I’ve always liked the Burma Shave sign that reads something along the lines of, “It isn’t that Burning Man is getting smaller, it is that you are getting bigger”

My dear fellow blogger, Mr. C. Magister has proposed a question regarding this year’s theme I believe is fairly summarized as: Are we truly a movement that even can partake in ritual due to our penchant for chaos?. I would not claim to be an expert on such things, and yes, Burning Man may be nothing more than a huge party in the desert, however, with all deference to my colleague in psychic crime up here, I would like to take the liberty to suggest that I suspect there is more to this Burning Man thing we’ve created than meets the eye. I don’t believe that ritual implies orderliness, but rather I believe that the Rites of Passage is more a concept of a transition from one state of being to another.

You never forget your first burn whether you return again to the playa or not. It makes an impression. When Mr. LH quotes the works of Arnold van Gennep and Raoul Vaneigem in this year’s theme, is it possible that those two tomes read together suggest, as in Rites of Passage, the movement from one status, through separation, transition and reincorporation, into another state of being and as Mr Vaneigem elucidates, on the whys and results of such a revolution of being.

Being a relative late comer and having arrived in a very Nebulous year, the longer I attend the less of a late bloomer I become and the more I appreciate the wild wind up to leaving for Black Rock City. But I remember being a tender neophyte full of anticipation. A veritable pre-initiate.

I like to think we are all at first beckoned by the Siren’s call of one of our more eccentric friend’s insistent beseechings of “You GOTTA check it out”. At the moment you make that preliminal decision to depart and traipse to some god forsaken dry lake bed of unforeseen consequence, the ritual of initiation begins and the journey there has been aptly explored by one or two of us up here and elsewhere. Plan, make, buy, load, get the hell out of dodge, leave your town behind to journey to somewhere unknown. It is just a roadtrip to make the celestial border jump from freeway to two lane to where the pavement ends and it is there that things become interesting.

You are off the road and right onto the Anteroom off the pavement where you begin splashing around in nihilist dust, then you approach the GATE, where one could conceivably imagine a magic portico of emperors where ‘“guardians of the threshold take on monumental proportions”. “Winged dragons. A sphinx, other monsters” are sometimes parked off by Will Call. It is a place where you don’t fuck with the people who fuck with you and if you do, you fail the test, you can’t pay the Stygian toll dumbass. Is this a ritual? I have no idea.

After GATE has impressed you with the fact that if you thought you were at some Kind Brother hippie vibe love circle jerk where we all sit around singing Kumbaya you were mistaken, and if you mess up you really *could* die, you drive into the Narthex where you learn your first rule is slow the fuck down as you receive your meditation on those Burma Shave signs. Then you are to the Greeters where you used to be pulled from your car if you were a virgin and lost your pants to be ass smacked several times then to have your provisions pilfered. Now I believe they ring a bell before pilfering your provisions. Welcome Home.

Once inside the City you realize that at every threshold there is another invitation to initiation.
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It is once again that most merry time of year when there is a sudden chill in the air and we are rushing around, planning, contriving, concocting, conspiring and otherwise devising our grand plans. We are making lists and checking them twice all for one reason and one reason only; that being that the day has come for us to download and begin filling out the Burning Man Art Grant Form. Yes, after waiting all year, it’s finally time to apply for a Grant!

First off, to get there, go to the Submit Grant page and read about how to Submit your Grant proposal. Then download the ZIP file at the bottom of that page at the Art Grant PDF Form Instructions and Submission Form ZIP link. There is also an updated Technical FAQ that should answer any questions you might have about filling out the form.

Everything you need should be on those pages, but the short of this is that the Burning Man organization gives away a lot of money from ticket sales every year to artists to help them build and get their art out to Black Rock City. There are grants for large or small projects so don’t be shy about the size of your idea. The Art Grants from Burning Man are unique in that they require nothing but that the project is on display in Black Rock City, from the very start of the event and that documentation like video and photographs are shared with Burning Man and the community so you can take your rightful place in the pantheon of Art Installations that have graced the playa.

I’m also told that on January 13th there will be an Art Grant Writing workshop in a yet to be determined location where you can work on your Grant form from 5:30 – 7:00pm then afterward the Art Lounge will be a celebration of Artists. It’ll be a great place to get pointers on putting together your Grant form and as always it will be a good time.

These Art Grants are meant to serve as seed money for a project and one common misconception is that Burning Man fully funds projects. If you’ve been around in the summer as projects are getting closer to coming into fruition on the playa, you know that just about every group that has grown up around an Art project is throwing fundraisers or setting up accounts for donations so they can get over that last final push to finish it and get it out there.

Why is that? Well there are two things the Grant process hopes to encourage. Those are Collaboration and Interactivity.

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The Exploratorium will soon move to Piers 15 and 17 on the San Francisco Embarcadero.   They are in the process of creating and environmentally friendly new home and  solar power will be a part of their efforts.  Before the big move, they are featuring exhibits that help visitors explore ideas of energy  and  power use, and to kick it off,  the October 7th “After Dark: Sol Systems” will feature Solar SunFlowers.

Black Rock Solar and the Sunpower Foundation, together with Cynthia Washburn and Patrick Shearn and their  team at Poetic Kinetics, are creating two solar powered, kinetic sunflowers that will open gently in the morning as the sun rises, track the sunlight during the day, and close again each night. The multi-colored flowers will be 22 feet tall at their full height and will sense when people sit down at their bases, automatically leaning over to provide shade. The flowers will be outfitted with state-of-the-art technology and will draw people into their space with an unprecedented visual allure. The SunFlower project is believed to be the first of its kind anywhere, blending large-scale interactive art and cutting-edge technology in an immersive educational experience designed to change the way people think about renewable energy.

“After Dark: Sol Systems”

Thursday, October 7, 2010 through Sunday October 10th

Exploratorium
at the Palace of Fine Arts
3601 Lyon Street
San Francisco

Other participants include a bunch of  DIY electric cars, a small aquaponic company called Kijiji Grows (http://kijijigrows.com/)  and solar power sewer  Paul Nosa (http://pnosa.com/fr_website.cfm) who also participated in the Exploratorium’s August After Dark event, Nomadic Communities.   Hogg Island Oysters will be served while you find out about biology of  oyster and ecology of sustainable oyster farming. The night will also feature bamboo bikes and electric motorcycles as well as demos by staff scientists about electromagnetism and hydrogen.

For more information, visit their site at http://www.exploratorium.edu/afterdark/

Destinations
The Solar SunFlowers will be installed at schools, events, and festivals throughout the course of the year, at different locations across the country. The first installation will be at the Exploratorium where students and teachers will experience the SunFlowers first-hand: learning about renewable energy and technology, climate change, solar power, and green jobs. The SunFlowers will then be transported to destinations throughout California and the United States, where audiences from school kids to solar professionals and government officials will have the chance to interact with the SunFlowers.

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Man, I LOVE this place. Things are in FULL SWING out in Black Rock City. Hope you’re here, safe and happy.

Black Rock City has filled out nicely and the streets are alive with promenading citizens and there is just SO much to do. Everyone is having their various parties and socials, fashion shows, meet ups, performances,  so many events you can never make them all. The place is one big pie and there are an infinite number of pieces. Don’t worry about getting yours, there is more than you could ever handle.

Tutu Tuesday became Tophat Tuesday and we’ve been visiting and socializing and gifting ever since. My favorite sticker of the week so far is “It was on Fire when I got Here”. We’ve already had rain, a double rainbow and traffic all the way from Empire. We saw the City grow and the sound camps are up, pumping out their ever present soundtrack of ambient insanity.

Some rumors I’ve heard include that next year’s THEME is going to be either “Life on Mars” or the “Baby Monkey in Underpants”. Out at 2:15 where the four story tall traffic cone is near DISORIENT they were giving balloon rides to people who weigh under 150lbs, but some girl was up there and one of the tethers broke so they had a little difficulty getting her down. I hope we don’t see a bunch of ravers flying away Saturday night after the burn, up, up and away. Be careful out there. We’ve got some dangerous ART this year. If you’re at the Mansonia Institute of Urban Studies in Center Camp this year stop by and see Dodger’s Pyrograph.

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This morning we woke up to the light patter of rain on our dome. It was a fresh morning on the playa, one that sharpens your mind as you take a walk to check out the progress our ARTISTS are making beneath a cold blue sky speckled with dabs of white clouds.  The weather has been cold And there have been long white outs but our valiant artists have persevered and a huge array of projects are being completed.

We made our way towards the 2 o’clock side of the City and visited with Karen at Infinitarium. The sculptures are in place and they’re building out the fire effects. The Garden is a beautiful layout of plants with the tallest being the Fleur. There are some Willows, the Lovers (Two leaves), Trumpets and some Dandelions. Like I said, the weather has been rough on all the artists this last week, and this morning is was cold, cold, cold. Karen said, “Look at us. Who wears thermals at 10:30 in the morning on the playa? Who’d have thought.” Indeed, and that makes it all the more wonderful to see all the people out here trudging through the long hours to finish their projects.

We wiped the dust from our goggles and wandered out to the Keyhole where yes, Brian Tedrick’s Minaret is as beautiful as you hear it is. At night it is illuminated with rings of color and during all hours of the day and night our bold citizens climb up Minaret’s vertebra, then midway they go inside and make their way to the see-through sphere at the top to revel. It is truly a worthy Keyhole piece. Last night we met some folks who say it isn’t finished yet though. Still to be installed are misters in the top steel orb. These misters will release BBQ sauce and flame effects are still to be installed also that will, with the touch of a button at the bottom, instantly incinerate the revelers in the sphere, thereby creating a fine hourly grilling bonanza of our bountiful supply of citizens. They may have been joking but I say it sounds delish!!

We hear there was supposed to be snow on Donner pass today. Crazy.

If you want some beauty, this year make sure to get out to Bliss Dance by Marco Cochrane. She is a sublime form, twisting and flowing and simply divine. Today they were putting on her finishing touches.

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Welcome to the BIG CITY and BRIGHT LIGHTS, where it is said “If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere,” and in Black Rock City by “it” I mean ART and by “make it there” I mean live, breathe, eat, sleep, follow your vision, work your ass off, raise your money, maintain cohesion in your group, create your dream and behold it there.

Then take a breath and load your trucks and GET OUT TO THE PLAYA to work another week or more in circumstances only someone as MAD as a Burning Man Artist could appreciate to put the thing up, all for the sake of GIFTING IT and SHARING your VISION with all of our FAIR CITY.

We are all like 40 THOUSAND moths attracted to those ENCHANTING PLAYA LIGHTS, twinkling and glowing all alone in the dark expanse, and the essence of ART is CREATION and CREATION is the ACTION of MAGIC.

So to this year’s ARTISTS, I say THANK YOU for your MAGICAL GIFTS, one and all.

This year our esteemed CITY FATHER, MR. LARRY HARVEY has suggested that we consider the theme of METROPOLIS, which is fitting considering the URBAN WONDER of our temporary COSMOPOLITAN silt alkaline jungle. I dare say that with 250+ LISTED ART PROJECTS, our fair ‘BURG has more art per square inch than most, and there is always room for more.

And, like in all GREAT CITIES, what is better than putting on your VAGABOND SHOES and joyously joining in the workaday hustle of our citizens on their way in the bustle of the boulevard, crossing  busy streets in-step, wearing anti-uniforms of surreal  gem embellished decoration, some naked painted and sparkling, others taking the forms of bizarre articulated machines or fuzzy bunnies.

What is better that TAKING IN SOME ART in Black Rock City while all around you the CITY RUMBLES with mutant vehicles and such delicious insanity; all carnival stilted, steam punk chaos tilted, flaming, blinking and at most times animated by passing clamorous groups of merry rabble rousers and otherwise exotic PEDESTRIANS. It is a place where the BOHEMIANS are the ones to gentrify the DPW Warehouse, CARP District and “DOWNTOWN” with VIOLENT HAPPY FIRE BELCHING FUN MACHINES. But the gentry here are a dusty sort, sordid and disorderly, a bunch of madmen and malcontents and the only thing that will RUN THE ARTISTS OUT of this town will be the artists themselves when the whole thing is over in however many days.

From UPTOWN to CITY CENTER, yes, this year, there will be ART from the AIRPORT through the BLM gated communities, up and into the SUBURBAN ROWS AND ROWS of RV housing to the TENEMENT TENT WARDS. ART will sprout in the new OUTER PLAZAS. ART will flourish from the MID-TOWN 420 DISTRICT, out the KEYHOLE, up the ESPLANADE and all the way to the TRASH FENCE.

And did I mention this year we even have PIGEONS! You’ll see them all over. And there is a GIANT pigeon too!

So START SPREADING THE WORD, it’s time to get all Black Rock Citified, if you aren’t ZONING out and ART is right up your ALLEY, well here you go. I’ve spent some time reading about this year’s art and listening to Anarchist Jim’s EXCELLENT AUDIO TOURS so, for now,  “LET us go then, you and I, When the evening is spread out against the sky” to:

MOZE’S TOP TEN ART PROJECTS AND THEN SOME

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[John Mosbaugh is a regular contributor to the Burning Blog, a former writer for Piss Clear, and author of the pamphlet "How to Get Laid at Burning Man". A master of thoughtful stream-of-consciousness, and devoted connoisseur of Burning Man culture, some consider him the Jack Kerouac of Black Rock City. This post is part of the Metropol Blog Series.]

One year I was directed by a dear person for whom I have a great affinity to visit the Lunches in LUSH around 3 o’clock & Esplanade and bring tidings of the location of their nuptials-to-be. We were in Center Camp and a dust storm was fast approaching from the direction of the Man so I was offered the use of a scooter to hopefully beat the storm on my way.

With my goggles and respirator secured, I jumped on the scooter and zipped across the Esplanade towards the Man just as a playa wide wall of dust swallowed him whole and I soon found myself in that under dust world where visibility is reduced to no more than a few feet in any direction and I was like small fish in a fishbowl, swimming and making graceful curves “S” shaped on my way. We’ve all been inside that sea of fine particulate, where all you can see is the light powder moving in shifting columns about you. Where talc grit is sliding gently as an abrasive all pervasive never ending river flowing over your skin. It is like being underwater, but with oxygen and everything is swirling dust, a mask is a must and not to have one is preposterous. All was quiet and soft, sluicing over and past, pervading everything. It was beautiful, like swimming through a cloud. I knew I was near the Man, but I couldn’t see him. There is a dreamlike feeling one experiences as you move through a total white out, one that can easily turn on you if you don’t keep your wits about you, because there is absolutely no way to tell where you are. It was just then, as I was wondering exactly where I would end up, that a huge phantom shape materialized before me, slowly manifesting from the dust. Read more »

Burning Man 2010 Desert Arts Preview – Annual Artist Lecture Series

Thursday, June 24, 2010
6:00pm-11pm; Talks begin at 7pm
Mission Rock Cafe
817 Terry a Francois Boulevard
San Francisco, CA 94158-2209

ALL AGES welcome before 9pm
FREE! But if you wish to make a donation, any proceeds will support the
Black Rock Arts Foundation artist grant program. No host bar and food
service. Limited seating, so COME EARLY to ensure your seat and not miss any
speakers!

This is our very popular annual artist lecture series, where you get a sneak
preview of some of notable art projects in progress right now for Burning
Man 2010. You’ll hear directly from artists who are creating revolutionary
works of art, often in radically collaborative ways. Some have been doing
work on the playa for many years and will be sharing humorous war stories
associated with creating art under extreme conditions. This is also a great
opportunity to learn how YOU can get involved and support these and other
artists.

If you can’t make it, look up their projects at the link below and directly
contact these and other artists/projects you feel inspired to help and
participate in. Get involved and help make the art you wish to see in the
world!

http://www.burningman.com/installations/10_art_honor.html
http://www.burningman.com/installations/09_art_honor.html

Speaker Schedule:

7:00-7:15    Welcome & Overview of Burning Man 2010 Theme and  Artist Grants
by Beth Scarborough

7:20-7:30    Bryan Tedrick – Minaret

7:35-7:45    Lawrence Burton – Kinetic Cab Company

7:50-8:00    Matt Ganucheau — Subway

8:05-8:15    Kiwi Chris — Megatropolis

8:20-8:30    Bliss Dance

8:35-8:55    Intermission

9:00 -9:10    Tomas McCabe – Black Rock Arts Foundation

9:15-9:25    Morley John — Syzygryd

9:30-9:40    Michael Christian — Home

9:45-9:55    Jess Hobbs, PK Kimmelman and Rebecca Anders – Temple  of Flux

10:00-10:20    Questions and Answers