Murals at Burning Man

The Man was still burning, refusing to fall down, when I walked back to the Center Camp Cafe. Beyond one or two people sleeping on the floor, the Cafe was empty. I was more or less alone with a number of dramatic paintings, including this one. The eyes captured me and pulled me in.

I am going to be on the road for the next few weeks, so I decided to produce several blogs that might be of interest to my readers but would be easy for me to do: Voila—The Best Of Burning Man series! I’ve now been to Burning Man for ten years starting in 2004 (and will be going again in 2015, assuming I get two tickets and a vehicle pass). Each blog will feature a top ten category such as top ten sculptures, mutant vehicles, etc.

Important. 1) These are from my perspective. Other people will have different points of view. 2) I never see everything that is available to see at Burning Man. There is simply too much. So it’s quite possible that I have missed some really great things. My apologies. 3) I missed 2011. 4) These photos are not in order of choice. That is beyond me. (Grin)

Basically, this series will include a brief introduction and then my top ten choices. There may be captions on my photos, or not. Finally, while Peggy and I have taken the majority of these photos, I have also included photos from Tom Lovering, Beth Lovering, Don Green, and Ken Lake… all members of our ‘tribe,’ and friends.

Series 3: Paintings and photography

Painters and photographers have always contributed to Burning Man, at least for the ten years I have participated. Many of the paintings, from my observation, have featured nature and mythical themes.

Burning Man is a photographer’s paradise. Millions of photos are taken annually and some of the photographers are quite talented. Their work is scattered across the web. One day when I was out wandering in Black Rock City, I came across Camp Montage, where a group of gifted photographers had combined various images from Black Rock City into single works. I loved the way they captured the essence of Burning Man. I’ve included two of their montages.

Mural work is everywhere and many of the murals are works in progress, especially at the beginning of the week. Blank walls demand to be filled.

Shaman and jaguar painting at Burning Man.

The shaman of Mesoamerican cultures considered the jaguar as an essential companion or nagual on their drug induced journeys into the dangerous spirit world.

The detail on this painting featuring a goddess-like woman, elephant, hawks and other natural themes is incredible.

The detail on this painting featuring goddess-like women, an elephant and birds is incredible.

This underwater theme with its brightly colored creatures has always been one of my favorite Burning Man murals.Check out the giant squid and the whale (or shark, given the teeth) on the right.

This mural reminds me of dreams I had in Bali. Apparently I wasn’t eating Portobello mushrooms.

Monkey mural and Golden Gate Bridge with message.

Monkey business and a message were featured on this mural. I’d be a little worried about the waves if I were driving across the Golden Gate Bridge at the time..

This photograph montage created by the Montage Camp is composed of a number of different photos taken at Burning Man . Take a close look. It is what you might see on a typical day.

This combination of photos from Camp Montage focuses more on mutant vehicles— from the small to the gigantic.

A theme camp I came across in 2006 featured large, meditative images that were backlit by the outside sun.

Another example.

A mural artist at work painting a monkey.

A mural artist dabs hair on the monkey mural shown above.

A artist works on a painting at the Center Camp Cafe, providing Burners with an opportunity to watch her work.

An artist works on a painting at the Center Camp Cafe.

Another artist plies his trade while a Burner looks on. These are examples where painting borders on performance art. NEXT BLOG: The Costumes of Burning Man, another form of creativity.

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.

Wandering through Time and Place

Exploring the world with Curtis and Peggy Mekemson

The Best of Burning Man: The Top Ten Series (3)… Painting and Photography

Burning Man 2013… Three Million Photos Later