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Burning Man Update: The Jack Rabbit Speaks
Vol 10, Issue 9
December 15, 2005
ART THEME 2006: HOPE AND FEAR – THE FUTURE!
The future’s a projection of the here and now: expanding with our
hopes, contracting with our fears. This year’s art theme will explore
how we create futurity. Express what you most hope for! Express
what you most fear! The Burning Man, as heartbeat of our city, will
be made to rise and fall upon this tidal flow or our emotions and
imagination. For more details visit the front page of our website
<www.burningman.com> and then express your hopes and fears for
the theme at the "poll" on the middle of the home page! At the end
of this JRS is information about Art Grants for 2006.
JACK RABBIT LOOKS AT THE FUTURE !
Some years these damn themes are right on the money, other times I
dunno. But, ever since Larry began revealing the '06 theme a few
weeks ago, it's reverberated more throughout the Project than any
other I can remember. It probably started with the Burning Man Board
retreat in October where we dealt with where the 6 board members are
in our lives. Then the Sr. Staff and full-time office staff spent
six days meeting. Time was spent reviewing this year's event, but
for the first time ever the majority of the retreat was spent
talking about the future -- the 5 year future, even the 10 year
future.
We all seemed to agree that we are reaching a new comfort level with
the event, a certain confidence in how we're approaching things.
We're still learning about managing people, process and
community. We're still learning about how to create a society, if
only for 8 days in the desert. But for many of the past 10 years we
have been driven by the possibility the event might not even happen.
We've struggled, fighting for survival. Living on adrenaline, we've
learned to face our fears, but now that we've apparently come
through, we're forced to ask ourselves: What was all this effort
for? For the mere right to exist, or for the hope of being and
becoming something more? Very fortunately for us, we're not alone,
as it sometimes seemed in the past. Instead, we are surrounded by
great and fertile and brilliant community of people -- and it's now
their hopes and their initiatives that spur us on.
At the center of our part of this picture is the Black Rock Arts
Foundation <www.blackrockarts.org>, which saw a huge leap in
activity and confidence in 2005. It started out the year by hiring a
new Executive Director, Leslie Pritchett. She made it clear that the
Foundation would not survive without a big push from all 12 board
members. Not wanting to loose the ball of fire and energy that is
Leslie, the board took notice. Not only did it distribute 5 grants to
interactive art NOT on the Playa, but it also, with very, very
little lead-time, hustled to install 2 large installations in San
Francisco. One in May/June the other in October/November. Leslie
drove the Board and community to raise the money for the
installations at times when the bank account held barely enough to
cover administrative costs. Leslie was driven by hope, the Board
members were certainly driven by the hope, but possibly more of a
fear of loosing momentum, and an opportunity to really illustrate
what the Black Rock Arts Foundation is capable of doing.
It's one thing to reach beyond the Black Rock Desert if the fruit
falls easily into the green space of San Francisco, but our mission
mandates that our efforts go beyond San Francisco. Throughout the
year, as Burning Man board and staff members have traveled to
regional events, lectures and an art car festival, some of us have
also worn our Black Rock Arts Foundation hats. In the cold of
February Larry Harvey and David Best (also a Black Rock Arts
Foundation Board <www.blackrockarts.org/board.html> member)
were invited to speak to students at the University of Michigan.
Afterwards, the regional contact hosted a gathering at a local pub.
Of course they all began to scheme and plan for ways to bring large
scale public art to the Detroit area. The seed of that idea now has
two sprouts on it. One likely to manifest itself through the Black
Rock Arts Foundation and the Burning Man regional contact in
Michigan in February 2006.
The other is, well, way-cool on a "David Best, Burning Man, Black
Rock Arts Foundation, Holly Shit" sort of scale. And, it's NOT in
San Francisco, and it's NOT in the Black Rock Desert.
This was before Larry was asked by a non-profit organization in
Houston to join the judges panel for the largest art car parade in
the United States. The Orange Show (the name of the non-profit),
<www.orangeshow.org/> not only produces the Houston Art Car
Festival <www.orangeshow.org/artcar.html > but is actively
supporting outsider urban art in Houston. The Black Rock Arts
Foundation and Burning Man donated the first prize for the night-time
illumination category.
This happened right about the same time we received the call from the
Executive Director of the San Francisco Arts Commission
<sfartscommission.org/home.htm> wondering if David Best might
want to install his art temporarily in a new green space. How fast
and calmly can you say "Hell yeah!"? (As we scramble to raise the
funds.) Then there's the call from people in the city
infra-structure just as we headed off to the desert. They wondered
what interactive art we'd bring back ready to install in the city.
Uh, let me get back to you after I drag all my shit into the desert,
back home again, take a shower and decompress a little. No time for
that. Approval was given before the end of September for the next
piece. Michael Christian's "Flock"
<images.burningman.com/index.cgi > from Burning
Man 2001 was brought out of retirement and installed in mid-November
in the Civic Center of San Francisco across from the mayor's office.
Breath.
Then the calls went from a trickle to a flood. Burning Man and
non-Burning Man artists want to know how to get their work displayed
in temporary settings around the country. The interest from artists
is nearly overwhelming.
Oh, and I haven't even mentioned the initiative taken by Burning Man
regional contacts to draft a plan for moving art pieces from one
regional community to another. Or the collaborative community art
projects brought to the playa like the Machine from Seattle.
<images.burningman.com/index.cgi And did you see
Charlie Smith and Jamie Laudet's Synapses project?
<images.burningman.com/index.cgi Did you know
each piece was produced in a different Burning Man community with
instructions from Charlie and Jamie?
<www.burningman.com/whatisbu...man/2005/
05_art_funded.html#synapses>
And brought to the playa? Can you say collaboration? Community? The
warmth you felt standing amongst those pieces at Burning Man 2005
came from the hands and hearts of a cross-continental collaborative
project that reached far beyond our event! Don't you want to see
more? And NOT just at Burning Man?
WOW, but can we make all of this happen? The Burning Man Project is
not able to fund the efforts of the Black Rock Arts Foundation. We
are depending on members, supporters, foundations and volunteers to
make all of our interactive art dreams come to fruition. With all
this excitement and who-ha you wouldn't know that at the last Board
meeting Leslie made it clear BRAF's financial situation, as we
approach the end of 2005, is very challenging, and that we'll not be
able to engage in any of the ideas on deck for Detroit, San
Francisco or maybe, soon, in your hometown, else unless we can raise
more funds.
I feel like I'm personally living next year's theme. Excited by the
hope of placing one of the most striking pieces of art from Burning
Man on top of a building in San Francisco (and doing it without
installing any hardware that would damage the historical building),
traveling to visit regionals, listening to artist map out where and
when to install their pieces.You think Black Rock City is big? Hey
we've got an entire planet outside the orange fence line!
Can we do it all? Do we have the manpower? The help? The inspiration?
The money? Jeeze the MONEY. That's the hardest part. We don't sell
tickets to the Black Rock Arts Foundation. We raise money to make
stuff happen. But what happens if we don't raise the money?
On Saturday evening, I had a conversation with our youngest member of
the BRAF Advisory Board. We both agree the Burning Man event will
have a finite life span, but to keep the ethics, values and core
experience alive that influences so many lives is what's so
inspiring to us. I don't want the event to end, and I fear it'll end
before we have the Regional Network working at full strength. It's
hard to really swallow, but when we compared Burning Man to other
important stretches of time we both admitted that big cultural
swaths left upon the past aren't often marked with 20 year tags, but
more often 50, 100 or 200 years. If that's the case, then we both
agreed that the efforts we're engaged in might not fully realize
themselves in our lifetime. Excitedly driven forward? Towards what?
For what?
Black Rock City is the purest manifestation and highest concentration
of Burning Man values once a year in the Black Rock Desert. There
is no reason why people can't live year round in a more connective,
creative, self-expressive empowering way for an entire lifetime. To
do that we'll need more than an annual ritual with 35,000
participants on a dry lake bed.
It's that time of the year when not only are each one of us trying to
find, make, express gifts for our loved ones, but non-profits are
hitting us left and right for a year-end tax-deductible donation.
Well, the Black Rock Arts Foundation
<www.blackrockarts.org> is in the same position. Though its
mission may not seem as tangible as animal shelters, it's getting
more tangible by the minute. We have the momentum, we are making it
happen right before our very eyes. But we are caught between hope --
the brilliant ideas, options and projects spread out before us in
our great community -- and the fear of not having enough energy,
money or manpower that will allow of this to come to life. 2005
hasn't even ended, but "Hope and Fear: the Future" has already
begun. "We are emitters of the future", this year's theme text
says. Please donate
<www.donatetoblackrockarts.org/doa...tml> money now to BRAF
and make that future happen.
2006 ART GRANT PROPOSAL DEADLINE!!
Now that the theme is announced, we'd like to inform everyone that
the deadline for art grant proposals is February 15, 2006. We do not
require that your project be based on our theme (See Burning Man’s
Top Ten Art Myths at
<burningman.com/installati...yths.html>) , but we do
give extra points for that, as well as for interactivity. If you
wish to apply for a grant visit
<www.burningman.com/installa...ines.html
>. Please read this document through to the end. It will tell you
what to do next. It states somewhat bluntly: Most proposals
submitted will not receive funding -- but this doesn’t mean that
many projects won’t be given grants! We are eager to see what you
might propose. If you have any ideas to run by us before you write a
proposal, feel free to email artgrants (at) burningman.com. To gain
a broader view on the entire art installation process, we strongly
recommend that you first inspect our Art Installation Guidelines and
Questionnaire
<www.burningman.com/installa...es.html>. This
will help to guide you in preparing a proposal. One last tip: If you
get your art proposal in early – say, before February 1 – we might
have a little more time to read and consider it before our deadline.
This year we are also creating a special category for interactive art
works that can function in conventional civic settings, as well as
at our event in the Black Rock Desert. Already, in 2005, the Black
Rock Arts Foundation <www.blackrockarts.org> has installed two major
public art works in San Francisco – a temple by David Best and a
large sculptural installation by Michael Christian, entitled Flock,
which currently stands in front of City Hall in San Francisco’s
Civic Center Plaza. Furthermore, such projects are by no means
limited to Burning Man’s hometown. The Foundation also has plans
underway to erect a temple designed by David Best in the heart of
Detroit! In 2006, BRAF hopes to cull even more portable art projects
from among those that appear on the playa. Its ultimate aim is to
distribute and erect this art, with the help of local communities,
in cities throughout the country. If you would like your artwork to
be both eligible and feasible for such a purpose, please first
communicate with us at artgrants (at) burningman.com and we’ll give
you advice. All decisions regarding this program or any art works
that might be displayed will be made by BRAF in the coming year.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU
Thanks for a great year! You all ROCK!
Maid Marian
Jack Rabbit Speaks
jackrabbitspeaks@burningman.com
Vol 10, Issue 9
December 15, 2005
ART THEME 2006: HOPE AND FEAR – THE FUTURE!
The future’s a projection of the here and now: expanding with our
hopes, contracting with our fears. This year’s art theme will explore
how we create futurity. Express what you most hope for! Express
what you most fear! The Burning Man, as heartbeat of our city, will
be made to rise and fall upon this tidal flow or our emotions and
imagination. For more details visit the front page of our website
<www.burningman.com> and then express your hopes and fears for
the theme at the "poll" on the middle of the home page! At the end
of this JRS is information about Art Grants for 2006.
JACK RABBIT LOOKS AT THE FUTURE !
Some years these damn themes are right on the money, other times I
dunno. But, ever since Larry began revealing the '06 theme a few
weeks ago, it's reverberated more throughout the Project than any
other I can remember. It probably started with the Burning Man Board
retreat in October where we dealt with where the 6 board members are
in our lives. Then the Sr. Staff and full-time office staff spent
six days meeting. Time was spent reviewing this year's event, but
for the first time ever the majority of the retreat was spent
talking about the future -- the 5 year future, even the 10 year
future.
We all seemed to agree that we are reaching a new comfort level with
the event, a certain confidence in how we're approaching things.
We're still learning about managing people, process and
community. We're still learning about how to create a society, if
only for 8 days in the desert. But for many of the past 10 years we
have been driven by the possibility the event might not even happen.
We've struggled, fighting for survival. Living on adrenaline, we've
learned to face our fears, but now that we've apparently come
through, we're forced to ask ourselves: What was all this effort
for? For the mere right to exist, or for the hope of being and
becoming something more? Very fortunately for us, we're not alone,
as it sometimes seemed in the past. Instead, we are surrounded by
great and fertile and brilliant community of people -- and it's now
their hopes and their initiatives that spur us on.
At the center of our part of this picture is the Black Rock Arts
Foundation <www.blackrockarts.org>, which saw a huge leap in
activity and confidence in 2005. It started out the year by hiring a
new Executive Director, Leslie Pritchett. She made it clear that the
Foundation would not survive without a big push from all 12 board
members. Not wanting to loose the ball of fire and energy that is
Leslie, the board took notice. Not only did it distribute 5 grants to
interactive art NOT on the Playa, but it also, with very, very
little lead-time, hustled to install 2 large installations in San
Francisco. One in May/June the other in October/November. Leslie
drove the Board and community to raise the money for the
installations at times when the bank account held barely enough to
cover administrative costs. Leslie was driven by hope, the Board
members were certainly driven by the hope, but possibly more of a
fear of loosing momentum, and an opportunity to really illustrate
what the Black Rock Arts Foundation is capable of doing.
It's one thing to reach beyond the Black Rock Desert if the fruit
falls easily into the green space of San Francisco, but our mission
mandates that our efforts go beyond San Francisco. Throughout the
year, as Burning Man board and staff members have traveled to
regional events, lectures and an art car festival, some of us have
also worn our Black Rock Arts Foundation hats. In the cold of
February Larry Harvey and David Best (also a Black Rock Arts
Foundation Board <www.blackrockarts.org/board.html> member)
were invited to speak to students at the University of Michigan.
Afterwards, the regional contact hosted a gathering at a local pub.
Of course they all began to scheme and plan for ways to bring large
scale public art to the Detroit area. The seed of that idea now has
two sprouts on it. One likely to manifest itself through the Black
Rock Arts Foundation and the Burning Man regional contact in
Michigan in February 2006.
The other is, well, way-cool on a "David Best, Burning Man, Black
Rock Arts Foundation, Holly Shit" sort of scale. And, it's NOT in
San Francisco, and it's NOT in the Black Rock Desert.
This was before Larry was asked by a non-profit organization in
Houston to join the judges panel for the largest art car parade in
the United States. The Orange Show (the name of the non-profit),
<www.orangeshow.org/> not only produces the Houston Art Car
Festival <www.orangeshow.org/artcar.html > but is actively
supporting outsider urban art in Houston. The Black Rock Arts
Foundation and Burning Man donated the first prize for the night-time
illumination category.
This happened right about the same time we received the call from the
Executive Director of the San Francisco Arts Commission
<sfartscommission.org/home.htm> wondering if David Best might
want to install his art temporarily in a new green space. How fast
and calmly can you say "Hell yeah!"? (As we scramble to raise the
funds.) Then there's the call from people in the city
infra-structure just as we headed off to the desert. They wondered
what interactive art we'd bring back ready to install in the city.
Uh, let me get back to you after I drag all my shit into the desert,
back home again, take a shower and decompress a little. No time for
that. Approval was given before the end of September for the next
piece. Michael Christian's "Flock"
<images.burningman.com/index.cgi > from Burning
Man 2001 was brought out of retirement and installed in mid-November
in the Civic Center of San Francisco across from the mayor's office.
Breath.
Then the calls went from a trickle to a flood. Burning Man and
non-Burning Man artists want to know how to get their work displayed
in temporary settings around the country. The interest from artists
is nearly overwhelming.
Oh, and I haven't even mentioned the initiative taken by Burning Man
regional contacts to draft a plan for moving art pieces from one
regional community to another. Or the collaborative community art
projects brought to the playa like the Machine from Seattle.
<images.burningman.com/index.cgi And did you see
Charlie Smith and Jamie Laudet's Synapses project?
<images.burningman.com/index.cgi Did you know
each piece was produced in a different Burning Man community with
instructions from Charlie and Jamie?
<www.burningman.com/whatisbu...man/2005/
05_art_funded.html#synapses>
And brought to the playa? Can you say collaboration? Community? The
warmth you felt standing amongst those pieces at Burning Man 2005
came from the hands and hearts of a cross-continental collaborative
project that reached far beyond our event! Don't you want to see
more? And NOT just at Burning Man?
WOW, but can we make all of this happen? The Burning Man Project is
not able to fund the efforts of the Black Rock Arts Foundation. We
are depending on members, supporters, foundations and volunteers to
make all of our interactive art dreams come to fruition. With all
this excitement and who-ha you wouldn't know that at the last Board
meeting Leslie made it clear BRAF's financial situation, as we
approach the end of 2005, is very challenging, and that we'll not be
able to engage in any of the ideas on deck for Detroit, San
Francisco or maybe, soon, in your hometown, else unless we can raise
more funds.
I feel like I'm personally living next year's theme. Excited by the
hope of placing one of the most striking pieces of art from Burning
Man on top of a building in San Francisco (and doing it without
installing any hardware that would damage the historical building),
traveling to visit regionals, listening to artist map out where and
when to install their pieces.You think Black Rock City is big? Hey
we've got an entire planet outside the orange fence line!
Can we do it all? Do we have the manpower? The help? The inspiration?
The money? Jeeze the MONEY. That's the hardest part. We don't sell
tickets to the Black Rock Arts Foundation. We raise money to make
stuff happen. But what happens if we don't raise the money?
On Saturday evening, I had a conversation with our youngest member of
the BRAF Advisory Board. We both agree the Burning Man event will
have a finite life span, but to keep the ethics, values and core
experience alive that influences so many lives is what's so
inspiring to us. I don't want the event to end, and I fear it'll end
before we have the Regional Network working at full strength. It's
hard to really swallow, but when we compared Burning Man to other
important stretches of time we both admitted that big cultural
swaths left upon the past aren't often marked with 20 year tags, but
more often 50, 100 or 200 years. If that's the case, then we both
agreed that the efforts we're engaged in might not fully realize
themselves in our lifetime. Excitedly driven forward? Towards what?
For what?
Black Rock City is the purest manifestation and highest concentration
of Burning Man values once a year in the Black Rock Desert. There
is no reason why people can't live year round in a more connective,
creative, self-expressive empowering way for an entire lifetime. To
do that we'll need more than an annual ritual with 35,000
participants on a dry lake bed.
It's that time of the year when not only are each one of us trying to
find, make, express gifts for our loved ones, but non-profits are
hitting us left and right for a year-end tax-deductible donation.
Well, the Black Rock Arts Foundation
<www.blackrockarts.org> is in the same position. Though its
mission may not seem as tangible as animal shelters, it's getting
more tangible by the minute. We have the momentum, we are making it
happen right before our very eyes. But we are caught between hope --
the brilliant ideas, options and projects spread out before us in
our great community -- and the fear of not having enough energy,
money or manpower that will allow of this to come to life. 2005
hasn't even ended, but "Hope and Fear: the Future" has already
begun. "We are emitters of the future", this year's theme text
says. Please donate
<www.donatetoblackrockarts.org/doa...tml> money now to BRAF
and make that future happen.
2006 ART GRANT PROPOSAL DEADLINE!!
Now that the theme is announced, we'd like to inform everyone that
the deadline for art grant proposals is February 15, 2006. We do not
require that your project be based on our theme (See Burning Man’s
Top Ten Art Myths at
<burningman.com/installati...yths.html>) , but we do
give extra points for that, as well as for interactivity. If you
wish to apply for a grant visit
<www.burningman.com/installa...ines.html
>. Please read this document through to the end. It will tell you
what to do next. It states somewhat bluntly: Most proposals
submitted will not receive funding -- but this doesn’t mean that
many projects won’t be given grants! We are eager to see what you
might propose. If you have any ideas to run by us before you write a
proposal, feel free to email artgrants (at) burningman.com. To gain
a broader view on the entire art installation process, we strongly
recommend that you first inspect our Art Installation Guidelines and
Questionnaire
<www.burningman.com/installa...es.html>. This
will help to guide you in preparing a proposal. One last tip: If you
get your art proposal in early – say, before February 1 – we might
have a little more time to read and consider it before our deadline.
This year we are also creating a special category for interactive art
works that can function in conventional civic settings, as well as
at our event in the Black Rock Desert. Already, in 2005, the Black
Rock Arts Foundation <www.blackrockarts.org> has installed two major
public art works in San Francisco – a temple by David Best and a
large sculptural installation by Michael Christian, entitled Flock,
which currently stands in front of City Hall in San Francisco’s
Civic Center Plaza. Furthermore, such projects are by no means
limited to Burning Man’s hometown. The Foundation also has plans
underway to erect a temple designed by David Best in the heart of
Detroit! In 2006, BRAF hopes to cull even more portable art projects
from among those that appear on the playa. Its ultimate aim is to
distribute and erect this art, with the help of local communities,
in cities throughout the country. If you would like your artwork to
be both eligible and feasible for such a purpose, please first
communicate with us at artgrants (at) burningman.com and we’ll give
you advice. All decisions regarding this program or any art works
that might be displayed will be made by BRAF in the coming year.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU
Thanks for a great year! You all ROCK!
Maid Marian
Jack Rabbit Speaks
jackrabbitspeaks@burningman.com
posted by:
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HOPE and FEAR -- brainstorming
Tue, December 27, 2005 - 3:44 PMI'm fuckling love this idea. Having wasted a large portion of my teenage years reading sci-fi utopias and distopias (I wasted more time masturbating, but never mind), my mind is already full of ideas.
I've already heard about big art projects in the making from a couple of you (Draw, Conrad), but very few details. Anyone feel like writing down what they've been brainstorming?
-
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Re: HOPE and FEAR -- brainstorming
Wed, December 28, 2005 - 9:16 AMA lot of my non-Burner friends are planning on coming this year, so let's say half of them bail. That's still several people. One of them has a plan to make what he calls a Bullet Time Trampoline. Remember those shots from the Matrix (and every action film since) where the actor is frozen in mid air while the camera zooms around them? Yup, that's the idea. 30-40 el-cheapo webcams in a ring around a trampoline hooked up to a computer and screens.
Barry and I talked about an inflatable, peddal powered inflatable steam roller you could actually run people over with (without hurting them). I still want to make my Oracle of Reflected Light (a tent full of more coloured strobes than any epileptic could possible handle).
Oh! I also wanted to make an art car trap. It would be a rapidly collapsable frame and tarp that you could lie flat on the playa at night, use people with glowing batons to lure art cars in, then when they're in the right spot WHOOSH! a tent errupts around the art car and they're beset by a dozen hugging, gifting and joking crazies.
I'd really love to get together for a pre-pre-planning shindig in the early New Year, to introduce new burners to the community and to start all the brainstorming in person. And to drink, and hug, and wrestle and...
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