Burning Man 2011 Rites of Passage

Guide to the Art

Compiled by Anarchist Jim With help from Patti Glenn and Reena Shah

This is meant to be distributed far and wide. Feel free to share it in any way youd like. For questions, either about this years or being included in next years, please email jim@digitalanarchy.com

3 Is Land 6 Exsuscitare Traiectus 9 The Wet Dream 14 Titanoboa 15 JUNK Across the Pacific 19 Balloon Chain 21 Past Life Photo Booth 23 Georgie Boy: Fallen Queen of Broadway 28 Dust City Diner 31 The SuperConductor 34 Another Door 37 The Pier 40 The Serpent Twins 42 Tower of Transformation 43 Parallel Lives 46 "Burning Time" - The 1 Mile Clock Project 49 FIRE BIRDS OF THE FIFTH DIRECTION 52 HELLEVATOR 54 NIT WHIPS 56 The Right of Pezzage 60 Caged Pulse Jets Rev 2 63 Tympani Lambada 67 Charon 68 Rock Inferno 72 AURORA 75 Airship Victoria Prototype X3 77 Walkabout Woods 81 Vast 84 Merry-Go-Round 86 A Light Hazing 93 Chew My Balls 94 Garden of Rockets 95 Nelumbo Nucifera 96 Garden of Monkey Retrospectus 97 Billion Jelly Bloom 98 reOnion Project 101 Bapteme de Feu 103 Dragon Smelter 104 Rack Attack! Mutant Centipede Bike 105 Perpetual Motion 106 The Temple of Transition 112 Orgasm 113 City Lights 2011

Sarah Cockings orion fredericks Natalie Wright Charlie Brinson & crew Marcus Eriksen, Leslie Moyer Robert Bose Laurel May Mister Jellyfish Michael Brown, David Cole, John Berg and the Dusties Singularity Calen Barca-Hall, Paul Hempstead The Pier Group led by Matt Schultz Jon Sarriugarte, Kyrsten Mate Joe Arnold John Hagar Jim Bowers Charlie Smith Chris Callor Vincent Leclerc FJ Cava Christina Sporrong Flaming Lotus Girls Peter Hudson Dennis "Zoo Money" Lambe, Chris "Smokey" Lavelle, Charles Gadeken Kristian Akseth, Andrew Boyd, Stacey Reineccius Jonah Haas, Dominique Reboul, Jonathan Smith Quentin Davis Cara Deleon and Joe Hobson Matthew GT Liz Medina Christopher Schardt Michael Emery Iron Monkeys Rob Lord Zsolt dm Anton Viditz-Ward Danny Macchiarini Mark Melnick & Maya Lowry David Boyer Chris Hankins, Diarmaid Horkan, and the Art Megacrew Bryan Tedric

Is Land Sarah Cockings http://www.is-land.co.uk/wordpress2/

Audio Tour Script: Has a mysterious force ripped a chunk of land from the earth and set it adrift ignoring the laws of physics and gravity. An almost post-apocalyptic fantasy image generating visual delight and intrigue. Reassuring the notion, that to own or possess is just a man made delusion but also opening a portal into a para-time and place where Eden endlessly hovers above our heads. Increasingly the real is being flattened. Is Land turns that on its head. A chunk of fantasy dreamscape robbed from the 2D and dropped off in 3D. The Is Land will appear as a highly realistic floating land mass, an air born drifting microcosm or island, that will be walked around the site and momentarily tied to locations. As it floats above and amongst the citizens of Black Rock, the participants can also hold and parade the island whilst gazing up at its hovering surreality. Floating across the horizon it will create a surreal and dreamlike visual oxymoron, hopefully generating innate and sublime pleasure.

Vandalism Sounds pretty cool, huh? Unfortunately Is Land may not be shown at Burning Man. On July 24th, Is Land was being shown at the Secret Garden Party festival in the UK. Some vandals went out and cut the lines tethering Is Land... and since its filled with Helium it floated up and away. It has not been found. Luckily, the artists have received additional funding and are busy trying to create a second version. That will hopefully be at Burning Man. Art Vandalism is something that is fairly common at Burning Man. It really devastates the artist and prevents the rest of us from seeing the installation as it was intended. The artists devoted a tremendous amount of time, energy, and money into gifting these installations to us. The least we can do is respect their work. All of us here at Burning Man and the Artery ask you to respect the art and dont deface or destroy it. If you see someone doing so, please ask them to stop or report it to a ranger. 3

From the Artists Website: The original Is Land was finished in the Brunel Goods Shed in Stroud, Gloucestershire with a large team of people contributing to its realisation. It took six months of maths, physics and creative DIY to get the huge structure aloft. Now with all of our knowledge and experience the same team are willing to take on the re-make and see it float state-side. Is Land was and still is a 7M floating island sculpture made to hover above the Cambridgeshire countryside at this years Secret Garden Party. It danced in limbo like a shaggy Eden, being tossed by the wind or suspended silently. It was one of the core installations at the 2011 art-orientated festival. 4

It was about to make its final pilgrimage to Burning Man festival where it would float again in the Nevada desert, US. However it was cut down in its prime. Witnesses saw a small group of malicious festival goers, two in a dingy, cut all five tether ropes holding the helium structure at 3am on the Sunday morning of the Secret Garden festival allowing it to float away. The daring 9000, six month project by RCA graduates Sarah Cockings and Laurence Symonds simply floated off into the atmosphere, leaving them completely deflated.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority, local airports as well as chartered air spaces were informed, and attempts have been made to calculate the wind speed and direction around Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire at the time of its release, any more accurate location updates will be published. However due to there being release valves on the balloon, the helium will have been slowly expelled over a long period of time, as opposed to rising quickly and rupturing, meaning the island could have reached great heights.

But what goes up must come down, so the hunt is on. If what looks like a floating chunk of earth turns up in your Nans back garden, or if you think you see a new planet on your Easyjet flight to Portugal, please dont hesitate to get in touch. Is Land is made of durable polyurethane with foliage dcor and so, if found, can be repaired and go on to make its maiden voyage to the US of A.

Make a Donation!
If you have ever seen the film UP, you know how important a balloon can be in allowing people to get to their dream destination, but for these artists its not Paradise Falls, but Black Rock City in the Nevada desert. Preparation is now underway, due to the incredible kindness of Secret Garden Party, for building the new Is Land to make its voyage to the desert. Any donations will go towards the decoration of the balloon for Burning Man as there is a shortfall and timing to get it over there has been much decreased by the unfortunate turn of events.. You can donate here:

http://tinyurl.com/3hevvrz

Exsuscitare Traiectus orion fredericks http://orionfredericks.net/current-events/kickstarter-exsucitare-triectus/

Audio Tour Script: The experience of this sculpture is that of awe, intrigue, and evocative interaction. This is monolithic reliquary that holds a sacred space for the passage of the astral and physical. The glyphs in bronze that adorn key, geometric elements describe the intent of energy being channeled. Respecting its own cosmic alignment, elemental properties and its ability to have a voice of its own. The sculpture consists of a long elevated bridge with three kinetic portals along its length. The portals consists of several ring vessels that rotate around the bridge. Holding these ring vessels is a structural arch that supports a crown of kinetic antenna for cosmic tuning. These ring vessels have a enormous range of content, from intelligent lights, steam, fire, and fog. When fog or other vapors are released into the ring vessels (the outer vessels represent air and water) they will create a tangible wormhole effect that one may, or may not choose to pass through. All of your senses will have acknowledged transformation of passage. The first passage prepares you for the second. A much lager portal stands in the middle of the next bridge section. The ring vessels of this portal move at a slower pace but quicken with your presence. These rings represent fire. Your passage and cleansing of fire leads you further down the bridge to another smaller portal again containing a cleansing vapor representing air and water. The bridge then delivers you back to the playa in a different time, space, and point of consciousness. The experience of the sculpture is inviting with its long lines of a bridge that leads to the first of the portals. You need only to cross a simple line in the sand from the playa to the first step on the bridge. This first step is onto a glyph that represents new beginnings. The alignment of the sculpture is that its portal entry faces sunrise to further embody new beginnings.This sculpture provides a rite of passage through elemental transformation for everyone that discovers it. The sculpture is meant to communicate through physical reality the opportunity for anybody to take this passage and awaken to a new potential. You are imbued with inspiration and reflection, by experiencing your own evolution. All of your senses will have acknowledged transformation of passage.

Participants are encouraged to take their time to re-discover themselves and others as they experience the myriad of senses provided by this sculptural passage. Some of the crucial, cast bronze glyphs will also be hidden in the city for any daring adventures to recover. Runic treasure maps will be available to decipher

for those that inquire with the druids of Exsuscitare Traiectus. These glyphs will be the keystone to its performance of true astral potential. A performance that summons the elemental wormhole of fire and water that one can choose to fearlessly travel.

The Wet Dream Natalie Wright http://warmbaby.tumblr.com/

Audio Tour Script: The Wet Dream is an uncanny desert oasis. In the heat of the day it will provide shelter with the gentle audio of falling rain, and the occasional thunderstorm. Being under a canopy of umbrellas reminds one further of the experience of rain, thus mentally cooling and calming them. By night the rain effect will be enhanced by a visual experience via white LED rope lights, descending from different heights above. The Wet Dream is uncanny, sculptural and constantly changing, it tickles the senses but also provides a place to congregate and turn participants into active contributors through gifting. At the beginning of the week, the canopy of umbrellas will be fully fleshed out, only letting trickles of rain light through to the space below. On Friday when the umbrellas are gifted away the rain light will increase, culminating in a downpour as a contrast to the fire on the Saturday night. By Saturday the bones of the installation will be left. The skeleton of structure and lights will be revealed, opening up to the night sky and the site, its type of enclosure changing from a solid surface of umbrellas to demarcations through lights and tertiary rope structure.The plan of the skeleton will be in the form of an umbrellas structure, remarkably similar to a star and thus easily comprehensible from below. This star shape will be enhanced from below by manipulating the lengths of the strings and thus the umbrella canopy above. To mark the changes of sun down/sun up, as the rain lights are turning on/off, the space will erupt with stormy weather. For this period of time the LEDs and audio will act together as lightning and thunder. At night, from a distance, the raining lights will be a dripping spectacle. In the day the neutral tones of the umbrellas will hover like glowing clouds. On approach participants will see the hierarchy of structure; the primary large scale spines, which relate in scale to the desert and enable the hanging of the rain lights extending to the ground; the strings and umbrellas below acting at a more human scale, enclosing the space and supplying an evolving shade. The artists see the Burning Man festival as a platform to communicate the importance of bottom up, user led design through interactive art. They believe as a team of architectural designers that it is very important for people to understand that architects should represent a framework for creativity rather than the top down, egocentric, dictatorial approach that has become common in architecture. They do not want this to be a heavy lecture, as such, so they are taking a whimsical approach to communicate

their ideas & identity in a beautiful, memorable way. Participants should feel curious about what might happen when the individual elements of the piece are disrupted. Revealing something about the relationship between the community of the festival and the spatial carapace they have built. Wet Dream is a stationary structure, the canopy of which, at the beginning of the week is full of our gifts. Umbrellas, our cultural/whimsical symbol of England, are the gift. During the week the canopy will be encouragingly disseminated. Once gifted the umbrellas can be used through the day by individuals for sun protection and at night as a light. As they disperse through the site so will our architecture, leaving a beautiful skeleton. Wet Dream will be uncanny, sculptural and constantly changing, it will tickle the senses but also provide a place to congregate and turn any participant into an active contributor.

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Additional Info from the Artists Website: We believe this version of our concept is specifically tailored to the Burning Man Festival both in scale and theme but see no reason why it could not travel to other festivals with the correct assistance. There may be some beautiful contrasts exposed, such as the umbrellas being gifted to protect from rain, rather than sun if rebuilt in England!

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The beauty of our concept is that the individual components could be easily adapted for various scales of events. Although the version of the scale needed to achieve impact at Burning Man may be too large for other festivals this can be easily resolved through adjusting the connector pieces thus not requiring recutting of structural elements. Working with this flat pack structure and regular re-usable components would mean that the heavy pieces could be re-bought/sold should another festival wish to exhibit it, cutting out transport/storage costs and harmful emissions. As film media is a major component to much of our work we believe that the footage we would wish to take of our event (not necessarily our participants) could be reworked for various film festivals and video screened events. We have links at the East London Film Festival, Qatar Film Festival and to the Japanese music scene. The rain/shade contrast could be amusingly exposed through film! We would love to place it at the UK/Europe Decompression. Sound Sound will be an intrinsic element to our piece. We plan to pre record the audio in the UK by working with our sound designers to record rain and storms. We would like to achieve a variety of scales of rain by recording from under different materials, for example canvas sheeting, umbrellas, tents. The sound will generally be a subtle, gentle rainfall, only experienced when underneath or within apx 5m of the structure. We expect the rainfall to fluctuate throughout the day with downpours expected towards midday. Heavy rainfall is expected to build before the storms, although there could be freak bursts of thunder in the late afternoon. The weather will be purposely orchestrated to contrast the heat. We will also consider a dust storm audio just in case. Occasionally, when there is a storm, the thunder audio may travel further. As it will not be a noise sustained over a long period of time it should not disrupt surrounding artwork although it may effect a quiet/restful piece. We expect the storms to be more frequent at night, with only 3 or 4 claps throughout the day. The participants should feel calmed and cooled by the sounds of rain in the hot Nevada sun with the storms exciting people by night, bringing out their primeval spirit. Interactivity By gifting the umbrellas, a major physical element of our piece, it is inherently interactive These small pieces of our project will be carried to the far corners of the Playa, and then hopefully be taken back to the homes of the participants in the far corners of the world. They will be stamped with a web address so recording their journeys will be possible post-event on an interactive web-map. To encourage people to look after their umbrellas we would like to give them character and behaviour. Each umbrella contains a unit that can communicate with neighbouring units and perform. A unit is built around a pic-chip powered by a 9V battery. They communicate with each other using simple infrared transmittors and receivers. The performance is provided by a series LEDs that flash on and off. This is basic cellular automaton; if a unit receives a signal from a neighbouring unit, it will perform and transmit a signal that will be received by its neighbouring units. Thus performances will constantly ripple across the units in the structure. This would almost be like the lights were arguing or making out! If there were written words of personality inside the umbrella such as a suggestion that Charlie flickers when he is aroused or Gabrielle flickers when she is angry all kinds of games and personalities would be introduced in the singular umbrellas too. People would then be more attached to Charlie or Gabrielle. The large structural piece will change over time dependent on the particpants participation. The pattern of removal is unpredictable; they may go quickly or slowly, over a week or a day, they may be taken from the lowest points first and then participants may need to climb onto each others backs to remove the last few. The pattern of removal will also be the pattern of exposure of the structure and rain lights. The participation required for this will ensure the feeling of being an active contributor to the piece for any participant.

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Titanoboa Charlie Brinson & crew http://www.charliebrinson.com/snake.html Audio Tour Script: Titanoboa is an electromechanical reincarnation of the ancient 50ft serpent rendered extinct by past climate change. The project is a vehicle to provoke discussion, and to enable learning through the creation of a mesmerizing machine. Titanoboa appears to be some sort of surreal illusion. Its an enormous snake approximately 40 feet long and 2 ft in diameter. It moves like real snakes do using several different modes of propulsion. With an entirely electric power system, Titanoboa is essentially quiet apart from the slithering sound of scales on the playa. Participants will be drawn closer to discover how it could be true that such a large serpent slithers its way through the desert. Once close enough to see detail of the serpent beast, they will be mesmerized by the grace and stealth of Titanoboa.

Internal lighting will be visible though cracks between scales and through transparent scales causing the skin to essentially glow. This lighting will be coordinated in patterns involving hundreds of LEDs that complement the snakes motion at night. Red eyes will also be luminescent with motion or heat sensitive sensors to focus in on participants as they try to escape the massive serpent.

Some participants will cower in fear and some will be overcome with fascination and proceed for a closer look. Once up close, participants will be able to see the detail of 100s of semi translucent composite scales that make up Titanoboas skin. A multitude of images, provocative words and patterns will adorn the scales on its exterior. Underneath, will the custom made aluminum backbone, wireless nervous system and muscular system made up of dozens of hydraulic cylinders. Titanoboa experiments with mind-boggling modes of propulsion, and restores life to a terrifying beast the likes of which the world has not see for 60 million years. Dare to ride the snake and look towards the uncertain future of our beloved planet.

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JUNK Across the Pacific Marcus Eriksen www.5gyres.org Leslie Moyer

Audio Tour Script: As a rite of passage to float away from the models of society that engulf us, sailors from the 5 Gyres Institute drifted 2600 miles across the Pacific Ocean from CA to HI on a homemade raft. narrowly missing 3 hurricanes and risking life and limb to tell their story: The raft was made from the fuselage of a Cessna aircraft and 15,000 plastic bottles. Their purpose was to raise awareness of plastic pollution in our oceans and that is also the purpose of the burning man installation: Junk Across The Pacific.

The exploitation of natural resources in light of a growing global populace presents unprecedented challenges to the future. Until now, we have had seemingly limitless land and neighbors to conquer, and endless sea and sky to absorb our pollution...all of this will change in our lifetimes.

After 88 days at sea, and witnessing a steady flow of waste drift by, 5 Gyres has brought the JUNK Raft to the playa. Participants are invited to step aboard and imagine themselves cast away and returning to land with a new vision of how we will build a better world.

The JUNK Raft is made of 40 small pontoons stuffed with plastic bottles, 25 old sailboat masts as the deck, two 18ft masts and a sail that has the name of the vessel JUNK emblazoned across the top. The fuselage of a 310 Cessna aircraft sits in the middle of the raft, and acts as the cabin. Access to the deck of the raft is guided by posts and a rope rail made from braided plastic bags.

There is also a 3 sided kiosk created from reused doors that have informaton about plastic pollution in the worlds oceans.

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 The installation is interactive there are two things participants can do: 1. Turn the bottled sea samples on the kiosk to watch plastic from the five oceans fall through the jar. These are real samples the 5 Gyres Institute has collected during the last 2 years of sailing around the world. 2. Walk aboard the JUNK raft and stand on the deck. An information panel will guide the participant through a short meditative exercise.

5 Gyres invite you to stand upon the bow of the raft. Imagine an empty sea. For a moment, consider that all you can see and hear are wind and waves. Recognize thoughts and let them be carried away. Close your eyes and experience a moment of stillness. This is the opposite of the chaos you may experience in our normal world with all its information, and market-driven, war-tolerant, exploitive, expansive, culture. Discover your rite of passage from this chaos to your stability, aware that there is nothing to do and no place to go. Let your mind drift just as a raft upon the vast sea.

Breathe.

Now imagine a fucking plastic bottle floating by. With global population density approaching 9-10 billion by 2050, and dwindling natural resources, and air and water to absorb our pollution, we find a new ethic. There is no longer room for waste, as a concept or a place.

There is no precedent for the challenges to sustainability that lie ahead. There is literally no room for waste in the world. To create waste is no longer acceptable in any human endeavor. Zero Waste your life, then help others, business, government, schools, to do the same. With tremendous integrity and compassion you can bring substance to people and the land and sea that nourishes us.

5 Gyres has a story to tell of a better future, and want to begin by bringing this message to Black Rock City, through a resurrection of the JUNK Raft on the playa, and a live performance of Lillian. Standing atop the JUNKraft, Ben Lear and his band will perform Lillian, inspiring listeners to contemplate the metaphor of plastic waste through music and poetry. And stationed at the JUNKraft, sailors and scientists from 5 Gyres will interact with visitors, answering questions, telling stories, and sharing ocean samples collected from all 5 Gyres. ABOUT 5 GYRES: Since the voyage of JUNKraft in 2008, we created The 5 Gyres Institute to research and bring awareness to the state of plastic in worlds seas. In April 2011, 5 Gyres completed the first global study of plastic in the worlds oceans, concluding once and for all that plastic pollution is a global problem, impacting marine ecosystems and coastal communities around the world. Disposable plastic waste, a byproduct of our ignorance and overconsumption, flows from land to sea through rivers and storm drains, getting stuck in massive, oceanic current systems called gyres. Plastic accumulates in the gyres, breaking down into smaller and smaller fragments that are eaten by marine organisms. How might this affect human health?

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From the Artists Website: There is no room for waste, as a concept or a place. There has always been new land and neighbors to conquer, and endless sea and sky to absorb our pollution. All of this is changing in our lifetimes. We desperately need new stories to guide us towards a sustainable future. Art, music, film, and personal narratives can show us the way. The JUNKraft shows us that story. And Ben Lears Rock Opera Lillian provides the soundtrack. We plan to bring these stories to new audiences around the world, engaging tens of thousands of people in understanding the problem of plastic pollution, and getting involved in solutions, by bringing the JUNKraft to the Playa at Burning Man. Atop JUNKraft, singer/songwriter Ben Lear will perform his rock opera Lillian, sharing the story of plastic marine pollution through a haunting, lyrical narrative featuring a young mans discovery of loss and love amidst the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Here, we will shoot a short film for viral distribution, capturing peoples reaction to the problem, their reflections on how to effect meaningful change, and our broader perspective on fostering a new ethic in the 21st century that this concept of waste today is simply immoral. ABOUT JUNKRAFT: JUNKraft is a boat built from 15,000 plastic bottles that sailed across the Pacific Ocean in 2008 to bring attention to the issue of plastic marine pollution. The journey of JUNK took 3 months, with 2 men on board drifting 2600 miles from California to Hawaii, narrowly missing 3 hurricanes and risking life and limb to tell this story: The worlds oceans are covered with plastic trash, harming marine wildlife, and potentially impacting our own health.

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Nearly every food product we buy... Take a look around you- most of what we eat, drink, or use in any way comes packaged in petroleum plastic- a material designed to last forever, yet used for products that we then throw away. This throwaway mentality is a relatively recent phenomenon. Just a generation ago, we packaged our products in reusable or recyclable materials glass, metals, and paper, and designed products that would last. Today, our landfills and beaches are awash in plastic packaging, and expendable products that have no value at the end of their short lifecycle. The short-term convenience of using and throwing away plastic products carries a very inconvenient longterm truth. These plastic water bottles, cups, utensils, electronics, toys, and gadgets we dispose of daily are rarely recycled in a closed loop. We currently recover only 5% of the plastics we produce. What happens to the rest of it? Roughly 50% is buried in landfills, some is remade into durable goods, and much of it remains unaccounted for, lost in the environment where it ultimately washes out to sea. This is the problem.

Take this challenge: Walk into any grocery or department store and try to fill a grocery cart with individual products that are not made from, packaged, or labeled with plastic. Though some products, like plastic bottles, have a recovery plan, most do not. Even fewer are truly recycled. Plastic lost at sea is an environmental and potential human health hazard. We must demand zero tolerance for plastic pollution. Reducing our consumption and production of plastic waste, and choosing cost-effective alternatives will go a long way towards protecting our seas- and ultimately ourselves. Be the change you seek Inspire your company, community, school, and home to consider what they make and consume. Know the lifecycle of what you buy- what happens to your products when youre through with them? Shift some habits as you go along- commit to put your bags in the car, to not use plastic bottles, etc. Support legislative efforts to manage waste in your local community- your voice must be heard! Bring your own bag, bottle, cup, To-Go Ware, and inspire others to do the same. Be a leader in your industry and community for sustainable living. Knowing the impact of plastic pollution on the world, inaction is unacceptable. Take it to a higher level Knowing that plastic pollution is an environmental and potential human health hazard, and that current recovery and recycling efforts are inadequate, we must manage production and recovery of plastic responsibly through legislation. Bans and fees on disposable plastics are working to protect people and the environment worldwide. When businesses take responsibility (EPR) to recover products from consumers after use, they make more durable products, create less waste, and reduce the financial burden on municipalities and taxpayers paying to reduce waste. The mother of invention is... Necessity and we are in need of a huge change! Our capacity to come up with smarter approaches, ideas, and materials is limitless. Businesses must continue reinventing the way we make and consume our products, helping to forge a more sustainable world, and supporting communities that demand better alternatives. Responsible legislation creates opportunity for these alternatives. Steel water bottles and cloth grocery bags, biodegradable plastics and green chemistry, closed loop product lifecycles these innovations and reinventions move us towards a more sustainable society, where the concept of waste has no place. Learn more at 5gyres.org

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Balloon Chain Robert Bose balloonchain.com

Audio Tour Script: Strands of helium filled balloons wander the sky both day and night. 17 inch diameter, helium filled balloons, attached at regular intervals to tethered lines, rise up into the sky, creating shapes in reaction to the changing wind conditions. At night, each balloon is illuminated by individually powered, hand made LEDs. The tethering point of the line to the ground can range from a static, non-moving structure on the ground, to a roaming person, who can walk, run, or bicycle around the open playa with the balloon line in tow. The strands of balloons can rise up to 500 feet high and the length of the line can reach 1,600 feet or more. Ballon Chain needs you! This year, the artist is inviting you to help create the longest Balloon Chain to date, stretching over 6,000 feet in length; or over one mile long. Balloon Chain is assembled after dark, on nights when the wind speed is low or whenever the wind dies down to a comfortable level. So keep your eyes on the night sky. If you see a line of balloons going up and feel like pitching in, feel free to drop by and do your part to create one of the many wonders of the playa sky.

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Past Life Photo Booth Laurel May www.pastlifephotobooth.com

Audio Tour Script: When Visitors step inside this classic 6 high photo booth, theyll see a button that is awaiting their touch. Once pressed each participant will receive a trading card ejected through an exterior slot, like a regular photo booth. But these arent regular photos! The concept of reincarnation is accepted not only by adherents of Eastern religions or modern New Age spirituality, but by many religions. The idea of reincarnation is intricately linked to action (called karma, by some), with this accumulated energy determining the quality of ones next incarnation. Much like the flame of one candle lighting another, the essence of the new flame contains imperfections passed along by the initial flame, and it is these imperfections that are to be remedied before we earn release from the cycle of death and rebirth. To know that we have lived before, and that there are lives to come, can be a source of great comfort for those who seek liberation not through the worship of deity, but rather on the basis of their inner resources. It supplies the necessary do-overs which we hope will eventually result in our ultimate liberation. Wouldnt it be nice to gain insight on how past life patterns, or karma, are affecting this current go-round? Naturally, most people would like to believe themselves to have once lived as well-known, accomplished (and mostly glamorous) historic figures. Unfortunately, the truth is, that probably wasnt the case. The PAST LIFE PHOTO BOOTH, a boardwalk cast-off both familiar and otherworldly, beckons Playa seekers to step inside, pull the curtain and with the snap of a flash bulb, invites users to proudly claim a mediocre, average or slightly villainous former incarnation and in doing so, also accept a friendly, playful nudge toward personal growth. All visitors to the PAST LIFE PHOTO BOOTH will leave with a memento: a past life trading card consisting of a stylized photo rendering, the name or occupation of a person from a bygone era, as well as a short, related (lighthearted, possibly very sarcastic) quip providing a little food for thought. In the relative ease of our 21st century lives, what lessons from a hardscrabble past might we have forgotten? Imagining ourselves as historical underdogs, what graces might we grant those we now shun? This quirky, tongue in cheek ephemera will serve as both souvenir and physical reminder that no matter how humble our origins, every one of us is a work in progress and all capable of instant, momentous, (and possibly future) life-altering change.

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Card Designs

From the Artist: All of the names and life lessons were crowd-sourced from www.pastlifephotobooth.com, and run the gamut from hilarious, to touching, to bizarre to ridiculous. Here are some of my favorites: George H. Black, Brickmaker: Good form leads to a solid foundation Noota, Caveman: Smash! Rock! Ouch! Mahakasyapa, Monk: The process of awakening is irreversible Eva Braun, Hitlers Girlfriend: Dont date assholes George Donner, Western Settler: Its okay to ask for directions

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Georgie Boy: Fallen Queen of Broadway Mister Jellyfish www.MutantVehicle.com/Georgie_Boy.htm

AUDIO TOUR FOR GEORGIE BOY: FALLEN QUEEN OF BROADWAY GB: Say there, this is Georgie Boy. I used to be a star on Broadway, but now nobody wants to talk to a tired old queen. Still, the artist, Mister Jellyfish, and crew that built my dilapidated diorama seem to find it humorous that I reside in a seedy, downtown motel with my pet Pomeranian Dog, Smoochie Pooch. SP: What the f**k to you want!? GB: Whell! As I was saying, the faux brick exterior and 28 foot tall art deco sign suggest a bygone era of youth and style and a time before my dazzling acting career went awry. The cut-away viewing area allows you to see inside my shabby abode, replete with all of my pretty things that used to decorate my penthouse in New York. Youll see me lounging on my fainting couch in the finest silk pajamas, comedy/tragedy masks on the wall, a barbershop quartet of motel rats, lovely flowers and a few surprise guests, all of whom come to life through participant interaction. You see, in front of the viewing area is a garish pulpit that features a large, red button labeled spin. When a participant pushes the button, it rotates my four-foot Wheel of Fame that lands on, and lights up, one of the letters of my name on the large sign above-- it also selects a brief theatrical vignette for the characters and I to perform from amusing categories such as arguments, laments, dream sequences, flash backs and crying jags. Once participants are successful in restoring my name back in lights where it belongs, they are rewarded with one of our delightful show tunes-- what more could one want from an evenings entertainment, especially when Smoochie Pooch joins in! SP: Shut the f**k up ya has-been show queen. GB: Silence, you ludicrous lay-about. Anyway, Ive overheard the artist and crew mumbling words like robotics, animatronics and pneumatics but its all geek to me. Sometimes I hear strange sounds emanating from the ice and soda machines behind my wall that make me wonder if they are not quite what they appear to be. Some accuse me of obsessing over my mid-life crisis and forgone youth and fame as though they were Rites of Passage themselves, yet many participants feel themselves drawn in to my tragicomedy macabre. SP: The only thing tragic is my empty dog bowl, ya brandy-swilling hack.

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GB: Ew, that reminds me! Brandy! Brandy! Oh I do adore my brandy. Would you like some brandy in your bowl, Smoochie Pooch? SP: No! I want some f**kin kibble in my bowl. GB: Just a skosh? You know what they say, a snifter up-lifter? Ah hahahaha. SP: N-no! Just... oh why do I even try with you. Shut the F... FADE END. ARTIST COMMENTARY: Hi, Mister Jellyfish here. The inspiration for the Georgie Boy character came about five years ago when my brother, Mac Daddy, and I used to drive up and hide on a hill above a truck stop to torture the truck drivers below on the CB radio. We would come up with characters and dialog that really got their dander up and the best was Georgie Boy with his flirtatious invitations to a fictitious penthouse where truckers could change their sexual orientation. They really wanted to kill us both and probably still do. The 30 member crew and I are based in Sparks Nevada, and the project has received grant funding from Burning Man, the Reno Burners LLC, the Nevada Arts Council and generous donations from the Burning Man community. Be well, and do strange things. END.

From the Honorarium Application: Inside a crumbling, seedy, downtown motel room, a failed robotic actor (Georgie Boy) suffers a mid-life crisis beside his animatronic dog (Smoochie Pooch). Participants drawn to this life-size diorama are encouraged to push a big button and spin the Wheel of Fame in a desperate attempt to restore his name in lights-accompanied by one of many bad show tune productions.

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This comedic piece observes the western obsessions with youth and entertainment. It draws inspiration

from this years theme in observing rise to celebrity, fall from fame and mid-life crisis as Rites of Passage themselves. It lambasts the theater community and the whole Broadway pollyanna of This is our big chance! / Just believe in your dreams!. The codependent interplay between the flamboyant main character, Georgie Boy, and his abusive pet Pomeranian dog (with an agitating voice reminiscent of actor Joe Pesci) quickly engages participants to interact with the story. Celebrating the ups and downs of Georgie Boys thirst for social redemption through applause and accolade, dialog is peppered with punch lines that result in groups of participants sharing laughter together. The laughter may become self-conscious as some participants witness their own reflection in the pool of this tragicomedy macabre. Georgie Boy reads his own reviews and wears his past like a crown, much in the way participants have been known to promote themselves in the default world i.e. Yeah... well... Im HUGE at Burning Man. Georgie Boys ridiculous attempts to deny his homosexuality are magnified by his outrageous behavior and sexual double entendre, demonstrating his extreme reluctance to claim the final Rite Of Passage that stands in his way and emerge from the closet. The result is an artistic allegory on how sometimes we can get in our own way by clinging to fear-based outward representations of ourselves that never draw upon our apparent core truths-- when the joke is indeed on us. This project will also be an experiment in the scientific paradigm in robotics known as The Uncanny Valley in which the animatronic characters will be just human enough to be engaging and entertaining, yet not too human so as to be uncanny and repulsive.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Envision marking the center of the 3:00 plaza with a the 27 foot tall, neon art deco sign (reminiscent of 1950s motels) with the towering words Georgie Boy in letter fonts normally reserved for a large Broadway kiosk. Participants below are gathered around a well-lit stage show of some kind. Upon closer inspection, smaller letters spell out Weekly Rates and Color TV as participants can make out the crumbling brick facade of a life-size diorama-- a seedy motel with antiquated ice and soda machines flanking the side. Participants are surprised to discover that the acting roles inside are all played by animatronic robots. At the high center, a large, colorful circle labeled Wheel of Fame is divided into 10 pie sections, with different letters that spell out the Georgie Boy name in lights as well as different vignettes such as Arguments, Flashbacks, Crying Jags etc. An ornate, four foot high kiosk in front supports a large red button with a solitary word above it: Spin. A steel mesh barrier is barely visible as participants peer inside the large viewing area of cut-away brick, revealing luxurious furnishings inside the unlikely cheap motel room. There, on the fainting couch taken from his previous New York penthouse, lounges the main animatronic character, Georgie Boy in red silk pajamas. Smoking from a cigarette holder in one hand and sloshing around a snifter of brandy in the other, he dangles a golden slipper from his foot as he moves his eyes, lids, brows, head, mouth and shoulders in

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flamboyant and outrageous expressions. On a sumptuous perch next to him is his freshly groomed beige and white pet Pomeranian dog, Smoochie Pooch, with one paw poised to lift the receiver of an elegant French telephone. Both characters are positioned at 45 degree angles so they can turn their heads to each other and to the audience as they interact. The stage floor is elevated 2-1/2 feet above the playa surface so the seated characters are at eye-level with participants. The motel room is appointed with an old motel television, coat rack with top hat, cane and white gloves, champagne bucket, Tiffany lamps, velvet drapes, tassels and other nuveau-Victorian decorations. The back wall features framed, autographed pictures and Playbills of Georgie Boy with other famous Broadway celebrities as well as an animatronic set of comedy/tragedy drama masks that sometimes come to life during dream sequences to act out one of Georgie Boys internal struggles while he slumbers. An entrance door on the side sometimes shakes when a gentleman caller (or the intrusive French maid Zsu Zsu) are knocking behind it. A row of four sneering motel rats occasionally pop up from the orchestra pit to sing backing vocals. INTERACTIVITY: A large back-lit tactile button labeled Spin is mounted on an ornate kiosk in front of the viewing area. An attract mode allows the animatronic characters inside the diorama to act as barkers to invite participants to push the big button and play the game. The large Wheel of Fame display above the viewing area spins lights behind different letters that, when landed on, light the corresponding letters of the larger Georgie Boy sign above it as a bell rings, followed by a 30 to 60 second theatrical vignette. Each letter also corresponds to individual categories of these mini-plays that take place between the characters such as Arguments, Redemptions, Flashbacks, Dream Sequences etc., the latter two of which play video passages of Georgie Boys former years as the Toast of Broadway on the motel TV screen itself. Once participants are successful in lighting all the letters in the Georgie Boy sign, Smoochie and other animatronic beings sing Georgie a campy show tune about the restoration of his fame that gladdens him immensely but his comeback is short-lived as the game then resets, the sign goes dark, and Georgie Boy falls again into despair. For Georgie-Boy to come to life, it requires the involvement of participants: the humorous vignettes and engaging game play brings participants together in laughter and camaraderie. The ridiculous parody of commercial animatronic installations such as those by Walt Disney and Chuck E. Cheeses/Rock-Afire Explosion furthers the comedic appeal. It is the artists greatest hope that participants, as they walk away from this interactive experience, hang their shaking heads low, muttering Dude, that was some fucked-up shit. Lets come back tomorrow. As part of the fund raising effort prior to the event, several handheld transmitters will be awarded to contributors so they can transmit a code at any time and buy a vowel, gifting to those already playing the game so they win faster.

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Dust City Diner Michael Brown, David Cole, John Berg and the Dusties, http://www.dustcitydiner.com

Audio Tour Script: VO: The Dust City Diner is a magical 40s style diner, complete with a quilted stainless steel backsplash, red leather stools, and chrome finishes. The Ink Spots and the Andrews Sisters on the radio, and -- of course weve got great blue plate specials, too! Oh yeah, and dont forgot to check out the waitresses, theyre hotter than the grub. Cmon out to Black Rock and hang out at the most rockin diner on the Playa. The Dust City Diner

The Dust City Diner is a mobile diner that will appear in different deep-playa locations every night, from dusk till dawn, to serve great coffee and a variety of special, daily foods for those who will sit, read the paper, smoke and enjoy the company of a random group of weary travelers.

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The Diners owners want to create the opportunity for a spontaneous community to spring up in the middle of the night on the playa. Itll appear in different deep-playa locations every night (one location each night), making for the type of spontaneous community Burning Man is famous for.

The Dust City Diner is a beacon of light pointing toward the deep playa, attracting weary deep playa travelers from dusk until dawn. 11 stools surround the classic red counter where customers relax and interact with the waitresses. In years past, people gather round and mingle while waiting for a seat at the counter. A large lit sign reads Dust City Diner above the grill. The diner is built on a trailer pulled by a truck which drops off the ol lady at different random spots each night.

Burning Man participants are invited to sit at the counter, be served delicious food and coffee, and to enjoy the playful interactions behind the counter between the waitresses and chef. Each customer is made to feel special and receives a generous amount of TLC from the waitresses who invite the participant into the atmosphere of the diner. In years past, participants easily catch-on and we acquired kitchen help in our dishwashing dept. from fellow burners. Classic 1940s-1960s diner music plays in the background to complete the diner ambience.

The Dust City Diner does what any city diner should: provide oasis at 4am to bleary-eyed travelers. In this case, however, it is a true oasis in the Platonic sense, providing beauty and refreshment in the middle of an enormous stretch of dusty desert. Youll sit on the stools together, drinking tea and coffee, munching grilled cheese sandwiches with seasoning salt off of REAL dishes. Youll hang out and listen to the other customers and talking about what everyone has seen already that night. Youll feel right home, so cmon in.

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From the Artists Website: Our patrons describe us much better than we can. Our hats off to Vanessa for this review: Thrillingly, there were also gems of totality in purpose and execution--at the level of art, costuming, and attitude. One interactive art space, called the Dust City Diner, was created by masters of concept and design, and it was where I had one of my more profound moments of appreciation for what Burning Man seems to be doing in the world. The Dust City Diner does what any city diner should: provide oasis at 4am to bleary-eyed travelers. In this case, however, it is a true oasis in the Platonic sense, providing beauty and refreshment in the middle of an enormous stretch of barren land. It was unreasonably well-decorated with a perfect retro-graphic sign, vinylcovered counter stools, sturdy counter tops, metal napkin dispensers, a short-order kitchen, and waitresses who all wore the same pink dress, white apron, and platinum wig, regardless of their gender. We four hovered on two stools together, drinking tea and coffee, munching grilled cheese sandwiches with Lowrys seasoning salt off of real dishes, listening to the other customers and talking about what wed seen already that night. We were in a diner. We were ouside on the playa. Without any monetary exchange we were fed. The contrast of urban cues in the diner and the utterly desolate and difficult natural world of the playa reminded me of how arbitrary our little worlds can be. We remember this in times of crisis: an earthquake, a fire, moving out. We see that its all temporary and permeable and filled with mortality. I get so easily lulled into feeling at home with my stuff, in my little walls and boxes, as if living with the knowledge the Temporary would destroy me. But it doesnt. Sitting in an un-walled restaurant, which is a real restaurant despite having a different deep playa location every night, I felt that deep acceptance of entropy and chaos that ultimately describes what is real beauty in the world. We can never repeat anything. With that truth, nothing is mundane, and the truly transcendent is miraculous.

-- from http://gorgeouscuriosity.blogspot.com/2008/09/and-then-we-burned.html

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The SuperConductor Singularity (a group of people) www.s-conductor.com

Audio Tour Script: Once the sun goes behind the mountains and the city erupts, the SuperConductor really comes to life. What was once a gigantic mirror is now an interactive orchestra of light with 1008 5 round pixels, each capable of producing over 16 million colors in user-controlled coordinated animations and behaviors. The BIG RED Button should be used wisely! During the day, the SuperConductor is a 42 x 6, faceted, curved mirror, with a conductor podium at its focus. During the night, the SuperConductor becomes a highly visible, LED screen and interactive installation which is participant-controllable via a control podium. The artists are slightly concerned that someone controlling millions of colors might actual brain-melt. They feel there is nothing that can be done to mitigate this risk. Users will be drawn to The SuperConductor from across the playa due to its brightness, large surface area, and animations. Once closer, users will see a slightly-raised podium approximately 25 feet from the middle of the animating display surface. The podium is positioned such that when a participant is conducting, the display surface will wrap to the edges of their peripheral vision. A participant or participants the conductors at the podium will interact with the buttons, sliders, joystick, and The Big Red Button - use wisely), generating immediate visual feedback from the orchestra of light and viewers and other participants around them. With approximately 256 square feet of animated light, citizens will be able to enjoy the conductors performance from thousands of feet away as well as attract others to participate. As different participants take turns being the conductor, we imagine those viewing the display may give oohs and ahhs to let the conductor know that they approve of what he is doing. Even without a conductor, animations are always active on the display, and we expect an ambiance at the installation similar to what we have experienced at the Cubatron in years past. People will stop for a while, relax and enjoy the show!

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From the Artists Website: About Super Conductor So much of modern human existence is spent worrying about being productive; working harder, studying for finals, making sure the kids are fed, getting the oil changed, etc Starting in childhood, our minds slowly get filled up with productive tasks which end up eating all the time we have. Before you know it, (more often than not) its tomorrow and todays list isnt complete. Soon, weve forgotten one of the most important items, Play. For some reason, we think we have more important things to do.

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Eventually, you need a big slap in the face such as a really big and very bright interactive art piece as a reminder something very important has been missing from the endless list. Do something that makes you smile. Its good for you! Play reminds us of the ineffable beauty of life, it calms us down and centers us, and as a result, it makes us more available to and present to one another. Connection and interaction, with our environment and one another, is where deep joy and satisfaction can be found in the human experience. Being connected to each other and present to one another opens us to the possibility of awe, wonder, and inspiration. The SuperConductor is meant to be played with. It is designed to be highly visible and engaging to viewers and participants from far across the playa. A participant or participants the conductors at the podium will interact with tangible controls like buttons, knobs, sliders, and a Big Red Button (use wisely), generating immediate visual feedback from the orchestra of light and viewers and other participants around them. With approximately 256 square feet of animated light, citizens will be able to enjoy the conductors performance from thousands of feet away as well as attract others to participate. The SuperConductor has a secondary purpose: to inspire participants to create and share something of their own. Its the reason were creating The SuperConductor completely from scratch; art weve experienced at Burning Man has been very inspirational and meaningful to us. Thus, as was the case with the Amazing Jellyfish From The Year 12,000 (jellyfish12000.com) and the Brontobot (brontobot.com), we again feel compelled to continue to be a part of generating that experience for ourselves and others. Crew: The SuperConductor crew has a diverse set of talents and professions, including: Electrical and software engineering, planetarium show design and production, game design, metalwork, performance art, event planning, fashion design, expedition planning, being super-cool, creative and humble, etc Our group has worked together in the past creating the Brontobot art car for Burning Man, as well as the Burning Man funded Jellyfish from the year 12,000 mobile art piece. The crew: BaconHand Barbarella Fulbot Spencer Gretchen JeremyTime Aku Alana ElkFish Sara PeanutButter HappyBug Camron

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Another Door Calen Barca-Hall, Paul Hempstead www.anotherdoorproject.blogspot.com

Audio Tour Script: A vague structure is visible through the haze of dust. It seems to be some sort of building, alive and breathing. There is a warmly lit room with light spilling out onto the playa. You can make out the shape of an intricate framework of doors in seemingly constant motion, opening and closing, closing and opening. Figures explore the structure, weaving through its doorways, curious about what it all means. Above the structure there is a complex tangle of belts and wheels, spinning and turning in an intricate ballet of mechanical functions. The ropes cross in all directions, looping around hoops attached to the doors and connecting each door to several others. Your attention is drawn down to the wall of doors directly in front of you. You say Verbose... and you are faced with a decision - which door will you enter? You scan the structure and immediately you are attracted to an old weathered barn door. Its oversized hinges and worn wood look as though it contains ancient secrets and untold stories. As you reach for its handle, it springs open in front of you of its own accord and closes in the threshold adjacent to it. Flustered, you reach for it again, pull it open with a firm tug and enter. From the inside it is apparent that the whole structure is made up almost exclusively of doors. The elaborate rope system overhead acts as the physical connection between the doors. As your eyes follow the ropes from the door you entered you see that they lead across the structure and are attached to another door, where you catch the beaming smile of another participant. You laugh together as you both begin to understand that we are all connected. The shared realization is enheartening and you become eager to explore further. Onward you go through another door, which opens into a large central space. In here there is a raised platform with built-in seating and two heating lamps. The platform shines bright from beneath the floor, illuminating peoples faces and the rigging overhead. People naturally gravitate toward this center to discuss themselves, their experiences and their reactions. The platform has multiple levels which create a dynamic space for people to move in and interact. In this space you realize that every door you opened also opened or closed another door somewhere else in the structure, that your actions and decisions affected the whole structure, and that in one way or another you shaped other peoples experiences.

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The Pier The Pier Group led by Matt Schultz

Audio Tour Script: The Pier is a stage for serendipity, a platform for peaceful participation, and a ramp for rambunctious rendezvous. Its is a 300 ft. long pier jutting forth from the playa. The six foot wide Pier starts flat on the playa surface and slowly rises at a gentle angle for 300 feet, ending 10ft. above the playa. The rise should be almost imperceptible to someone walking on it. The sight of the long, gently diagonal structure against the open playa will create some interesting optical illusions. From a distance, the eye will be tricked into misjudging size and distance.

Both sides of The Pier, along with the shady underside, are covered with oceanside items. Ropes will run from the climable supports down to half buried kayaks, small boats, long neglected crab traps and abandoned buoys on the dusty playa. Buckets of fishing poles will invite people to grab a seat and see what they can catch. Life jackets and flotation devices remind people it may not be so safe to swim. Old tires secured to the sides provide a bumper so mutant boats may safely dock. At night the underside of The Pier will sparkle with hundreds of light blue LEDs, while the top will shine yellowish white from the 70 deck lights. The Pier is disheveled and dangerous, from a bygone era that never existed. It looks like a relic from the developing world, with some sections appearing weathered, others looking recently repaired. All of it a bit chaotic with erratic spacing of the planks. The end of The Pier, 10 feet above the playa, will be shaped like a T. This portion of the pier becomes a gathering spot, viewing platform, and impromptu performance stage, which anyone in the community may use for whatever they see fit.

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From the Artists Website; The Pier is a stage for serendipity, a platform for peaceful participation, and a ramp for rambunctious rendezvous. As children, we lazed and adventured on piers around Lake Tahoe. Motor boats and trout anglers came and went, and we began to notice our favorite piers werent just thruways for the maritime activities we liked to watch; they were trebuchets for our imaginations, launchpads for our wanderlust. Piers were the rustic, rusting vantage points from which we thought the thoughts that made us the vanguard vagabonds we would become. Experiencing the pier goes something like this: From a half mile away, you can see a long, angled platform shading enough square feet of desert ground to provide a meeting place. At night, a seductive blue glow beckons lovers, loners, loafers, and rovers. From 100 yards, it seems we stole the blueprint straight from a National Geographic spread on scrappy entrepreneurs of the Vietnamese fishing industry. Salt-worn nets and the bare feet of leisure-seekers dangle from the edges. Sailors pass bottles of rum. Buoys mark the perimeter. Mermaids, lulled by the gentle call of ocean waves, gather offshore, and Poseidon finally uses his three-tipped fork for its intended purpose: roasting five-pound marshmallows over a Coleman 2-burner. We intend The Pier as a meeting place, a transit point, a public performance center, a shady refuge, a wheelchair-accessible climbing structure, a place to dance, laugh, and look at the stars. The Pier is a welcome mat to fond, old memories, real or imagined, and a loop-de-loop water slide into new worlds. For us, The Pier conjures first kisses by the beach and brings us back (or is it forward?) to the days when we were dread pirates ravaging the seven seas. The Pier will also be the culmination of a year of our generous communitys creative efforts. Our Eplaya post in September, 2010 yielded almost 300 responses. We heard, Make it happen! We also heard I can do this!

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and Ill help with that! By November, friends arrived with hammers. By January, more friends arrived with cameras and make-up artists, and our first major fund-raising project, a meat-swimwear calendar, is nearing completion. Volunteers have signed up for build parties all spring, and a dedicated team has begun planning their August work and family schedules around constructing and installing The Pier. The residents of our little casino-lit, come-as-you-are city have shown their dedication to dreamerdom, and we intend to show them a sculptural manifestation of Renos adventuresome spirit. Or, as we say here in Nevada, Landlocked; schmandlocked!

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The Serpent Twins Jon Sarriugarte, Kyrsten Mate

www.serpenttwins.com Audio Tour Script: The Jormungand (Midgard) and Julunggul (Rainbow) serpents sit between two worlds; the old world that needed and revered them and the present which has shunned such monsters as fears metamorphosed into mythical form. Our present world has left behind these harbingers of destruction and physical embodiment of the ultimate task (the task of slaying such beasts) as so much fantasy. Much as a child puts away his imaginary playthings when he becomes an adult, the dreadful serpent that exists in so many of the worlds cultures myths has been put aside. All these now modern civilizations went through this same rite of passage; that of dismissing myth and legend to depend merely on science and fact. The Two Serpents installation will create these mythical beasts from metal and cast off materials using the same modern science that disposed them; thus restoring ancient mythos to the Burning Man community. Jormungand (Midgard) and Julunggul (Rainbow) are fraternal twins that differ in materials and execution. Jormungand is formed from blackened and patina rusted metal barrels that are plasma cut to form beautiful designs, the body filled with fire and light to illuminate at night. His head will likewise be made of blackened steel with large resin eyes shooting beams of light. Two gills/fins along his head complete his serpent-ness. The last barrel carries the large split tail that rises up skyward; holding illumination aloft. Julunggul has the same form, but her tail and fins are formed with bright steel. Her barrels are white plastic illuminated by colorful RGB LED lights, allowing full color patterns to ripple the length of her body. Both serpents mouths will be open and necks craned to connote their awesome power and speed. The serpents will have a sound track that includes their ancient powerful calls.

The serpents will above all be beautiful to look at day or night. During the day they can be admired for their workmanship and materials with no barrier between the work and the participants. At night, they will both glow in different ways and Jormungands tail will be filled with fire, creating a hearth for the citizens of Blackrock to gather around. He will also shoot fire from his nostrils/mouth. Julungguls body will sparkle with patterns throughout the night. Along with this, they offer a kinetic aspect that can be rare in sculpture. The drivers of the serpents will be able to add another dimension of life to these pieces by acting almost as puppeteers, coaxing the serpentine movement from them. Both will have mythical haunting cries that they can ring out through the darkness.

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Tower of Transformation Joe Arnold www.toweroftransformation.info www.toweroftransformation.blogspot.com Audio Tour Script: The Tower of Transformation is a metaphor for the passage from our self-imposed limitations to a world of pure, unbounded possibility. Formed of two distinctly different sculptures connected by a hyperbolic frame, the base of the sculpture contracts inward and is covered with battered armor plating and rusty chains that represent the defenses that bind us in self-doubt and self-censure, while the top is a perfect lotus blossom that opens outward and upward representing pure potentiality and possibility. The receptive lotus blossom enfolds the central spire representing the union of female and male energies and thus, creativity become manifest. This work is symbolic of the rite of passage chosen by some to leave the world of limitations behind and blossom into a world of possibility and new beginnings. The Tower of Transformation will be 36 feet high and 12 feet in diameter at the base. It will have three sections: a steel frame base covered with rusty steel shingles and chains; a hyperboloid middle section; and a top platform which will have two concentric rings of petals surrounding a 12 foot high central spire. At night, the Tower base will be lit with dark red flood lights. The hyperboloid tower rings will have ascending, sequenced rope lights that will lead the eye upward to the top where the enfolding lotus petals will surround visitors. At the top, the central spire will have a starfield of hundreds of counter-rotating LED lights and ascending chasing light ribs that represent pure creative potential. Viewed from a distance, the top lotus blossom and the central spire will appear to float above the playa. Participants can enter the base chamber and climb a chain ladder to a webbing platform. They can then ascend the hyperboloid. The climb through the hyperboloid with its narrow 30 neck at mid-point is a metaphor for the passage from the limitations of the lower realm to the unlimited possibilities of the upper realm. As the participant climbs through this constriction and enters the lofty, top platform opening outward, the lower realm constrictions disappear. the climbing will become easier and their vision will open up. Symbolically, as one climbs higher, doubts may surface as the security of the base is left behind. The hyperboloid frame is deliberately light and airy to amplify the need for faith in climbing to the higher realm. The climb through the Tower of Transformation encourages you to look inward for the strength to proceed. If you believe, then you can move beyond the limits of self doubt and ascend to the heights and all the potential and possibilities that await you there.

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Parallel Lives John Hagar http://web.me.com/hagarjohn/Site/John_Hagar_Art.html

Audio Tour Script: The essence of Parallel Lives is an interactive process whereby the citizens of Black Rock City compose a wordless novel by making choices, and taking chances, at key junctures of image based novelettes about a young woman who leaves home to find her way in the world. She engages in work, relationships, deals with illness while continuing to search for meaning. There are four sets of parallel novelettes, with a different set on each of the four sides of the Parallel Lives cube. Each novelette is told in tandem with the others and image choices are designed to encourage participants to engage in the wordless novel writing process with others. Participants not only influence the twists, turns, and outcomes of each story, they also engage in bringing together, or further separating, the protagonists parallel life by the choices they make. The impact of interactive participation will vary by story; in other words, in some cases the decisions made by participants will have an anticipated impact on the story, in other cases the decision may lead to surprise results. As in real life, fate will play a hand in outcomes. The six foot square size of the cube will encourage group interaction and will hopefully allow the story writing process to touch as many participants as possible. At night the fluorescent cube glows, neon e-wire illuminates the cubes edges, and muted light from the face of the cube sets off and illuminate the images that comprise the wordless novels As participants approach (regardless of the hour) the images that portray the parallel life stories come into view. Upon close examination, participants begin to read the story left to right and it becomes apparent (because of visible levers), that choices are available to change certain images, and therefore influence the story. Some imagebased stories provide choices with consequences; others end well or badly regardless of a participants decisions, just like real life. After the first novelette is complete, participants may proceed to create a second, parallel life on the same side of the cube, similar in terms of the affected ritual but mysteriously different in terms of choices and outcomes. Parallel Lives seeks to gently remind us that what at first appears as failure may prove more meaningful than success.

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From the Artists Website John Hagar is an artist who lives and works in Sacramento, California. Parallel Lives appears as a glowing, six-foot square fluorescent cube ringed with el-wire. Up close, however, the installation calls for participants to decide what images will appear in a sequence of novelette images in order to cross four thresholds of post-modern life: Transformation, Relationship, Pilgrimage, and Illness. Some image-based stories provide choices with consequences; others end well or badly regardless of a participants decisions, just like real life. After the first novelette is complete, participants may proceed to create a second, parallel life on the same side of the cube, similar in terms of the affected ritual but mysteriously different in terms of choices and outcomes. Parallel Lives seeks to gently remind us that what at first appears as failure may prove more meaningful than success; and while individual voyages present dangers, set backs, and fear, its never too late to make everything different.

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Burning Time - The 1 Mile Clock Project Jim Bowers

http://burningtribe.com/projects/2011-projects/clock/

Audio Tour Script: Miss that important Greeters Shift that you volunteered for last year? In 2011 you need only LOOK UP to check the time on The Worlds Largest Clock! This aint no ordinary timepiece. Continuing in the tradition of creative, unique and mind blowing art on the playa, artist Jim Bowers, The TriBe, a talented team of Laser Technology Scientists, expert craftsmen and other artists from around the world are designing and creating what will be The Worlds Largest Working Clock called Burning Time. At over 5000 feet wide, high powered lasers will keep accurate time with hour, minute and second hands marking artistic 22 towers over the heads of 50,000 burners. Burning Time will fill the entire mile wide inner playa as the face of the clock. Black Rock Citys radial streets that run in the direction of The Man are already numbered like a clock. 12 oclock being straight up from the Man (in front of The Temple) with 6 oclock at the bottom at center camp. From off-center in the circular city the artists will control three high powered lasers from the top of a forty foot tower. These three lasers will tick around the city as infinite hands on a clock. Each of the three laser beams will represent, the hour, minute and ticking second hand while keeping perfect time using precision laser hardware, mirrors and custom software. Each laser will start out as a pinpoint from the center tower and widen out at the esplanade (outside diameter of the clock) making each hand bigger and easier to identify from over a mile away. The more dust in the air, the more visible and brighter the hands. The lasers will be controlled by a custom software which keeps accurate time, using ultra high speed rotating mirrors to accurately position the hands of the clock every 1/2000 of a second. The projects 62 member

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international Art team will create 4x6 Art Panels to be installed on each side of the twelve, 22 tall clock towers. Several featured artists will create LIVE Paintings during scheduled performances throughout the week long festival. Take a bike tour of the twelve Hour Towers, displaying interactive theme related art around the entire three mile circumference of the playa.Get out from behind your camera and be a PART of the Burning Man experience. LIVE in the moment! Time waits for no one and In the end, The Man, The Temple, The Art and The Worlds Largest Clock will burn.

From the Artists Website: A five member team of scientists, laser researchers and software programmers will construct a laser driven clock that will keep accurate time at over one mile in diameter. Three high powered lasers will designate the hour, minute and ticking second hand around a 3.25 mile circumference at the Burning Man Festival, August 29-Sept 4th, 2011. Twelve 22 Obelisk style towers will mark each hour around Black Rock City. Each of the four sided towers will feature original and interactive artwork from volunteer artists around the world. Every hour and half hour participants will strike one of twelve giant gongs around the project. At the end of the event, the entire project (except the lasers) will burn to the ground during the annual Burning Man Finale on the last night of the event. Live in the moment, for time is ephemeral. It counts down the clock. It counts down our lives. In the end it will all be gone. WE will all be gone. Live in the moment Burning Time Project Developers are: Jim Bowers (Artist and clock project creator) Position: Project director, lead artist. Email: Jimbowers@foothill.net Tim Black (Software engineer, inventor, artist) Position: Laser assembly and Software design. Russell Wilcox (Laser Researcher/Physicist, creator of Beaming Man) Position: Laser apparatus design and engineering. Dan Pritchett (Nuclear Physicist, pilot, laser specialist and solar technology researcher)

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Position: Solar/power supply, laser support, project pilot. Brad Lindsey ( Inventor, fabricator, laser and solar design) Position: Project design, Pyro and safety director, project pilot Arlen Bodily (Construction contractor, builder, fabricator) Position: Tower Director: design and construction supervisor Marcus Hertlein (Laser Physicist Lawrence Livermore Berkley) Position: Laser design and construction

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FIRE BIRDS OF THE FIFTH DIRECTION charlie smith www.howhowhow.com

Audio Tour Script: HEY lets go out and check out the man! .. ok ok im almost ready i just gotta find my floofy pants.. what seems like moments later...Your heading out in to the blinky light infested open playa a poof poof here a poof poof there here a fire there a fire every where a fire fire FIRE! whats that thing! ... lets go see ! the frequents sounds of the night...Were going to the man to check it out.. lets go ! as you approach the images of other effigies assembled around the great circle appear hey thats the effigy i saw a flipside in 2005 Holey Shit! lets check it out...WHoA whats that over there.. a vibrant wave of heat large flames and cascading showers of embers flow though the sky.. laughter and chatter is abundant a large red orange glowing creature is surrounded by people..Lets go over and check that thing out.. As you grow closer and the creature seems to be breathing fire throbbing with heat its head belching flames and images are transmitting from its glowing red hot body ... upon approach is seen an amazing bird like creature ablaze with folks from all over discussing their plans for the night ,what the effigies all around the man are about and what the images are about that glow from the body of the fire bird of the fifth direction.... after a few great conversations a ton of warmth and a few random performances take place.. you head off into the night on the next quest ..to climb the man ..

In the creation and magical transformational sense of mythology, the manifestation of the bird figure mixed with other creatures and the human form has resonated as the central source of the beginning and transition into the next level of human existence. Many cultures have had a variation on this: like the heron creation figure of the Egyptian to the winged snake of the Mayan, Aztec, and Toltec (Quetzalcoatl) to the Buddist and Tibetan ( man bird ). With this, a reflection of our human transition as a subculture, will be celebrated thru the four marks on the compass NE SE NW SW then adding the center of the circle culminating to form a sphere = the fifth direction. The fire birds of the fifth direction will be four (4) sculptures created to mark the four corners of the compass around the great circle of the man. These creatures are metal fire cauldrons that will be 12ft tall x 1ft wide and will represent four mythic bird creatures. There will be design pattern cut into the bodies of the sculptures that will illuminate by internal fire by night. The wings will have designs pattern that will project shadows by day. The headdress of each sculpture will be different as these creatures will be stylized to represent the four quadrants of the earth and will depict the nature of mythological and culturally motivated stylistic bird imagery such as the Quetzalcotal images of the Mayan culture mixed with imagery of the Northwest American Indian and etc. These sculptures will have congregation areas created around so individuals and groups can use these areas to celebrate, share and communicate their visions and experiences during the week of the event. They will be

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burnt nightly in sequence starting from SE and rotating counterclockwise throughout the night. this will allow participants to interact in deffernt locations all night long and will enable a clebratory and enthusiastic nightly tour of the CIRCLE OF REGIONAL EFFIGIES around the man. A final transformation of the four birds will take place as they join together as ONE for a final eruption on Saturday night.

The fifth direction concept involves the traditional directional concept mixed with the fifth direction in this case being the central axis the man . The center of the pentagonal form of the city and center of the broken circle, held within will honor/reflect the vertical direction of upward to the sky and downward into the central core of the earth. This project is intended to serve as congregation zone for the community at large. It is also in direct communication to serve along with the CORE project and will give 4 nightly zones to hang out and congregate, stay warm, party, play and meet one another during the week of the event

About the Artist Charlie Smith has a colorful artistic life that encompasses family, sculptural creations, performance art and the curation of interactive exhibits & happenings. He has received multiple national and international grants, commissions, and exhibition opportunities creating both sole and collaborative visions. His devotion to The Artistic has launched him to creating both fine and functional art works for public and private environments, corporations, experimental art communities, music & arts festivals and residential settings. Charlie enjoys working with other artists, architects, designers, contractors and engineers to create artistic vision. His Atlanta based design and build studio is tailored to specialize in one of a kind creations. The works created are made from metal materials sometimes mixed with wood, concrete, glass, stone and light. His use of volume, line, shape, form, and texture lend to intriguing playful and deliberate iconic and symbolic creations. His aesthetic is very unique and resonates with the environments and communities that he creates and affects through his work. Charlies history of timely production schedules, communication skills, and the delivery of high quality products has allowed his success as an Artisan in the South East, across the United States and Abroad.

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Fire Birds of the 5th direction is a community building project that educates, involves and stimulates human interaction through art! Even the positive thoughts about this project are considered a contribution! I am very thankful for everything that i receive !

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HELLEVATOR Chris Callor http://www.hellevator2011.com/ Audio Tour Script: LuciFurr is oh so lonely down in Hell. Have you earned your right to pass into paradise? Find out as the HELLEVATOR takes you 12,256 miles below Playa. Black Rock Citys only underground attraction. Sinners, Burners and Angels are welcome. Its easy to find....simply look for the the elevator shed with the big wheel on top of the HELLEVATOR sign clearly displayed on the marquee. Flames in the urns. Pitch forks, red lighting, smoke and a down button. Push the button.....the HELLEVATOR whirls to life. With a BING!, the elevator door opens and soothing lights and sounds lure you in to the elevator compartment. Step in. As the doors close, citizens will be subjected to a ride deep down into the center of the earth. Go sub- playa and try to earn your way into hell. Then go up to heaven try to earn your place in heaven. Do you have what it takes to enter?

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NIT WHIPS Vincent Leclerc http://vincentleclerc.com/aurora/aurora-images.pdf Audio Tour Script: NIT WHIPS is a playful interactive installation that fosters the creation of a luminous spectacle by the passersby. Participants in the NIT WHIPS installation engage with tall poles, making them oscillate in order to generate rich light compositions that evoke the mythic Northern Lights. It interacts both with the participants willing to engage with it as well as with its environment, swaying to the rhythms of the wind. From a distance, people on the playa can experience the aurora drapes shimmering in the night. The nine 28 poles are installed in a zig-zag pattern spanning about 120-240 feet. The installation is placed on the playa in order to create a large luminous drape visible from the entire playa when all poles are in motion.

The large poles emit a myriad of colors. As the participants or wind shake the poles, the light is modulate in space and in color. Due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, lights blend, creating rich color compositions in the black sky of the desert.

From the Artists Website: CONCEPT NIT WHIPS is a playful interactive installation that fosters the creation of a luminous spectacle by the passers-by. Participants in the NIT WHIPS installation engage with tall poles, making them oscillate in order to generate rich light compositions that evoke the mythic Northern Lights. From a distance, people on the playa can experience the NIT WHIPS drapes shimmering in the night. TOPOLOGY Nine poles are installed in a zig-zag pattern spanning about 250 feet. The installation is placed on the playa in order to create a large luminous drape visible from the entire playa when all poles are in motion.

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PERSISTENCE OF VISION NIT WHIPS is based on the principle of persistence of vision. Persistence of vision is a phenomenon of the human eye by which an afterimage persist for approximately one twenty-fifth of a second on the retina. With NIT WHIPS, the light emited from the poles at a point in time in space is modulated in color and in position by the displacement of the pole in motion. This results in an ephemeral tridimensional volume of light.

When participants manipulate the poles they quickly realize they can make them oscillate rapidly. When they find the resonant frequency of a pole, its tip moves with a high amplitude and generates rich color patterns that gradually evolve over time leaving trails of colorful drapes in the desert sky. The more they move the pole, the richer its colors. Poles that are shaken propagate their colors to neighboring poles. The harder a pole is shaken, the farthest it splashes color onto its neighbors. CONSTRUCTION The poles are segmented into three sections highlighted in the next page: the base (5), the shaft (3) and the whip (1). Base The base serves as the support for the perch. It is made of steel and is stabilized with five feet (6) extending outwards that will be buried in playa dust no more than twelve inches deep. It also houses the control circuitry as well as the sensors, the communication system and the battery (7). A rubber gasket (4) protects the shaft from the base so that no-one loses any fingers when 54

manipulating the pole. Shaft The shaft is what people manipulate. Its made of ABS plastic that resists mechanical stress while remaining flexible enough. A reducer joint (2) is placed at the top of the shaft. It securely fastens the whip to the rest of the pole. Whip The whip is the luminous part of the pole. It is made of a telescoping fiber glass pole (12) protected by a translucent white EPE foam tube sleeve (13). Because the pole diameter diminishes with height, when a small amount of force is applied to the shaft of the pole the tip of the whip twirls in different shapes with great amplitude which augments the phenomenon of persistence of vision. The heart of the whip holds three strips of RGB LEDs (9) independently controlled by analog drivers. Having three independent sections on the pole increases the sense of depth when they move in space. A three-axis accelerometer (8) is placed at the tip of the whip to sense how much people are shaking it.

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The Right of Pezzage FJ Cava http://web.me.com/fjcava2/Right_of_Pezzage/Right_of_Pezzage.html

Audio Tour Script: The Right of Pezzage is a 15-foot tall chicken-headed yellow Pez Dispenser that dispenses words of wisdom, items of pezzage, and fun. the top of the giant PEZ dispenser is a chicken head because chicken heads are used in many African rites of passage ceremonies and the artist happens to be a proud member of Rubber Chicken Camp. It dispenses giant PEZ that have real PEZ dispensers inside as well as other Objects of PezzAge (condoms, tampons, birthday candles, and more). To work the dispenser, participants will have to help each other reach the dispensing handle, which at 12 ft high, is just out of any one persons reach. The 15 foot PEZ dispenser is surround by a 16- foot base. A few large foam PEZes will be on the platform for participants to lounge around on or use as building blocks. This installation is not just a giant PEZ dispenser in the middle of the playa but an interactive toy that brings back childhood memories of candy, fun and sharing. Because it is so tall people will have to work as a team to tilt the chicken head back and get Words of Wisdom dispensed along with giant plastic PEZ filled with Objects of PezzAge. It will be a gathering place to relax and reminisce about stories from the past reminding people of who they were when they first remember PEZ and where they are now. Participants will be able to write about personal Pez experiences that others can read and share. It is PEZs universality and transformative characteristics that drew the artist to using it as the central theme of his art installation. People bring to PEZ, memories of childhood, fun, fantasy, collection, youth, partying, tradition and intrigue. PEZ has been used from everything to help people stop smoking (see History) to a creative way to sharing things with friends at raves. It has transformed from its original intent and become something bigger than just a candy shared among kids.

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From the Artists Website: TEAM PezzAge The team is a mix of skilled and unskilled members. All amazing people and you should find them during your time on the playa. FJ Cava - Artist & PEZident, worked on The Watch 09, attended 07, Potsal Mail 05, and all around good monkey Nina Kawasaki - Vice-PEZident Fire Safety Chief, Chief Fire Spinner, The Watch 09, General labor, third burn Chassy Cleland - PEZident Advisor, Mentor, Jack-of-All-Trades, Artist The Watch 09, The Cave 08, attended 07, 06, Potsal Mail 05, 03 and longtime burner Audrey Boguchwal - General Labor, The Watch 09 Dana Voehl aka Ranger Danimal - Carpenter, Lead Carpenter for The Watch 09, longtime burner Dave Graham - General labor, The Watch 09, longtime burner Alvin Thomas - General labor, The Watch 09, attended 10, third burn Jake Jillman - The Watch 09, General labor, long term burner Juliet Kressner - General labor and all around cool cat Kevin Verlander - General labor Travis Fears - General labor, virgin Brian Shih - General Labor, virgin Iran Montiego - General Labor, virgin From the Honorarium Application: PEZ History: PEZ was invented in 1927 (84 years ago) as a breath mint in Vienna, Austria, by Eduard Haas III. The name PEZ comes from the German word for peppermint, pfefferminz. PEZ was then mass produced in Czechoslovakia in 1935. Then in 1948, Oscar Uxa designed the first PEZ dispenser to look like a cigarette lighter in order to encourage people to stop smoking. The dispenser was then introduced to the world at the Vienna Trade Fair in the same year. PEZ came to America in the mid-1950s when flavors were introduced in order to target children. This followed a change in the dispenser as well, with the Full Body Santa, Full Body Robot and the Space Gun. In the mid-late 1980s PEZ dispensers and the unique PEZ shape were used to mask, MDMA, also known as ecstasy. Then in 1993 Christies auction house in NYC held the first ever pop culture auction featuring PEZ dispenser. And now in 2011 the first 15 tall interactive PEZ dispenser at Burningman 2011. Physical Description The PEZ Dispenser will be fifteen feet (15) tall and be surrounded by a sixteen foot (16) rectangular base with rounded edges for stability and distinction at night since it will be lit with el wire. The base will be one foot (1) off the playa with DG underneath of it for the burn. The platform will have legs that are attached to rebar that has been pounded into the playa for stability. The platform will also be covered with used carpet to increase the softness and reduce the risk of injury. The chicken head will be made of papier-mch and painted to look like a giant chicken head. The chicken head was chosen for two main reasons. First, chicken heads are commonly used in many rights of passage in Africa and throughout the world. Second, it represents my base camp for two years, Rubber Chicken Camp, whose theme is to support artists doing art on the playa. The dispenser base will be painted bright yellow to be easily seen during the day as well as easily picked up by artcar headlights at night. There will also be many large weighted plastic PEZ candy on the platform that can be used to lounge around, play with and build with. From a distance Burners will see a giant chicken head sticking up out of the horizon with blocks around its base. As you grow closer it become apparent that it is a giant PEZ dispenser that needs to be dispensed! Interactivity Because the dispenser is fifteen feet (15) tall, no single person would be able to reach the tilt bar at the back of the chicken head in order to make the PEZ dispense. It is also to high for someone to jump and reach the tilt bar so people will have to work as a team in order to figure out how to reach the bar and tilt the head for

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the PEZ to get dispensed. Then once the head is titled the chicken will crow and say Words of Wisdom as well as a giant plastic PEZ will be partially displayed but not fully dispensed (as in its smaller cousin the PEZ dispenser) so the new challenge becomes how to remove the partially ejected giant PEZ on the other side of the head while still keeping the head tilted from the back. Once this physical puzzle is solved and the group gets the plastic weighted PEZ out of the dispenser, the giant PEZ itself splits in half to expose Objects of PezzAge that they can then leave, take or gift. These PEZ can then be put back together and used to lounge around on. These used PEZ will be refilled 2x daily (See team rotation roster) with more Objects of PezzAge and re-loaded back into the dispenser for the next round of people to play. Objects of PezzAge: PEZ dispensers with candy, Vials of ashes from previous Man burns, Body Paint, Wedding Garters, Jump RopeTampons, Condoms, Stick on Tattoos, Birthday Candles Sound Every time the chicken head is tilted back it will trigger an audio recording that will randomly choose from several Oracle Words of Wisdom that are played through speakers attached on the inside of the head and within the dispenser. Examples of the Oracle Words of Wisdom are: Cockle-doodle-do, Only the wisest and the stupidest of men never change. Cockle-doodle-do, Those who criticize our generation forget who raised it. Cockle-doodle-do, Criticizing is easy, art is difficult. Cockle-doodle-do, The best mind-altering drug is truth. Cockle-doodle-do, The best things in life are not things. Cockle-doodle-do, Empty cans make the most noise. Cockle-doodle-do, Hospitality: Making your guests feel like theyre at home, even if you wish they were. Cockle-doodle-do, War does not determine who is right - only who is left Cockle-doodle-do, If I agreed with you wed both be wrong. Cockle-doodle-do, Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience. Cockle-doodle-do, Theres a fine line between cuddling and holding someone down so they cant get away.

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Caged Pulse Jets Rev 2 Christina Sporrong www.cagedpulsejets.blogspot.com

Audio Tour Script: Caged Pulse Jets Rev 2 is an interactive, kinetic sound sculpture. Its an 18 foot bird cage with birds of a curious origin. The caged birds are five spinning pulse jet engines of various sizes that create a range of percussive and droning tones. Through a completely new and interactive interface, the public can create sound compositions ranging from the symphonic to the cacophonous while they are held captive by the fiery jets spinning by their own thrust. When walking up to the oversized adorned bird cage, you wonder what the jet engines within will sound like. Suddenly they snap on, with loud popping sounds and flames bursting out of the exhausts. You notice the console and the operators lively positions. As you approach you see the jets lit up by their own fiery pulsationspinning wildly inside the cage. They are all spinning in different directions and at different heights. The cage is vibrating with the motion of the jets and it takes on a life of its own while the explosive, cacophonous sounds resonate in your ears. Its awe-inspiring. Youll stand behind the console, eagerly awaiting your turn at playing a pulse jet to create another fiery symphony.

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There are five pulse jets varying in size, and thus varying in tone, that participants can play by using a new control station located about 20 feet from the cage. The dials and switches control the air and the fuel mixture as well as the spark to ignite each jet. The operation of the jet also determines the spinning speed, the sputtering flames from the exhaust and the color of the jet body. One person can operate all five jets, or five people can play together in an orchestra interacting not only with the sculpture but with each other.

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Tympani Lambada Flaming Lotus Girls www.flaminglotus.com

Audio Tour Script: From a distance, bursts of fire outline sensual curves in the sky. Fiery arches intrigue and invite approach. Soaring at impossible angles and creating a slight sense of vertigo, the sculptures undulations echo with subtle rumbles and hums. Bulbous shapes on the ground glow red and roar with intense colorful fire flickering in their depths. Tendon-like structures stretch over the interior space of the sculpture forming an intimate gathering place. Controls scattered throughout allow interaction with fire and light elements and sound effects. Tympani Lambada is a sculptural embodiment of the structures by which we hear and balance, combining fire, vibration and sound to create an experience rich with visceral sensuality. The bone and membrane of the inner ears vestibular system is transformed into steel and fire. Flame effects, LEDs and sound effects mirror the function - circular, sensory experience: smell, hear, touch. Two stainless steel arches reach up to 25 high, giving the sculputure a strong visual impact even from afar. A third arch is suspended in space, glowing with LEDs that will illuminate the area at night after fire. The interior of the piece is formed mainly by the massive egg-like shapes of the utricle, saccule and ganglia. These structures mimic nerve clusters with light and fire. Each is approximently 12 long and 6 high. The vestibular system arches create a dramatic backdrop for the spiral of the cochlea, imagined as a 13-foot high, 15-foot wide liquid fire fountain. A graceful flow of fire spirals down the delicate interior of the cochlea, occasionally rippling from sound vibrations emanating through the sculpture. The fountain provides a visually stunning yet calmer, more grounded area within the overall sculpture.

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The infamous Space Pigeon

From the Artists Website: A normal day with the Flaming Lotus Girls, what goes on?: Alexander arch rises! Tweener coping madness! Truss welding! Plasma cutting! Saccule strategizing! Massive amounts of grinding day and night!

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Methanol fountain takes shape! And, Button casting (so you can make fire, but of course)! Thanks again for all your support - this would not be possible without your generosity and well wishes. Well see you on the Playa. Its gonna be wonderous!! From the Honorarium Application: Tympani Lambada is a sculptural embodiment of the structures by which we hear and balance, combining fire, vibration and sound to create an experience rich with visceral sensuality. The bone and membrane of the inner ears vestibular system is transformed into steel and fire. Flame effects, LEDs and sound effects mirror the function - circular, sensory experience: smell, hear, touch. Physical Description: Tympani is constructed from stainless steel, copper and mild steel. The three large arches are 25 ft tall, 20 ft tall, and 15ft tall and are constructed with mild and stainless steel trusses covered with stainless steel mesh. The trusses use 1 inch, 2 inch and 3 inch diameter tubing with wall thickness not under 1/8 inch. The arches are built in 8 foot long sections, with average width and height being 3 feet and 4 feet. Appropriate grade hardware will be used with custom pipe flanges to put sections together. Base plates will be built with 1/2 inch mild steel plate and secure to the trusses via bolt plates and appropriate grade hardware. We will primarily weld the structure together. The sac-like portions are 10 feet long, 6 feet wide and 7 feet high and are constructed with mild and stainless steel tubing. 1 inch, 1 1/2 inch and 2 inch tubing will used for the main structure. Flanges and appropriate grade hardware will secure sections together. Pinrod, perforated sheet, mild sheet, stainless sheet and tubing will be used for decorative elements. We will primarily weld the structure together. The arches will attach to the sacs with appropriate grade hardware. The benches range in length from 30 to 40 feet long, 4 feet high and 3 feet wide and are constructed of mild steel, in similar construction to the arches above. They will be built in sections not to exceed 8 ft long. Sections will connect to each other with bolt plates and appropriate grade hardware. Wood benches will be built in to the sides, secured with through bolts to the main structure. Bench sections will connect to the sacs with bolt plates and appropriate grade hardware. The cochlea, a methanol fountain, is made of stainless steel and copper. Methanol is piped up the center of the spiral, and released in a regulated drip at the top to travel down the surface of the cochlea. The main structural pipe will be a 12 inch mild steel pipe. Stainless steel sheet is used to create the spiral plane the methanol flows down. Copper tubing is used as a decorative element. The fountain is built in sections not exceeding 8 feet long. The 3 secondary arches spanning between the sacs are 15 ft, 18 ft and 20ft long and are constructed with tapered mild steel tubing. 1 inch, 2 inch and 3 inch diameter tubing will be used. The secondary arches will be built in sections not exceeding 8 feet. Pipe flanges and appropriate grade hardware will be used to secure the arches to the sacs. Note: Mild steel elements will be painted. Metal that is near fire or has fire on it will be stainless steel.

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Charon peter hudson http://www.hudzo.com/ Audio Tour Script: A somber bell beacons in the distance. As you approach from the 6:00 axis all that is seen are people jumping and pulling on ropes of a 32 tall structure and ringing a large church bell. Emulating flames, the ground is lit with flickering orange, yellow and red light. As the viewer advances to the side of the piece it is revealed to resemble a large gothic archway supporting a ferris wheel of sorts, but with otherworldly riders. The ropes are turning the wheel and as the piece gains a rotational speed of 30 rpms the flame effects flicker out and strobe lights take over. The strobes illuminate 20 individual skeletons paddling the wheels boat hull through the structures archways. The skin of the boat hull reveals animated paintings of hands desperately trying to get into the boat on one side and groveling bodies crawling around the opposite perimeter. As the piece slows down the strobes will go dark, the macabre spectacle will end and the flickering flame effects will again illuminate the structure. Charon consists of two 25 tall archways with a 30 x 30 footprint holding up a 28 diameter wheel. Hanging from the archways will be 12 ropes attached to large mechanism that will translate the up and down motion to rotary motion. This will in turn ring a large church bell. During the day, this motion will charge a bank of batteries that will provide the lighting and power assist to the rotary motion. A vigorous genuflection of sorts brings life to Charon, the gondolier to the afterlife. Charon will engage participants to reflect on their own mortality, that they might ponder how to give and get the most from our brief time here on Earth. The artists intention is that participants will not dwell on their own their own demise, but, instead, will consider how to make their own lives richer and more meaningful. Have given me reason to consider the piece as a final farewell and bon voyage to those who we have cherished.

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Rock Inferno Dennis Zoo Money Lambe, Chris Smokey Lavelle, Jeff Valence Sweetman, Ray Neutral Somers, Jen Monster Swanson www.arsoniccreations.com/rockinferno.shtml

Audio Tour Script: Its finally time to Stop, Rock and Roll! Its a twist to a familiar experience and youll be thrilled about it every step of the way. Strap on a plastic guitar and brace yourself for a round of Rock Inferno! Rock Inferno is an interactive fire art video game. Its a mash-up of pyrotechnics and video games! Onlookers witness a participant furiously playing a guiter controller as colored notes roll down the projector screen. Each correct note played sends a fireball skyward through 5 corresponding flame throwers that are mounted on top of the projector screen. If you miss a note, no fire, so keep those fingers hot on the keys. The centerpiece of the installation is a standing 8-foot by 8-foot frame which supports a projector screen. Five flame poofers are mounted on the top of the frame, aimed toward the sky. While the game is being played, the players note track scrolls down the screen. If the player is performing correctly, the poofers above the screen will be firing in time with the music, mirroring the players actions. Rock Inferno (formerly known as Fire Hero) made its world debut at Burning Man 2010 as an interactive fine art piece, thanks to the support and sponsorship of Camp Here.

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From the Artists Website: Technical Details:

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STRUCTURE: This installation can be broken down into 4 groups of components: Fuel, Effects, Structure, and Electronics. While Fuel and Effects may seem to belong together in one category, they are each complex enough to deserve their own category. There is also a set of safety mechanisms that disable the entire system should one component fail or should an unsafe situation arise. Lets start with the Structure. Rock Inferno rides atop 3 pieces of 8 by 10 triangle truss, similar to what you may find stage lights suspended from in a theater. High-stress polycarbonate connectors afix the horizontal truss above the 2 vertical pieces and provide a base for the Effects and a frame for the Screen. The vertical trusses are each secured to the ground via 3 ratchet straps, hooking to either driven rebar or concrete blocks depending on the installation environment. A similar arrangement supports the projector above the player, and provides mounting locations for the spotlights aimed at the player. Color coded lights are also installed within the vertical truss on either side of the player. The Emergency Stop button is located on this truss as well. EFFECTS: Flame effects are the show stoppers of Rock Inferno, and deserve to be noticed. So in case the 6 flames arent enough, we housed the guts of the system inside reflective road cones. The cones double as a windbreak, which stabilizes the flame and protects the valves and fittings from any weather that may arise. A box that contains the spark generator and wiring provides a base for the cone, and in turn is mounted to the Truss. This arrangement provides a safe atmosphere by separating the fuel and electricity. FUEL: What we started with is a POL tank connection that is installed into the 20# LP tanks that run Rock Inferno. A system pressure gauge allows us to view the pressure of the tank, and a high-flow regulator brings it down to a practical value. An attached gauge displays the output, or Line, pressure. From the regulator a 1/2 LP rated hose carries the gas to a 5 port manifold that downsizes the hose size to 3/8 and splits off to the 5 accumulators feeding the Flame Effects. Our accumulators are decommissioned 20# LP tanks with a check valve and a vertical Tee, that allows the stored gas to exit into another 3/8 hose that feeds the Effects. Creators: chris smokey lavelle mechanical & pyrotechnic engineering Smokey sees every project as a chance to challenge his capabilities and creativity. Attracted by the ingenuity of mechanical systems, he studied in the engineering program at UCONN. After two years, he opted to get his hands dirty and enlisted in industrial manufacturing. A tendency to fully immerse in and commit to projects leads to Smokey overworking himself most of the time, but it hasnt killed him yet so change is not on the horizon. A varied work history ranging from electrical systems to nuclear steamline plugs has allowed him to find the intersection between fabrication and creativity. He is currently in a welding program, always striving to learn new skills. A similar focus is applied to his hobbies of poi spinning and general tinkering. dennis zoo money lambe software engineering Zoo has been working for five years as an embedded software engineer, three of them working alongside Valence. By day he programs industrial controls, vending machines, USB sticks, and other tiny brains that lurk inside everyday things. Spending that much time working on devices with tiny displays and rigid requirements has resulted in an uncontrollable urge to create big, noisy, pretty things in his spare time. He is also thrilled to finally turn his long-standing obsession with rhythm-action games into an asset. valence software engineering

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Valence, an embedded software engineer and sometime coworker of Zoo Money, is a man of few words but epic hacks. jen monster swanson multimedia designer & advertising

Jen graduated from the School of Visual Arts with a BFA in Graphic Design. By day she is a handbag designer, by nights and weekends she devotes herself to a constant variety of projects. Fire spinning and performing takes the top of the list and is always a default activity. Her melting pot of projects ranges from fashion & costume design to videography, web design, freelance graphic design and whatever comes her way. ray neutral somers electrical engineering Neutrals childhood wonder and exploration of technology landed him in a Connecticut technical high school where he graduated with an Electrical Technology diploma. Now, a decade of electrical experience has given him a professional approach and execution to each project, enabling a do it right the first time strategy. time in the field has also enhanced his dynamic outside-the-box thinking, allowing his creative mind to push the limits. With a love for spark and fire, he thoroughly enjoys diving into these projects created with his peers.

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AURORA Charles Gadeken http://charlesgadeken.com/art/aurora

Audio Tour Script: A weeping willow tree rises 30ft in the air, its trunk and copper leaves reflecting the sunlight across the desert. Several hundred branches are hanging down from the tree, each illuminated with a band of slow transitioning LEDs. The trunk is both solid and transparent, created from tubing bent in sinuous lines and are joined together in a spider web with thousands of hand curved rods. The roots rise out of the ground, creating resting places for people to sit. During the day, AURORA provides a place to rest under its shade. At night, it dazzles the sky with light. The branches outline the willow in spectacular bursts of color. Bands of light pass around the tree: greens, yellows, reds and ambers - a dazzling show that constantly changes as the tree moves through the seasons of its life. Participant controls will be worked into the roots of the tree. Illuminated hand holds with custom built sensors will tune the light pulses of the tree to each participants heart beat. Individual effects buttons will create short bursts of lighting effects. There will be one sensor on each of the five roots that relate to the five main branches of the tree with additional effects buttons scattered around the base and roots of the tree. Utilizing a parabolic microphone, the willow will also be able to listen to its environment and change its light patterns in relation to the sounds it hears. It will dance to the audio of a passing art car or flash to shouts of the crowd. AURORA represents the secret clubhouse, the magical wardrobe, the portal from a practical reality into a real life fairy tale connecting and inspiring all of us to play. As you interact with the magical tree youll connect with others that are doing the same. All of you will move the tree through its seasons and hopefully better understand the transitions of your own.

Charlie Gadeken

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From the Honorarium application: AURORA is a weeping willow tree 30ft tall with a 40ft canopy. AURORA has a 40 base made up of roots, that can be used as seating. There are several hundred branches hanging down from the tree, each illuminated with a band of slow transitioning LEDs. AURORA is controlled through a computer and includes a wide range of interactive controls. The sculpture runs from dusk to dawn. During the day, AURORA provides a place to rest under its shade. At night, it dazzles the sky with light. The branches outline the willow in spectacular bursts of color. Bands of light pass around the tree: greens, yellows, reds and ambers - a dazzling show that constantly changes as the tree moves through the seasons of its life.

Participant controls will be worked into the roots of the tree. Illuminated hand holds with custom built sensors will tune the light pulses of the tree to each participants heart beat. Individual effects buttons will create short bursts of lighting effects. There will be one sensor on each of the five roots that relate to the five main branches of the tree with additional effects buttons scattered around the base and roots of the tree.

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Participant controls will be worked into the roots of the tree. Illuminated hand holds with custom built sensors will tune the light pulses of the tree to each participants heart beat. There will be one sensor on each of the five roots that relate to the five main branches of the tree. Individual effects buttons will create short bursts of light effects. There will be one sensor on each of the five roots that relate to the five main branches of the tree with additonal effects bottons scattered around the base and roots of the tree. Utilizing a parabolic microphone, the willow will also be able to listen to its environment and change its light patterns in relation to the sounds it hears. It will dance to the audio of a passing art car or flash to shouts of the crowd.

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Airship Victoria Prototype X3 Kristian Akseth, Andrew Boyd, Stacey Reineccius http://www.airshipvictoria.org/Airship_Victoria/Welcome.html

Audio Tour Script: Born out of the recent airship renaissance, and a desire to create an interactive performance art installation, the Airship Victoria blends modern and historical technology to provide a unique spin on airship design and architecture. Through the integration of art, science, air, and electricity the operators of the Airship Victoria will create a floating three-dimensional art installation. The latest version of the airship is code named X3. The X3 will be a fifty foot diameter set of balloons that are over 20 feet tall. Below the Airship will hang a 1kW Tesla Coil that will be electrically controlled to emmit sound. Off to the side of the Airship a separate 20kW Tesla Coil will also be controlled electronically. Lights, lasers, will all be projected from the ground. During the night you will see the saucer style ship rise above the Promenade floor and begin to glow. Lifted up below the Airship will be a 20kW Singing Tesla Coil playing music electrically through 15 foot bolts of lightening. Video projections, lasers and light effects will shine up onto the underside of the Airship. You will be able to stand directly below the show and look up at a spectacle of light and sound perfectly intertwined with the stars as a backdrop. The Airship is highly interactive. All the light effects, projections and lasers can be manipulated by Black Rock citizens from the control booth. Videos and images from participants digital devices can be projected directly onto the Airship and The 2 Singing Tesla Coils will also be playable by citizens via a MIDI keyboard. Come experience the renaissance in Airship technology. Itll be an incredibly fun ride of sound and light.

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Walkabout Woods Jonah Haas, Dominique Reboul, Jonathan Smith www.walkaboutwoods.com

Audio Tour Script: Participants may happen upon and enter Walkabout Woods from any direction. Approached from afar, the installation will look like a vast grove of over 100 multicolored abstract trees of various sizes and shapes. A rainbow of LED and ground lighting will illuminate the woodland realm, highlighting eclectic arboreal artistry and casting bizarre geometric shadows. Walkabout Woods will radiate with the intrigue and appeal of a fantasy playland. Walkabout woods is a large, collaborative, interactive art installation in three parts: 1) The Forest, which represents the natural world and our collective past, is a magical place to get lost and found. 2)The Boiler Room which is our reflection of the present, invokes human technology and industry, and turns a reflective eye back on ourselves. And 3) The Pyramid, which represents our collective momentum onward and upward into the future, is an elevated place from which we can observe the madness of our world without being in it. Taken together, the forest, the boiler room, and the pyramid represent the rite of passage of the human species. Scanning the skyline of the forest, viewers will observe some interesting protrusions from the inside of the grove. A chimney and a factory smokestack will periodically blast flames 30 feet into the air. The massive 20foot pyramid will tower over all the rest in the center of the installation. Hidden deep within the forest, three Boiler Rooms provide opportunities for participants to interact with their senses in curious ways. From the outside, the Boiler Rooms will look like a mad scientists mechanical laboratory. Industrial in aesthetic they will act as a stark man-made contrast to the natural forest it is nestled in. The interiors of the three Boiler Rooms will house three different Sensory Sanctuaries: The Control Room of Sights and Sounds, The Machine Lounge of Touch and Taste, and Ye Ol Factory. Two entrances will allow participants inside the Control Room where they will find an array of technological gadgets and interesting activities designed to be seen and heard. All eyes and ears on deck! A tall chimney will poof fire effects into the night sky over the Machine Lounge of Touch and Taste. This is a place to eat, drink, and... feel. A bizarre factory will also blast flames out of one tall smokestack. The Ye Ol Factory smelling saloon will offer essential oil blends, fragrant lotions, incense, and a variety of other smelly fabrications both delicious and disgusting.. The Pyramid will tower over all the rest. This 20 foot climbable tetrahedron will be the center point of the forest. Around its base, it will be lined with mirrors at eye level. The tree will literally speak to passers-by (from speakers connected to mics hidden inside the tree) and beckon them to interact with the mirrors and climb on the branches. The apex of the pyramid will house a small perch for one person to sit and contemplate their surroundings and their place in the madness. Walkabout Woods will be a highly interactive environment. The deeper participants go into the installation

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the more interactive it becomes. The forest itself invites exploration. Entering the forest has always been a rite of passage. A step into the unknown where paths are easily lost, but revelations can be found. Step into Walkabout Woods and see where the paths lead you.

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From the Artists Website: What is the overall vision? We recognize that getting lost in the woods is a common rite of passage that replays in many of our myths and stories. Likewise many indigenous traditions promoted a walkabout as a vital journey for individuals to find their place in the world. We wanted to marry these concepts, give them a Fishbon twist, and make them playa playful! Thus, Walkabout Woods is a highly interactive, all encompassing environment. When you enter it, you leave one world and are completely enveloped in another. WIthin this otherwhere, we invite you to experiment with your senses in curious ways. Ultimately, we hope that Walkabout Woods is a place where growth happens, where our conventional ideas and perceptions are turned on their heads. Its fun and its weird and at the end we think you will leave a slightly different creature than you were when you entered.

What is the vision for the trees in the Forest? Naturally the forest isnt just a simple forest. There are an endless array of possibilities for things to be hidden deep in the woods. The forest is a place to meander, to get lost and found, and to discover hitherto unknown nooks and surprises. We intend to have a glade where all manner of events, from marriages to performances to spontaneous rituals, can take place. We want to send out an invitation to The Billion Bunny March to begin or end their parade in the woods. We will have a place where animaliens of the Playa can be pet and fed. In order to make this experience as rich as possible, we want to hear your ideas. After all, does the bear sh*t in the woods or not? Email all suggestions, ideas, proposals, and creative kookiness to jonahhaas@yahoo.com or leave a comment on our Facebook page.

What about the Boiler Room? What is it? The Boiler Room is the counter point to the woods. Made to look like cartoony riveted boiler plates with doors and controls to match, it contains a collection of interactive panels that all stress the idea of the feedback loop. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video must be that cubed. So here is some video of the Boiler Room in action, taken last year in Los Angeles The Boiler Room Goes to Los Angeles

How does the Pyramid fit in? If the Boiler Room is the counter point to the Forest, the Pyramid is their amalgamation and synthesis. Physically, it will be a 20 foot tall tetrahedron, which is just a fancy word for a three-sided pyramid. We realized that regardless of whether or not we made it climbable that it would be climbed on anyway, so we are going ahead and making sure it will be structurally safe and sound with lots of

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good hand and footholds. Playa goers can enter the pyramid and interact with people on the outside while remaining invisible to them by way of a creatively engineered oneway mirror and microphone system. At the apex of the pyramid we intend to build in a variety of different scopes to make the playa look more warped and weird than it already is if thats possible. Who? Fishbon is a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts organization/collaborative from Santa Barbara, California whose goal his helping people realize their artistic endeavors. Its fair to say that weve been heavily influenced by Burning Man. Every year many of us make our annual pilgrimage to Black Rock City. And we LOVE bringing stuff with us for everyone to enjoy on The Playa. When any of us try to describe what Fishbon is and does, its tricky as it is many things to many different people. For example, we have a Wednesday night event lab that can run the gamut from a talk on the latest advances in video technology to hands on origami folding to putting light bulbs and other no-no articles into a microwave and seeing what happens when its turned on. We have a wide variety of different cells that do such things as improv, kung fu and fire sculpture. In the tall room, we have an aerial rig, in the big room, a sophisticated DJ booth and a soon to be completed VJ booth. and we LOVE, LOVE, LOVE making installations and putting on shows and events.

Visit our website at www.fishbon.com But who are the three of us at the end of the promo video? Obviously were the principle people behind Walkabout Woods and have worked together on a slew of projects. The guy with hat with a feather in it is Jonah Haas. A New Yorker by origin and anthropologist by design, hes also an expert on lucid dreaming and dab hand at just about everything else he puts his mind to. The little Frenchman is Dominique Reboul, one of the founders of Fishbon and an inveterate artist and mentor to artists. One part of his genius is his ability to see entireties and longevities of projects and adjust them accordingly to fit the prevailing circumstances. The third guy is Jonathan Smith, originally from England, who eschewed further education in favour of travelling the world. Since discovering Burning Man and Fishbon, hes shifted his focus and obsessions to the inner world of art creation and dabbles in as many forms of it as possible.

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Vast Quentin Davis www.quentini.com

Audio Tour Script: Vast is an alternate reality bubble built by Quentin Davis of Philadelphia. It is meant to slow the participant down and force them to use their imaginations to enter another reality. This 18 foot wooden dodecagon, appears to be made of metal and fine Corinthian leather. The exterior is an intricate fleshy carapace inscribed with the symbols of some long forgotten civilization; obviously influenced by space travelers. Participants climb the ladder and descend into another reality, a portal into a fantastic microminiature world. Each of the interior panels hold a unique special surprise. Some panels include dioramas and others include peek boxes full of strange and tiny things. Due to our enormous size as humans we can only enter these worlds with our imagination. One panel is an interactive puppet theater. This panel gives participants the opportunity to become part of the installation. They are able to become weird puppet characters inhabiting the interior world. Our relative enormity, compared with these miniature worlds, reverses our experience. On the playa, the desert is vast and we are insignificant but inside the pod we are expansive and the world is tiny. Through this experience of awe and wonder we are transported and transformed. The rite of passage that came to the artists mind first was the transformation that many associate with using hallucinogens, meditation or heightened states of awareness. In these states, we are pulled out of our normal disconnected vision of the world and given a gods eye view of reality as a connected and unified whole. His personal experiences always drew him to the detailed tiny worlds of moss and dewdrops, where tiny creatures navigated a complex miniature terrain. These tiny worlds were a fractal version of the greater world in which we live. It was a natural analogy available to anyone and has informed his work for years. Vast will burn Saturday night after the man.

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The artist with last years piece, Zark From the Honorarium application: Visual impact Vast is a dodecagon ( 12 sided polygon) There are 2 sets of exterior panels on each section. These are made of tempered hardboard and inscribed and painted to look like leather . The panels are highly

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detailed with tribal patterns and bent like an overlapping armadillo shell. On the lowest part of the outer shell are 6 circular openings covered with recycled translucent plastic and backlit with color changing LED lights. A circular wooden grid covers each window. The entrance is an opening on the upper level accessed via a 6 set of stairs/ladder built from 2X8s. Around the exterior are hung plastic lanterns made from recycled 1 gallon water bottle plastic and lit with LEDs Interactive: Inside, the beams divide the space into 12 bays. Most of these bays have a seating bench against the wall. Some of these bays contain plaster micro miniature dioramas to look down into. Others contain micro miniature dioramas overhead and participants recline against the wall and look up. One special bay wall will have a hole to the outside. Participants standing outside can squeeze their head through this hole and interact with people on the inside. On the inside of the hole there will be a small puppet body attached with controllable arms. The real human head popping inside combined with the controllable puppet body will create an amazing scale illusion. Recycled: The panels will be made from reused tempered hardboard panels. The plastic lanterns and windows will be made from recycled 1 gallon water bottle plastic Vast is 14 tall with a 10 pole surrounded by 2 layers of flags on top. Footprint is a 15 diameter dodecagon (12 sided polygon) 18.5diameter at its widest point (6 above ground). The interior space is 10 diameter. 12 plywood box beams set vertically into the playa are connected by trapezoidal panels of tempered hardboard and create the outer shell. These panels are decorated with an inscribed tribal pattern and the surface is painted red. On the lowest part of the outer shell are 6 circular openings covered with a wooden grid and backlit with color changing LED lights.

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Merry-Go-Round Cara Deleon and Joe Hobson merryinstallation.tumblr.com

Audio Tour Script: The concept behind Merry-Go-Round is an interactive visual and aural experience that incorporates the Burning Man 2011 theme: Rites of Passage. Rites of passage have 3 phases: separation, transition, and reincorporation. As we move through life we must encounter and interact in order to understand, to move from one phase to the other. Visitors have the opportunity to interact with the installation much like they interact with life, choosing to have influence over events or allowing events to transpire without interference. As viewers approach the structure they will see a large ring of material, suspended three feet above the ground. On the ring of material will be various illuminated images of everyday objects and landscapes interspersed with images and shadows of people inside the structure. The images will be close-ups and long shots, some will be detailed and clear, others will be out of focus shots. As visitors enter the space, crawling under the structure, they become separated from the playa, their view obscured (The Separation phase of the Rite of passage). The various images on the screen will mimic our perception of the world around us, at times detailed and at others imprecise. The sound within the space will be calming sounds of nature, creating an encompassing, but soothing foundation for the images to build upon. The use of both sound and image work together to create an encompassing space that is much different than the rest of the playa. While in the space the viewer can choose to move about the space or lie down and look at the ever-changing landscape and sounds that surround her. This mimics life, the passing of time and the ever-changing environment in which the individual has the power to change or simply sit and experience. If viewers continue to move throughout the space, they will realize that their movements can dictate what they see and hear. (The Transitional phase of their passage) As participants make movements, the sound could transition to a new soothing sound or it could morph into something more chaotic: traffic, people talking, nature, etc. all merged together. The images and sound however, are only connected through manipulation; movement will enact change but this does not mean that sound and image will correspond to one another. Through the utilization of movement, the viewer becomes an integral part of the piece, a participant. The participants will dictate how they want the piece to progress and how they want it to be perceived by others. They will become a part of the

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space, manipulating the landscape, but will also provide images of themselves experiencing the space, which will be used throughout the piece. These images will not be shown immediately, but will be used randomly to create the landscape, allowing the art to merge with the playa (The Re-incorporation and completion of the rite of passage). Every time the participant returns to the space the experience is different. If they see their previous experience projected when they return, they will perceive it differently, creating a new understanding despite the continuity of the structure. This mimics our journey through life in that we understand and progress through passages of time, reflection and memory.

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A Light Hazing Matthew GT, Aaron Zeilegs, Josh Howell, Andy Heom, Quasam Baouni, Sam Alcorn, Ben Kalenik http://alighthazing.com/

Audio Tour Script: A Light Hazing explores alternative methods of architectural lighting and ephemeral phenomena by creating a blank canvas for expression within an otherworldly environment. It can only be fully realized through the participation of its inhabitants, who create temporary collaborative artwork on its surface. Its an experimental use of photoluminescent materials, activated by sunlight or ultraviolet light. UV lights create constant illumination on the exterior of the structure, while personal blacklights, UV light pens and lasers allow participants to paint with light on the interior surfaces of the enclosure. The pavilion is a passage way of varying space and experience through the photoluminescent structure. Participants can paint the structure with light pens creating a temporary glowing image. They can draw or leave messages on the walls, providing a way for everyone to express themselves and interact with the installation. Once activated by the light the photoluminescent paint is charged and thus glows for a period of time, resulting in a slow fade of overlaying images. The sun will also charge the glowing material, and thereby directly store and re-emit light energy through the night. Visitors are removed from the sensations of the outside world and immersed in a world of interactive color and texture. The installation is a series of modular wood framed units clad in a skin covered with photoluminescent paint. The modules are assembled together to create a twisting structure that participants will be able to climb and walk through to gain different vantage points for the art work inside. The photoluminescent skin is painted on with a system of UV light pens dispersed throughout the installation.

From the Artists Website

A Light Hazing is a 2011 Burning Man Honorarium Installation: art installations that are collaborative, community-oriented, and interactive.
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A Light Hazing is a collapsible, pavilion-esque structure that can be deployed to virtually any location. The entire interactive structure is 40 feet in diameter and 17 feet high.

Modules of the installation have been exhibited locally in Los Angeles. The fully built structure will be unveiled at Burning Man in Black Rock City, NV. Philosophical statement This project explores alternate methods of architectural lighting and ephemeral phenomena. A Light Hazing is fully experienced through participation of visitors who create temporary collaborative artwork on its surface. The sun also charges the glowing material, thereby directly storing and re-emitting light energy through the night. Transition through this installation offers a change in texture, lighting and atmosphere.
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Visitors are removed from the sensations of the outside world and immersed in a world of color and textures. Illumination

We are implementing an experimental use of photo luminescent materials for architectural purposes, activated by sunlight or ultraviolet light. Fixed UV lights create constant illumination on the exterior of the envelope, while personal black lights, UV light pens and lasers allow participants to paint with light on the interior surfaces of the enclosure. The structure is self-supporting and the entire exterior will visibly glow.

Interactivity The structure and layout creates an experiential progression through the space that
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ultimately brings the participant into an intimate relation with the architecture. While passing through the spaces the there are tethered ultraviolet light pens with which the user can selectively activate the photo luminescent material to create temporary glowing artwork on the surfaces and structure. The space also creates different vantage points ranging from secluded spaces where the artists can only see their own work to viewing galleries where spectators can see the entire piece as a whole.

Sound Sound is not an essential component of the installation, however the apertures in the structural system interact with the wind. Physical Description

The installation is composed of a series of wooden platforms of varying heights, forming a stepped ramp, clad in clear vinyl either painted with phosphorescent paint or filled with glowing aggregate. From a distance, BRC citizens will observe the curved glowing enclosure wrapping the structure. Once inside, they enter an interactive environment that can also be observed from the viewing platform at the apex of the ramp.
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THE PEOPLE

Matthew Gilio-Tenan Coming from a background in carpentry and furniture design, Matthew received his Bachelor of Fine Arts & Architecture (B.F.A.A.) degree at Otis College of Art & Design. He furthered his studies at UCLA School of Architecture and Urban Design, earning a Masters degree in Architecture (M-Arch I). At UCLA, Matthew researched formal topologies and emergent materiality, applying digital animation and simulations as calibrated technique to curate sensation in architecture. Matthews curiosities lie within the intersection of social dynamics, architecture, and the environment while looking toward the interaction of space in the development of design. Matthew currently works at Clive Wilkinson Architects, while pursuing installation art and experimental approaches to sustainable design. Aaron Zeligs
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Aaron is a recent M-Arch I graduate of UCLA School of Architecture and Urban Design while having also received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy. While studying at UCLA, Aaron pursued research in advanced formal topology and emergent materiality, utilizing digital animation and simulations as calibrated technique to curate sensation in architecture. Aaron is interested in the contact point between nature, architecture, and engineeringa high performance, ecologically based design. Sam Alcorn Sam attended Wesleyan University for his B.A. and studied Architecture at UCLAs M-Arch I program alongside other Future Bright members. Sam has a multifaceted interest in design from novel structural systems to textile fabrication to lighting methodology, preferably in the same project. He likes to take Le Corbusiers dictum of building as machine at face value. Besides architecture, Sam works in a variety of fields including theatrical design, graphic design, textile design and fabrication. Before moving to Los Angeles in 2006, Sam resided in Denver, working on the new wing of the Denver Art Museum with Davis Partnership Architects and Studio Daniel Libeskind. Andrew Heom ndrew is a 2010 M-Arch I graduate of UCLA School of Architecture and Urban Design with a B.F.A. from Brown University in Architectural Studies. At UCLA, Andrew pursued research in advanced formal topology and emergent materiality, utilizing digital fabrication and rapid prototyping. Also known as Anderson on the Playa, Andrew has shown exhibited in several organized art events throughout Los Angeles. Andrews interest is in product design and the rapid prototyping of the design techniques developed within the Future Bright Collective installation work. Andrew is currently working at Buro Happold Consulting Engineers as an architect while doing structural engineering for public art projects. Ben Kalenik Ben, finishing first in the 1987 2nd grade spelling bee at Pennekamp Elementary School, went on to receive his B.S. in Engineering and Applied Science for Mechanical Engineering from Caltech. He went on to earn a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering for Structural and Solid Mechanics from UCLA. Ben went on further with his studies, graduating from the the M-Arch I program at UCLA School of Architecture and Urban Design.
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His personal work blurs the boundary between art and technology through the organic aggregation of precisely fabricated small-scale elements to shape visual, spatial and atmospheric conditions at the human scale. Ben is currently employed at Poon Design Inc. in Beverly Hills. Mike Colosimo Mike supports a number of community-based start-up organizations through business plan development, fundraising, and community outreach strategies. He is interested in improving the quality of life through the exploration of unexpected applications and integration of technology within the built environment. Mike is an experienced management consultant turned urban designer. He has worked within a variety of industries, from large government contracts to start-up solar developers. Mike is a professional member in the architecture and planning community, working for consulting firm Buro Happold. Ryan Russell Ryan is a recent M-Arch graduate with distinction from UCLA School of Architecture and Urban Design. He also holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. While at UCLA, Ryan pursued research in formal and parametric typologies at the Universitt fr angewandte Kunst Wien in Vienna under Zaha Hadid. Ryan is passionate about design that has the visual and spatial strength to create dynamic user experiences and interactions. He believes in reflection on the natural environment and digital advancement to drive and inform his interests. His intent is to create unexpected and incredible results that speak of new atmospheric, formal, and material typologies. Lynne-Anne Aleine Lynne-Anne graduated from Otis College of Art & Design, receiving a B.F.A. degree in Communication Arts with focused studies in advertising and graphic design. Lynne-Anne is currently working in web/online design and development.

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Chew My Balls Liz Medina http://twicsy.com/i/5kW5E http://www.lizmedina.com Audio Tour Script: Chew My Balls represents the transitional stage of adolescence. It is a 17 ft high gum ball machine in which there will be hundreds of floating balloons, representing gumballs. It is a shared object of childhood nostalgia among children. When it is blown up to monumental proportion, given a perverse title, and interacts with an adult audience it transforms into that moment in our lives when we become sexually aware. That moment is alive and exciting. As adults, we often forget that we too are entitled to childish fun. Furthermore we are allowed to bring that fun into our own realm and manipulate it as we wish. The installation is an inflatable giant gum ball machine. The base will be made of red and gray ripstop and the glass dome will be made of clear vinyl. Participants will be able to enter the sculpture through a zipper enclosure located on the dispenser on the base of the sculpture. Helium balloon will represent gum balls and will swirl around by the force of the incoming air. At night, the inside will be illuminated by a rotating color disco ball. Chew My Balls will playfully engage all of the senses to bring its participants back to their own adolescent experiences. Before entering, each person will be offered a gumball of their choice. Once inside, people may dance to the music, play with the gumballs, and chew them.

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Garden of Rockets Christopher Schardt http://www.pbase.com/schardt/garden_of_rockets Audio Tour Script: A short walk in from the Esplanade, the Garden of Rockets is a large triangle of rope light, with three kinetic sculptures that are propelled by propane ramjets: The first, 4pyre, was first seen in 2010. Its ramjets spin around in vertical, horizontal, and diagonal circles, tracing out a sphere. Next, PyroGoRound delights in its sheer multitude of flames and shapes and motions - a 28 diameter structure rotating overhead with 3 rotors and 6 ramjets. Up and down and round and round, like a carousel. It is a fairly straightforward riff on 4pyre. It too has a vertical shaft, but instead of one fork above it there are three, each angled out at 60 degrees. Each fork has a rotor with two burners that can be angled to make the rotor spin, or propel all the forks around, or both. The effect is a dazzling menagerie of flames whooshing about as a 28 diameter structure whirls around above the viewers. Picturing it similar to a Merry-Go-Round, it gets it name Pyro-Go-Round. Lastly, Pyrograph is a pivoting 10 arm with two 6 pivoting rotors, each with a pivoting ramjet. A mathematicians delight, its complex motions will appear to be a mystery at first. It is more geometrically sophisticated than the other two. The 10 arm rotates around a horizontal axis. At each end are secondary horizontal axles, around which rotate 6 long rotors. At one end of each small rotor is a propane burner that rotates around its own horizontal axle. By choosing the burner angles the participant in control has full control of the direction and speed of the rotation of the large rotor and the small rotors. As both move, they sweep out a 17 diameter circle in a complex fashion. If one were to take a time lapse photo, the path of the burners would resemble a spirograph, giving it its name Pyrograph. Each machine is fully controllable by participants and all three machines will be enclosed in a equilateral triangle of 100 on a side. This boundary will be traced out in LED rope light. In the very middle will be a cluster of 6 round benches. At each corner of the triangle will be a bench as well. The space thus defined will be inviting place to park ones bike and stay a while to view, relax, and gather with other participants. It will become a large area, full of light, motion, and rushing sound, all fully operable by participants.

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Nelumbo Nucifera Michael Emery http://urbaninteractive.us/

Audio Tour Script: Nelumbo Nucifera uses steel tubing to suggest the outlines of a 50 foot lotus flower opening up and through the playa mud. In this installation the artist has evolved his 2010 playa sculpture, Reflecting Pool, into the mirrored diamond centerpiece of the lotus flower. The lotus is used for its potent symbolism of the Heros Journey. With roots sunk in the rich unconscious mud of material existence, the hero pushes upwards, through pre-programmed layers of body, personality and psyche, opening eventually into the freedom of conscious self creativity. As participants journey to the mirrored dynamo centerpiece they must pass through several layers of lotus petals. In the first outer layer participants encounter the mere outline of six lotus petals drawn against sky and ground. The outlines of each petal are drawn with the lines of polished steel tubing. In the next layer six new outlines are encountered. But now each outlined petal has been partially filled with a thin white membrane suggesting the substantive lotus petal in 3D. This set of six petal will serve at night as six projection screens for a changing array of video imagery. Video imagery will be designed to raise questions about the rites of passage on the Heros Journey. As Video footage plays upon Lotus Petal Screens, participants may simply watch and wonder and consider the imagery dancing before their eyes as well as the thoughts and emotions evoked, or they may play in the video projection, becoming screens themselves, Much of the footage will take on greater significance when projected onto moving human screens. Approaching the innermost layer six more petals are encountered. In each successive layer the petals become more solid. In this last layer the petals serve as white wooden seats. Taking rest participants are invited by the slow mirrored movement, by the ever-changing kaleidoscopic reflections of earth and sky to contemplate their own calm center while the beautiful raucous playa life turns around them.

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Garden of Monkey Retrospectus Iron Monkeys http://iron-monkeys.blogspot.com/2011/04/garden-of-monkey-retrospectus-gomr-for.html Audio Tour Script: True to their philosophy, the Iron Monkeys have again used steel to consecrate space. The Garden of Monkey Retrospectus is a snapshot of the artistic development of the Iron Monkeys over the past five years and a rebirth of artistic creations from their past. They are paying homage to our Rites of Passage as an artists collective. The Garden of Monkey Retrospectus is a look back through the projects that have brought us to where we are today. We will be bringing back the 14 Tree Spire (2007), The Hand from Incunabulum (2009), and the Zen Gardens and Columns from The Crossroads (2010) to create a sitting garden of our evolution. This is an amazing opportunity for the Monkeys to rework these pieces, clean them up, and make them *exactly* how they want them to be. We are also going to work some new fire features into these pieces making the Garden flicker and explode in new and glorious ways. The Garden of Monkey Retrospectus is a community gathering space. 6 12-foot tall scroll work columns make up the outer edges of the Garden. During the day participants can relax on benches in the Garden, and at night they can warm themselves by the fire from the columns, lay under the flickering flames in the hand or draw in the flaming sand of the Fire Zen Gardens. The 6 columns of scroll work and fire (at night) will be placed in a hall way setup. Inside the hall we will have: - The Hand from Incunabulum, It is about 6 long and stands about 5. Steel scrolls create the the bone structure. It will have fire coming out of each of the fingers and a small poofer. -A Tree Spire - The tree is aprox 14.5 tall at the peak. It is a steel tree with scrolls and textures all over it. The tree is surrounded by a bench that encourages people to sit and write on it. - Zen Gardens - A part of the Crossroads from 2010 these are bowls with black sand and during the night propane is pumped through the sand and participants can use one of the many tools to draw in the sand and watch the fire follow the tools.

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Billion Jelly Bloom Rob Lord Audio Tour Script: Our art project is to experientially transform the playas night air into a deep ocean inhabited by an undulating luminous jellyfish bloom. As this is a mobile piece, look for the jelly blooms all across the playa. Our mobile performer-articulated jellies attract, interact and participate with playa travelers, art, events and other jellies. One jellys dance is gracefully captivating. Two jellies, a mating pair, perform a tangled courtship dance. Three jellies or more form lurching blooms and frenzied swarms in the buoyant night air. The Billion Jelly Bloom, inspired by our own playa experiences, is a captivating, ambulating, participatory and interactive performance that evokes the playas transformational potential.

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reOnion Project Zsolt dm, Juli Laczk, Dniel Feles, Pter Debreczeni, Andrea Sztojnovits from Budhapest

http://reonion.net/ Audio Tour Script: ReOnion installation is an initiation ritual in a special physical and virtual space with its own rules. It is a connecting sphere of inside and outside. The spectator at first sight see an organic sculpture of amorphous lights and reanimated plastic trash, while the participant, who comes closer and enters the system of interactions, passes through something more: a special state of mind. She becomes part of a membrane projecting her own inside resonance to the outer world while reacting to other participants. Deconstruction of her own mental boundaries melting into a realization of a virtual togetherness. This expanded inner space of random community is the core of the experiment. The visitor and spectator discover inner and outer mental space and an experience of communicative resonance. The structure divided into six cabins and one main room and illuminated with projectors from sunset until dawn. The installation is an onion-shaped structure which reacts to the visitors resonances with light and sound. The participants heartbeats, breathing and body temperature interact with the structure, creating a communal effect that blurs the line between I and we.

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From the web site: ReOnion By Zsolt dm

Installation

reOnion has received a grant from the Burning Man art project. We are proud to receive support from the Burning Art committee to realize the installation of our project. Unfortunately we still have a hole on our budget, to facilitate the transfer materials and ourselves from Budapest to the desert of Nevada :) The artistic installation is a garlic-shape structure reacting the visitors resonances with light and projection. The structure is divided into six cabins. The cabins are covered with UTOPLAST of recycled plastic overlay. The output is defined by the entering visitor and generated by her\his resonances. (breath, heart beat, body temperature) ReOnion installation is an initiation ritual to a special physical and virtual space with its own rules. It is a connecting sphere of inside and outside, me and them, you and I. We hope to help our visitors and spectators to a discovery of inner and outer mental space and of communicative resonance.

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Sketches The base of the installation is a 20 foot (6 meter) diameter circle. In the center located is a 20 feet/6 meter high steel pillar, which supports the structure and technical equipment. The cabins are built on a 6.5 foot (2 meter) high wooden stage around the pillar. The main room is located around the steel pillar, the visitors have to climb here to enter the cabins.

Artists We are a group of visual artists and designers from Budapest. Architecture, interaction design, VJing, installations and organizing outdoor events is our main fields. As young onions from Budapest, we are deeply engaged with party subculture and ephemer installations. Dani Feles studies mediadesign @ MOME (Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design). He creates generated graphic systems. In reOnion he deals with interaction programming and works with sensors. danielfeles.com Andrea Sztojanovits graduated from the Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts - Intermedia department. She is a vj at parties. transumma.com, cinetrip.hu/skylab Pter Debreczeni graduated from MOME as an architect, currently works for Atelierarchitects online portfolio Zsolt dm organised legendary illegal parties around Budapest. illegalparty.hu Juli Laczk graduated from MOME, creates projections, installations and recycled objects. laczkojuli. net Invited artists/ helpers: Ioann Maria is a new media artist, live video performer and filmmaker from Poland, currently based in Edinburgh, UK. In her recent solo and collaborative projects she investigates the issues of physical computing and human-computer interaction, exploring new possibilities in creative artistic-scientific demonstration. Furthermore shes an artistic director of LPM Live Performers Meeting - the worlds biggest annual meeting dedicated to live video performance. http://ioannmaria.com/ Mowgli AKA Manuel Barrio, a finalist of the Edirol VJ Challenge 2008 has had his work screened at Kinetika Art Fair and the British Film Institute. He has performed alongside world class artists and top 10 djs while also producing animation work for Blue Chip clients including the BBC. His work is heavily influenced by the collision of science, philoshopy, religion and altered states of consciousness. http://www.mowgli.tv Gbor Borosi deals with music and electronics since 1987, from 1997 he was leading expert of the most appreciated hungarian studio technology company. He is contributed as a musician, sound engineer and producer with numerous rock-pop, theater and film productions. He is a writer and translator of many books and publications as a specialist. From the 2000-ies he took part many events as a DJ local and foreign. He has founded and lead his own studio - Metropol Studio - since 2008. Since 2009 he is member of the band Korai rm. http://metropolstudio.hu/ Istvn Kirly Artist of many disciplines. Dj / VJ, Photographer, Filmmaker, Stage Manager, Informatician, Istvn was Born on Stage. When other babys cried, he was crawling up on the cables behind the speakers. His primary project is D250 Laboratories. Gerg Hossz Lszl Horvath Nathaniel Barratt Rbert Ilisz

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Bapteme de Feu Anton Viditz-Ward http://www.totallyawesomewow.com/Baptemedefeu/bapteme_du_feu.html

Audio Tour Script: Baptme du Feu is a twenty-foot wide spinning platform of steel. A crank system will be that of a pump handcar which will require tandem effort from two individuals to spin the wheel. The platform will be attached to a gear worm that will allow it to rise on one side, allowing it to angle upwards to nearly 30 degrees. Burning wood will be dropped from above onto it, send sparks and fire to its perimeter. It symbolizes throwing ones self into the impossible in hopes of it being possible.

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Dragon Smelter Danny Macchiarini Bob Planthold

http://www.macreativedesign.com/public/bm.html Audio Tour Script: By day, a gold and black Viking ship. By night, a dragon breathing fire from its tail and mouth, with flashing neon light throughout its body. She was recently refurbished with new lights, claws, and head constructed from a salvaged oil barrel with saw blades for eyelashes! And this year shell have more flame effects than ever. The Dragon Smelter is 20 ft high by 20 ft long, and 12 ft wide. It allows participants to bring aluminum cans, melt them down, and cast them into coins. Its a traveling mint! The changes in the Dragon Smelter from day to night, the flames, and the transforming of old metal into something new, all show how variable our icons and daily experiences are, and how we constantly need new light shed on our experiences.

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Rack Attack! Mutant Centipede Bike Rack Mark Melnick & Maya Lowry Audio Tour Script: What would happen if a giant, mutated centipede/scorpion crawled out from beneath the playa and began to attract the bicycles of Black Rock City residents from miles around? Based on the philosophy of Form vs. Function vs. Fantasy, Rack Attack! could look like a sculpture on its own or function as a secure, well-lit, large capacity bike rack. Rack Attack! is a large centipede-shaped sculpture/ bike rack which encourages interaction through usage. When Black Rock citizens are looking for a place to lean or lock their bike in the vicinity of Rack Attack! interaction will inevitably occur. At 40 ft. long and 12 ft. wide, the general shape of the centipede will be visible from fairly far away even if it is covered in bikes because the center (body) will be open, using the negative space as the basic form. It could look like a sculpture on its own (without bikes) however, the functional aspect adds an interactive element - a reason for people to get closer and engage with the piece. It might look different at various times: maybe more like a bike rack or more like a giant mutant insect, depending on how many bikes are on it and how close or far away you are.

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Perpetual Motion David Boyer http://www.boyersculpture.com Audio Tour Script: Perpetual Motion is a kinetic wind-driven sculpture consisting of a tall curving tree-trunk like armature supporting three wind-driven paddlewheels. The unusual shape of the ornate kinetic elements is reminiscent of something Captain Nemo would have designed. As daylight comes and goes, and the playa winds grow and recede, Perpetual Motion provides the viewer with an ever-changing dance of light, shadow, and movement. . Each paddlewheel has two vanes or blades, one on either side of the armature. Connecting each of the two vanes/blades is a solid axle. Sealed bearings inside the armature make for very low friction and allow the paddlewheels to spin in low winds. The entire structure will withstand winds up to 100 MPH. The viewer will see a machine that appears to be in perpetual motion. The paddlewheels will overlap and combine in an everchanging random pattern.

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The Temple of Transition Chris Hankins, Diarmaid Horkan and the International Art Megacrew http://temple2011.org/

Audio Tour Script: The Temple of Transition is a place of ritual and transition, a place where we both remember and look ahead, a place of ending and beginning. Vaulted, lofty, and delicate, five smaller Temples surround a larger central Temple. Within each Temple a different phase of life is marked and explored. Altars and shrines abound amongst intricately decorated archways, windows, and walkways. Peacefulness, reverence, and reflection suffuse every aspect of the Temples. Everyone is welcome, it exists for everyone...

Arches, arches everywhere.The Temple is comprised of a 120ft tiered, hexagonal central tower, surrounded by 5 52ft towers, vertices of a hexagon some 194ft wide. These towers are vaulted & lofty, being cut with numerous gothic style arches at every level. Balancing the Western tradition, each tier of the Temples are surmounted with a pagoda type roof, & from the corners of each pagoda roof spring unusual gargoyles and other decorative elements that reference the many cultures, environment, & history that collectively create the milieu of Burning Man. By night, It is peacefully lit by ever changing LED light.The visual goal is of a monastic structure connected to the community that cannot help but inspire reverence & pause in the participant as they approach. \

Each face of the outer towers is elaborately cut with decorative patterns evocative of Moorish arabesque, yet perhaps more organic & in places containing symbols & pictographs drawn from Maori, Celtic, & Native American cultures. Each face is also pierced with a large, ornate gothic arch standing in deep relief from the face & providing access to the inside. At ground level, each of the towers contains a interior space, accessible through 6 arches, that contains seating integrated into the base of the walls/columns & a complex, intricate hanging altar, suspended 2 above the ground on a heavy chain much like a chandelier. Soft, hidden lighting illuminates these spaces to enable the writing & reading of messages, & makes the interiors glow by night. Light & shadow are key elements of this Temple.

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The outer towers are linked to the central tower via an arched ramp that leads upward to a walkway that encircles(inside & out) the central. Participants can look down into the interior of the central tower or out over the city/playa.

The central tower rises to 120 over several tiers, and echoes the design of the outer towers. However, the tiers are much loftier that the outer towers, with towering open arches reaching skyward. This tower is secured via a complex & beautiful arrangement of internal rigging. The design & pattern of the rigging itself is an integral part of the look & feel of this Temple, mathematically evoking a strong sense of our place in the universe.. A ring of spires encircles the entire Temple. Ritual areas are described man-ward & deep playa side. People come to the Temple for a number of specific experiences. Perhaps the most obvious reasons people come are to express grief or loss, to express love & ask for forgiveness/release. Yet the Temple is also frequently the setting of joyous celebrations in the form of union, re-unions, thanks-giving, and remembrance. The Temple builders feel it is their job to create a structure that enables & affirms both these differing types of activity for as wide a range of participants as possible. They feel that the Temple and the experiences within & around it are created not by the builders, but rather by our community as the event unfolds, and that it is therefore vital that the Temple be an empty, yet beautiful, inspiring, supportive vessel to contain & gently, almost subliminally suggest how it can be used. In order to provide for the various uses we have seen previous Temples support, our design includes several key aspects. Suffusing every part of the Temple are a multitude of small platforms & shelves to be used as shrines for peoples memories. Accessible surface area is maximised at ground & walkway levels to allow for the writing of messages & attachment of images. On the manward side, an open space faces the promenade that participants can use for group rituals & the consideration of our city & culture, while to deep playa side, a smaller ritual area allows for sunrise ritual & contemplation of scale & time. Triangular seating pods around & seating inside the Temple will enable & encourage relaxation & conversation. The Temple as a function is well understood by our community unlike other art at Burning Man, the interaction between participant & Temple is deeply personal & exists at a conceptual/spiritual level rather than the purely physical. It is a place of beginnings and endings, a place of transformation for our community and members.

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From the Artists Website: Library of Journals The Library of Journals is a series of shelves inside the six Temple of Transition towers where you can bring your old journals to share with your desert family. And then, you can leave them inside, to be burned along with the Temple itself on Sunday night. If you like, you can have one of the Temple Guardians lift your journals onto a higher shelf where nobody can reach, there to be quietly raised into the night sky in sparks and flames on Temple Burn Night. You can begin writing your journal now. Write, collect newspaper cuttings, paste pictures and photographs. Compose poetry both cryptic and simple, write epic tales of late nights and long journeys. Five pages or five hundred pages, you can contribute anything you like. Just share it with us, and release it alongside us. Blank out names to make it anonymous. Change dates to protect the innocent. But keep the details clear, and allow others the privilege of finding connection to your experiences and learnings. Imagine the collective wisdom of hundreds of people, all sharing their life lessons with and amongst each other. This is the Library of Manifestation and Letting Go. A library like no other on this Earth. Read. Listen. Release Crew Statement International, inclusive, and energised by a successful Burning Man 2010, a back-to-basics crew of skilled, experienced, and very passionate burners has formed from the core that created the Megatropolis installation out of hope, sweat & dust in 2010. Our crew, already over fifty committed members from twelve countries, comprises many veteran burners with extensive experience in planning, deploying, building and managing large projects and theme camps at Burning Man. They have also created and grown various regional events and decoms in several other countries. Along with our serious veterans, we have many newbies and not-sonewbies with extensive and valuable experience running their own festivals & events worldwide, and with volunteer contributions to other significant BM projects and regional events. We are a simple crew who discovered something unexpected and amazing within that simplicity during our Megatropolis build in 2010. We eat simple, think simple, and get extraordinary pleasure from simply watching our community as they use and enjoy what we have gifted to and shared with them. With the barest of resources, but plenty of sweat & sunburn, we delivered something amazing to the

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city that year yet we got far, far more back in return: the joyful, connecting, humbling experience of creating for our desert family, a reward that none of us fully anticipated. We want to continue to work for our community and to share that feeling with a much larger family of volunteers in 2011. To do so, we will keep on keeping it simple. We will carry over the sense of joyful humility and service that we discovered while building and burning Megatropolis, and spread that sense into the hearts & minds of our entire extended crew for The Temples 2011 a feeling that will be woven into the very fabric of The Temples themselves. The Temple is far greater than any artist, any crew. As such, we do not intend to reinvent the wheel or make any bold statements. Rather, we aim to ensure that The Temples effectively and reliably deliver an experience of reverence, reflection, peace and togetherness to the largest possible cross-section of our community. We hold that the Temple and the experience of the people within it deserve enormous respect and establishing a feeling of respect through the structure itself is one of our primary goals. Compassion, humility and inclusion must rule as we focus on what the citizens of Black Rock City bring to and from their Temple. We intend to do our very best to listen to the opinions and input of the community, that we might better deliver a Temple that meets the Citys needs in the most meaningful way possible.

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Orgasm Bryan Tedrick bryantedrick.com Audio Tour Script: Orgasm is a 20 tall x 8 diameter steel vessel which can be filled with wood and burned, creating a warm environment for people to gather around and perform in front of. It balances on a shaft which can rotate 360 degrees. The shapes which form this vessel include an inner basket made of stainless steel and an outer receiving structure made of regular steel. Throughout the day people can climb it, spin it and help fill the interior cavity with wood. Donations of clean wood are appreciated by the artist. Participants can then return at night to share in the fires warmth. The interior shape is phallic in form and the receptive portion is meant to be vaginal. This coming together of the male and female climaxes when the wood filled interior is set afire representing the union of male and female and the resulting fire that ensues.

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City Lights 2011 Gary Long Audio Tour Script: Citizens of Black Rock: City Lights will once again bring solar powered lighted sculptures to the dark back streets of BRC. Your corner street sign, (and every corner street sign) will be enhanced with its own unique light sculpture. Solar powered Lighted Sculptures will be created by the citizens of Black Rock. Each Sculpture will be created either before or during the event by a multitude of artists and non artists. 2 foot tall by 6 inches wide & in lenght Each sculpture is about 2 feet tall and incorperates a string of solar recharged lights. All the Sculptures are unique and will provide visual landmarks and street lighting for the people of BRC.

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