hurtling down the road to the Black Rock Desert, the colors paint themselves like a spice cabinet — sage, dust, slate gray. maybe you're in your trusty car, the one that takes you to and from work every day. Perhaps you've got a spacious RV, your Motel 6 on wheels for the next days in the desert. Or you're driving your glittering art car, complete with poker chips and mirroring to do a disco ball proud.
the two-lane highway turns off onto a new road. you drive slowly onto the playa, the 400 square mile expanse known as the Black Rock Desert.
and there you've touched the terrain of what feels like another planet.
you're at the end — and the beginning — of your journey to Burning Man.
you belong here and you participate. you're not the weirdest kid in the classroom — there's always somebody there who's thought up something you never even considered. you're there to breathe art.
imagine an ice sculpture emitting glacial music — in the desert.
imagine the man, greeting you, neon and benevolence, watching over the community. you're here to build a community that needs you and relies on you.
you're here to survive.
what happens to your brain and body when exposed to 107 degree heat, moisture wicking off your body and dehydrating you within minutes?
you know and watch yourself. you drink water constantly and piss clear.
you'll want to reconsider drinking that alcohol (or taking those other substances) you brought with you — the mind-altering experience of Burning Man is its own drug. you slather yourself in sunblock before the sun's rays turn up full blast.
you bring enough food, water, and shelter because the elements of the new planet are harsh, and you will find no vending.
you're here to create.
since nobody at Burning Man is a spectator, you're here to build your own new world.
you've built an egg for shelter, a suit made of light sticks, a car that looks like a shark's fin.
you've covered yourself in silver, you're wearing a straw hat and a string of pearls, or maybe a skirt for the first time.
you're broadcasting Radio Free Burning Man — or another radio station.
you're here to experience.
ride your bike in the expanse of nothingness with your eyes closed. meet the theme camp — enjoy Irrational Geographic, relax at Bianca's Smut Shack and eat a grilled cheese sandwich. find your love and understand each other as you walk slowly under a parasol.
wander under the veils of dust at night on the playa.
you're here to celebrate.
on Saturday night, we'll burn the Man. as the procession starts, the circle forms, and the man ignites, you experience something personal, something new to yourself, something you've never felt before.
it's an epiphany, it's primal, it's newborn. and it's completely individual.
you'll leave as you came. when you depart from Burning Man, you leave no trace. everything you built, you dismantle.
the waste you make and the objects you consume leave with you. volunteers will stay for weeks to return the Black Rock Desert to its pristine condition.
but you'll take the world you built with you. when you drive back down the dusty roads toward home, you slowly reintegrate to the world you came from. you feel in tune with the other dust-covered vehicles that shared the same community.
over time, vivid images still dance in your brain, floating back to you when the weather changes. the Burning Man community, whether your friends, your new acquaintances, or the Burning Man project, embraces you.
at the end, though your journey to and from Burning Man are finished, you embark on a different journey — forever.
- Molly Steenson
past themes have included Fertility, Time, Hell, Outer Space, The Body, The Floating World, Beyond Belief, Vault of Heaven, Psyche, Hope and Fear, The Green Man, and The American Dream. the theme for 2009 was Evolution.
Lee 'Alexander' McQueen..
what.
what what what.
why.
what.
i was reading a brief albeit accurate blog post about his departure earlier, the only words in the post were 'it's just too much.'
yes.
he went where others did not, could not, or would not.
he visisted places and created things and means that others dared not touch.
he was, and will remain, as an awe-inspiring maximalist of sorts, a true visionary and a weaver of intelligent yet creative thought - all sprinkled with magic..in brilliant excess.
his work was that of a genius in his field, no-one could come close.
those fashion-intrigued, philosophers and life-ponderers, creators, inventors, thinkers, conversationalists, the inspired, the wealthy along with the less fortunate, the dreamers along with pessimists, realists and optimists alike, all ache at the loss.
the world as a whole has been robbed of a blinding ray of sunshine; a jewel so prematurely ripped fromr our grasp at his most creative and arguably most publicly-noticed peak.
the news that Alexander McQueen has killed himself is particularly devastating because it always felt to me like he’d be the last man standing.
he was an arch romantic with a pessimistic streak. it produced some of the most beautiful, shocking images in the history of fashion, but it’s a state of mind that can lead to endless disappointments.
it’s awful to imagine him trying—and failing—to cope, and one can only hope that, if he was looking for peace, he found it.
for everyone left behind, there will eventually be consolation, however scant right now, in a body of work whose power will never die.
- Tim Blanks
this was the first image that brought his works to my attention, and i tried -but poorly failed- to emulate it at the Festival of Fashion in what i think was 2007.:
enough.
not enough.
the two-lane highway turns off onto a new road. you drive slowly onto the playa, the 400 square mile expanse known as the Black Rock Desert.
and there you've touched the terrain of what feels like another planet.
you're at the end — and the beginning — of your journey to Burning Man.
you belong here and you participate. you're not the weirdest kid in the classroom — there's always somebody there who's thought up something you never even considered. you're there to breathe art.
imagine an ice sculpture emitting glacial music — in the desert.
imagine the man, greeting you, neon and benevolence, watching over the community. you're here to build a community that needs you and relies on you.
you're here to survive.
what happens to your brain and body when exposed to 107 degree heat, moisture wicking off your body and dehydrating you within minutes?
you know and watch yourself. you drink water constantly and piss clear.
you'll want to reconsider drinking that alcohol (or taking those other substances) you brought with you — the mind-altering experience of Burning Man is its own drug. you slather yourself in sunblock before the sun's rays turn up full blast.
you bring enough food, water, and shelter because the elements of the new planet are harsh, and you will find no vending.
you're here to create.
since nobody at Burning Man is a spectator, you're here to build your own new world.
you've built an egg for shelter, a suit made of light sticks, a car that looks like a shark's fin.
you've covered yourself in silver, you're wearing a straw hat and a string of pearls, or maybe a skirt for the first time.
you're broadcasting Radio Free Burning Man — or another radio station.
you're here to experience.
ride your bike in the expanse of nothingness with your eyes closed. meet the theme camp — enjoy Irrational Geographic, relax at Bianca's Smut Shack and eat a grilled cheese sandwich. find your love and understand each other as you walk slowly under a parasol.
wander under the veils of dust at night on the playa.
you're here to celebrate.
on Saturday night, we'll burn the Man. as the procession starts, the circle forms, and the man ignites, you experience something personal, something new to yourself, something you've never felt before.
it's an epiphany, it's primal, it's newborn. and it's completely individual.
you'll leave as you came. when you depart from Burning Man, you leave no trace. everything you built, you dismantle.
the waste you make and the objects you consume leave with you. volunteers will stay for weeks to return the Black Rock Desert to its pristine condition.
but you'll take the world you built with you. when you drive back down the dusty roads toward home, you slowly reintegrate to the world you came from. you feel in tune with the other dust-covered vehicles that shared the same community.
over time, vivid images still dance in your brain, floating back to you when the weather changes. the Burning Man community, whether your friends, your new acquaintances, or the Burning Man project, embraces you.
at the end, though your journey to and from Burning Man are finished, you embark on a different journey — forever.
- Molly Steenson
past themes have included Fertility, Time, Hell, Outer Space, The Body, The Floating World, Beyond Belief, Vault of Heaven, Psyche, Hope and Fear, The Green Man, and The American Dream. the theme for 2009 was Evolution.
Lee 'Alexander' McQueen..
what.
what what what.
why.
what.
i was reading a brief albeit accurate blog post about his departure earlier, the only words in the post were 'it's just too much.'
yes.
he went where others did not, could not, or would not.
he visisted places and created things and means that others dared not touch.
he was, and will remain, as an awe-inspiring maximalist of sorts, a true visionary and a weaver of intelligent yet creative thought - all sprinkled with magic..in brilliant excess.
his work was that of a genius in his field, no-one could come close.
those fashion-intrigued, philosophers and life-ponderers, creators, inventors, thinkers, conversationalists, the inspired, the wealthy along with the less fortunate, the dreamers along with pessimists, realists and optimists alike, all ache at the loss.
the world as a whole has been robbed of a blinding ray of sunshine; a jewel so prematurely ripped fromr our grasp at his most creative and arguably most publicly-noticed peak.
the news that Alexander McQueen has killed himself is particularly devastating because it always felt to me like he’d be the last man standing.
he was an arch romantic with a pessimistic streak. it produced some of the most beautiful, shocking images in the history of fashion, but it’s a state of mind that can lead to endless disappointments.
it’s awful to imagine him trying—and failing—to cope, and one can only hope that, if he was looking for peace, he found it.
for everyone left behind, there will eventually be consolation, however scant right now, in a body of work whose power will never die.
- Tim Blanks
this was the first image that brought his works to my attention, and i tried -but poorly failed- to emulate it at the Festival of Fashion in what i think was 2007.:
enough.
not enough.
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