below are photos of Coyote and several other works of art at Burning Man 2013 I considered among my favorites.

Another early morning view of Coyote. (Photo by Tom Lovering.)

Coyote and the Man. (Photo by Peggy Mekemson.)

Coyote with people in his stomach shown along with the Man. (Photo by Peggy Mekemson.)

Cargo Youth Spacecraft at Burning Man 2013

I really liked this UFO called Cargo Youth Spacecraft, which was created by Dana Albany working with youth groups in the Bay Area. It was created with 50% recycled materials.

Tom Lovering took a fun photo of the Cargo Youth Spacecraft with the Man’s flying saucer. (Photo by Tom Lovering.)

Big words created by Laura Kimpton and Jeff Schomberg have become an annual treat at Burning Man. Past words have included Mom, Ego, Love and Oink. (Photo by Peggy Mekemson.)

Tom caught one of his early morning shots of BELIEVE. (Photo by Tom Lovering.)

BELIEVE at night.

I found what looked like neurons slipping across the Playa. This was the Drifts Sculpture by Michael Christian.

A close up of Drift.

Here we have a Canadian Goose made out of 100,000 pennies.

Here we have Penny the Goose made out of 100,000 Canadian pennies in honor of the last year the Canadian penny will be in circulation.

Penny takes off.

Open hands art piece in from of the Center Camp Cafe at Burning Man 2013.

This set of hands created by David Gertler was located just in front of the Center Camp Cafe.

I liked the simple lines of this lotus-like sculpture. The Truth is Beauty sculpture can be seen in the distance.

Zonotopia on the Playa at Burning Man 2013.

This unique structure was part of Zonotopia created by artist Rob Bell for Burning Man 2013. (Photo by Peggy Mekemson.)

One of Tom’s favorite sculptures was You Are the Key. (Photo by Tom Lovering.)

Peggy, a crafty woman, liked this knit house. (Photo by Peggy Mekemson.)

Peggy, a crafty kind of woman, liked this crochet house. (Photo by Peggy Mekemson.)

A close up.

Xylophage created by the Flaming Lotus Girls for Burning Man 2013.

The Flaming Lotus Girls have been producing quality art at Burning Man for many years. This year’s theme was named Xylophage and included the large burned out stump, this gnome and several humongous mushrooms. Everything, of course, flames at night.

Flaming Lotus Girl's Sculpture at Burning Man 2013.

One of the mushrooms in the Flaming Lotus Girls’ sculpture.

This set of stacked cubes seemed to reach high into the sky.

“Come over here and catch them from this angle,” Tom urged.

This is only a very small sample of the art found at Burning Man. Later I will visit the regional art but next I want to take you out to what is always one of Burning Man’s top attractions: The Temple. It is truly a sacred area.

Black Rock City, Joseph Campbell and Star Wars… Burning Man 2013

September 6, 2013January 24, 2015 / Curt Mekemson / 16 Comments

At night, Burning Man is a magical place that can pull you out of your everyday world. Here, the Man, about to be burned, stands on top of a flying saucer. Note the monster mutant vehicle on the right and the clothes hanger vehicle on the left.

In the movie, Star Wars, Luke Skywalker begins his heroic journey in Episode IV by travelling to the spaceport of Mos Eisley with Obi-Wan Kenobi, R2D2 and C-3PO. Once there, they meet up with Hans Solo and Chewbacca, the 200-year-old Wookiee.

Mos Eisley is a dangerous place, a frontier town populated with colorful characters and aliens who exist outside the law. It is a world totally different from the one that Luke has known– the perfect place to launch a heroic quest.

George Lucas credited the world-famous mythologist Joseph Campbell, and his book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, for inspiring his original trilogy. According to Campbell, the standard myth of the heroic quest consists of three phases: a departure from everyday life, an initiation that consists of overcoming a series of challenges, and a return to normal life where lessons learned are shared.

I am a long time fan of Campbell. His admonition to “follow your bliss,” i.e. do what you love, is my motto. I think Joe would have seen Black Rock City and Burning Man as the perfect jump off place for a quest. I suspect he would have immediately begun to mythologize the experience.

Departure involves coming into a town, region, or situation that shakes up your perception of reality and provides you with an option of change, or even transformation. You can have your nails done or go for the complete makeover. Or you can beat a hasty retreat back to your comfort zone. It’s up to you.

The Virgin Burner, i.e. newbie, who comes to Black Rock City, is immediately thrown into a world of heat, and dust, and noise, and music and magic. There are monsters roaming the Playa and naked people wandering through camp. You can find angels, and devils and aliens on almost every block of the 68,000-person city. You can sway all night with thousands of people to the primitive beat of heavy metal in a tribal ritual as old as humankind, or meditate alone in the far reaches of the Playa.

For me, Burning Man starts with the journey there. When Peggy and I hit the vast open stretches of the Northern Nevada desert, we know we have almost arrived. I took this windmill shot on a very lonely route 447 from the small town of Cedarville in California to the small town of Gerlach in Nevada.

Monsters, such as this dragon, roam the playa 24/7 but are particularly impressive when they are lit up at night and are spouting fire.

The newcomer to Burning Man, known as a Virgin Burner, is greeted by the third largest city in Nevada, a town of 60,000 plus that has grown up overnight. Each street offers multiple opportunities for exploration. (Photo by Peggy Mekemson.)

There are innumerable things to do... many which come as a surprise, such as as roller skating.

There are innumerable things to do… many which come as a surprise, such as roller skating. (Photo by Peggy Mekemson)

The God telephone Booth at Burning Man 2013.

Feeling a little overwhelmed? You can always call on God. One of the theme camps provides a booth. Much to her surprise, Peggy discovered that God is a woman. Peggy told her she was glad she was at Burning Man. I am not sure what Winnebago had to do with the discussion.

The far reaches of the Playa at Burning Man 13

For all of the vaunted crowds, noise and ceaseless activity, large stretches of the Playa are made available to Burners who want a little down time and are willing to bike out to the fence that marks the end of Burning Man territory.

And art is everywhere– art that can inspire by its beauty, challenge by its message, and amuse by its humor. Over three hundred works were scattered through the city this year including a beautiful 42-foot naked woman with her arms outstretched in dance and a seven-ton coyote howling at the moon.

Art has become Burning Man’s major attraction for many people, including me. This woman drew a constant crowd and I will devote a complete blog to her. BTW, is that a flying saucer on the left? (grin) (Photo by Peggy Mekemson.)

This seven ton coyote was also a major attraction at Burning Man 2013. More later...

This seven ton coyote howling at the sky was also a major attraction at Burning Man 2013. More later…

Performing art is even more prevalent. Fire dancers work their magic with twirling balls of fire and batons. Musicians sing and play drums, guitars, saxophones, sitars, accordions, banjos, harmonicas and almost anything else that makes music. A one-man-band went strolling by our camp with his instruments trailing along behind. We stopped on the Esplanade and listened as a woman with a powerful voice sang Italian opera on top of a mutant vehicle that shot fire into the sky when she hit high notes.

Music the night of the Burn at Burning Man 2013.

I would be surprised if there is a musical instrument not represented at Burning Man. I’ve even seen harps. Above, on the left, is a flaming tuba. A woman with a lit hula hoop works stage right.

Campbell saw artists as modern myth makers, as the people who capture and translate what is happening in the present time, who “turn the world into an icon so that it’s radiant.” He would have been excited to see the cutting edge art that Burning Man artists produce and enjoyed meeting the artists. I also think he would have understood the burning of art, which speaks to our transitory nature and the Eastern concept of letting go.

The burning of art, the Man and the Temple guarantee that thousands of Burners will be present on the Playa.

I don’t think Burning Man will transform the world, as it would like to, but it is part of a transformation that is taking place. I do believe it has the power to transform individuals. Many who participate return home changed. For some, it is the “aha!” experience of a lifetime. Joe Campbell would be impressed, or at least amused.