The Burning Man music and art festival has been held in the USA since the 80s, but it only appeared on everyone's lips in Lately. If you still do not know anything about the most grandiose freak utopia of our time, HELLO.RU is in a hurry to fix it.
The Burning Man Festival has been held annually since 1986. According to legend, his story began with two men - Larry Harvey and Jerry James, who burned a wooden effigy on the beach in San Francisco. The festival later moved to the Black Rock Desert of Nevada. The event starts on the night of Sunday to the last Monday of August and lasts exactly 8 days.
The festival was conceived to bring together people living in the style of "radical self-expression" (radical self-expression), but in fact it resembles the animated scenery of the movie "Mad Max". Hundreds of mutant people, iron beasts and incredible machines - right in the middle of the desert, works of contemporary art fantastic shapes. The participants of the festival are not inferior to them in quirkiness.
The members of the first Burning Man were a group of twenty like-minded people. Now about 75 thousand people visit the festival every year.
There are many celebrities among Burning Man fans: from Susan Sarandon (yes, surprised?) to Victoria's Secret models Sara Sampaio and Alessandra Ambrosio. Last year, Elena Perminova and Alexander Lebedev became participants in the festival, this year I already went to Burning Man rapper T-Killah, who will share what is happening on his Instagram.
P Diddy
T-Killah en route to Burning Man 2018
The beginner's code of conduct begins with the words: “Burning Man is not a festival, it is a community of people, a temporary city and a global cultural movement. There are no sponsors here, you will not be entertained here, and everything that happens is up to you.”
There are three ways to join Burning Man: be a volunteer, present an art object at the festival, or become a member of the themed camp by registering in advance. The number of participants in one camp is from 6 to 400 people. By accepting the "rules of the game", you unite with like-minded people in a camping settlement. In 2018, Burning Man, for example, features such groups as Olympics 2049 (futuristic), 1001 Nights (east), 7 Sirens Cove (gypsy and bohemian) and others.
Since 1995, there has been a single theme of the festival. This year it sounds like this - "I, robot", with a reference to famous science fiction writer Isaac Asimov.
Ticket prices range from $190 to $1200. The vehicle pass is $80.
Camps are built in the desert in accordance with strict geometric shape. From a bird's eye view, it looks like a giant installation in the form of a semicircle.
The camps at Burning Man are arranged in a semicircle.
The symbol of the festival is a three-dimensional wooden sculpture of two people, which is ritually burned at the end of the week.
Every year, dozens of contemporary artists become participants in Burning Man. Among the most striking works of the past years are the 17-meter sculpture Truth is Beauty by the American artist Marco Cochran; the work of Brain Child by artist Michael Christian; wooden temple The Temple of Transition; the steampunk car The Rabid Transit by American kinetic sculptor Dwaynoa Flatmo; steel sculpture dancing woman Bliss Dance (now moved permanently to Las Vegas); whimsical sculpture of two trucks welded together, the Big Rig Jig.
Sculpture is a symbol of the festival
Big Rig Jig 
Truth is Beauty 
Bliss Dance is now in Las Vegas
Burning Man follower festivals have already appeared in many countries around the world: Firefly in New England, Kiwiburn in New Zealand, Burning Seed in Australia and Dragon Burn in China. similar topics has "Archstoyanie" - a festival of land art and landscape art objects in the park "Nikola-Lenivets" in Kaluga region. By tragic accident, one of the founders of the Russian park - Russian architect and artist Vasily Shchetinin — died last year in Salt Lake City on his way to attend Burning Man.
The Burning Man area is a desert, but under the feet of the participants is not sand, but the alkaline remains of the bottom of a dried-up lake. Fine dust, lighter and finer than ordinary sand, clogs and settles everywhere - be it clothes, tents, cars or even eyelashes.
Purely technically, there is a public bath at Burning Man, visiting which you can wash off the dirt. However, in order to gain access to it, one must undergo a ritual initiation - to become a "washer" and clean a dozen people with soap himself.
You can't buy anything at Burning Man other than ice and coffee. The zone operates on the gift economy, all items here - food, drinks or even clothes - are usually exchanged. One of the founders of the festival, Larry Harvey, explained it this way: “Burning Man is a family picnic. You will not sell something to your own, you will just share. Just imagine, for a whole week you don’t have to think about money and carry a wallet with you!
Regardless of the season and venue, it is worth bringing warm clothes to the festival. Camp Burning Man is set up in the middle of an elevated plateau at an altitude of 1200 kilometers above sea level. At night, the temperature is about ten degrees, but can drop to zero.
Desert - perfect place to monitor celestial bodies. Thanks to the initiative group Desert Wizards of Mars, the site received its own observatory in 2014, which includes two 21-foot domes and a 20-inch telescope. “If you see the rings of Saturn one day, your life will no longer be the same,” the creators announced their work.
At the Moscow Urban Forum, Director for Regional Development Burning Festival Man Steven Raspa talked about how a mecca for entrepreneurs and hippies arose, how a free city in the desert works, and what impact the festival has on the culture and development of cities. We publish his story.
We are often called a festival, but in reality we are not really a festival. Burning Man is a free city where people can connect, express themselves and grow.
How did Burning Man come about?
Burning Man began in 1986 at Baker Beach in San Francisco.
Two friends - Jerry James and Larry Harvey - built wooden sculpture and decided to burn it right on the beach. People around saw this and started to pull up to the fire, celebrate, and this marked the beginning of the first Burning Man.
The event began to be repeated every year on the same beach and attracted 500 participants, but then the authorities asked the organizers to find another place. And we found a place as far away as it was possible - a desert in Nevada called Black Rock City. This desert is really just the bottom of a dried-up lake.
The first year it was an absolutely unplanned settlement for 120 people who just went to have fun. No tickets were sold - it was a free amateur performance from people who brought tents and entertainment for themselves and their friends.
The festival grew from 1992 to 1996, and in 1996, 800 people participated in Burning Man. Then real anarchy began: people did what they wanted, brought weapons with them and shot wherever they hit (it is allowed in Nevada free use weapons), drove cars at full speed. Having fun in this way, two organizers got into a rather serious accident, and when a dangerous incident occurred during the festival itself, we decided to create a set of rules for the participants.
And then something amazing happened: we began to create a new community, but in a special way - with the help of principles that we believed in.
We forbade the use of weapons and set a speed limit of 8.5 km/h, but in general we recommended to give up cars and move on foot – it brings people together.
Principles of Burning Man
Over the next five years, our culture was fully formed, and in 2004 we created ten principles by which our community developed.
These are not rules, but rather philosophical guidelines that we adhere to and tell all members of the community about.
- Radical inclusion. Everyone can be a member of our community. We accept everyone, even people with opposing political views.
- Donation. We . We created the festival for non-commercial purposes and we also expect participants to not earn money on the territory of the community.
- Decommodification. We ourselves came up with this principle to protect our community from the influence of commercial brands. We don't make money from advertising, we don't have any sponsors, and only by selling tickets can we build this city once a year.
- Relying only on your own strength. In the desert, far from resort conditions: sizzling heat during the day and cold wind at night. We ask all participants to take care of themselves, bring provisions for the week and think about what can be done to keep it warm, dry and safe.
- Radical expression. As a community, we encourage people to express themselves as much as possible - to be who you always wanted to be. Sew original costumes and create without fear of judgment.
- The principle of association. The first reason people come to us is the art. Secondly, people want to participate in the festival because they like to be a part of something bigger.
- Civil responsibility. Responsibility to the state is important for us, so we strictly comply with the law and ask other participants to comply with it too.
- Purity. Burning Man is the most big festival that leaves no trace behind.
- Participation– we expect everyone who comes to be involved in the life of the city and make the stay of the rest amazing.
- Presence here and now. It is very important for us that you enjoy the moment and that you like what is happening here and now.
How the city works
All these principles shape not only how our community is formed, but also how the city is created. We are making the city so that there are opportunities for communication, for relaxation and solitary conversations. In the center there are art objects, performances, the main camp. The circle does not close - we leave the exit to the magnificent desert, and this also reflects the views of our community: openness and the desire to connect with nature.
The city looks like a clock: the temple is located at 12 o'clock, and the central camp is at 6 o'clock. We have large clubs and discos on the last streets so that the sound goes into the desert and does not disturb others
Purple Territory - themed camps, where every year people bring their workshops and share their hobbies: pouring tea, dressing up, watching movies and much more.
The places marked in white are free territory where you can put up a tent and camp without any warning.
The central camp houses the main services that help art objects and where you can simply find out the answer to any organizational question. Burning Man provides the main infrastructure of the city: lines the territory, brings toilets and medical support.
Black Rock Rangers
We have 800 volunteers - Black rock rangers who protect the peace of our city. But they cannot be called the police: they can certainly clean up if they see serious violations of the rules, but for the most part they help make your stay comfortable and fun.
Black rock rangers. Source: burningman.org
What is in the city
There are about 1000 art objects in the city itself. Approximately 200 of them were created with our financial support, the rest - only by their creators. Every year we spend $1.5 million on grants.
Our community works through camps that bring art objects, robots, and other interactive things. And all this is organized and delivered by the participants themselves. We bring only big wooden statue burning man, which we burn on Saturday night. This is an annual ritual. Many people ask what this sculpture means. And always our answer is: "What you want is what it means."
We also have a licensed airport.
There is also a temple on the territory of the city. One of our members built it once and continues to build it every year.
This is a temple of all denominations. People come there, leave notes for the dead, some get married. We have over 1000 themed camps. It can be anything from post offices to sports hall. We also have radio stations (and even pirate ones!). Anyone can be a DJ. And post offices with an official postal code so that letters can be sent.
Art objects in Black Rock City
I really like the sculpture Ukrainian artist Alexandra Milova. Many people say that Burning Man connects them with their inner child.
Sculpture "Love" by Alexander Milov. Source: zn.ua
In 2015, Russian guys brought and assembled a stunning art object - the Mir space station. This team raised important question: what we as a team can do to keep the peace, and how we can break down boundaries to live happily.
Space station "Mir", installation at the festival. Source: livejournal
The Fleming Lotus Girls bring large fire installations to Burning man.
This object involved computer programming and the volunteers who created it learned how to program from scratch. This is an interactive object: you could click on buttons, and with different parties fire appeared.
Installation "Mother Snake". Source: wikimedia
Many objects are created by people from art schools. Some sculptures from Black Rock City then end up in various city art institutions.
For example, Trojan horse 250 volunteers were building in two cities. For a whole week we staged performances and discos inside the horse, and then burned it.
Trojan horse. Source: pinterest
Of course, we are happy when art objects end up in an urban environment, and we support such artists in every possible way.
About transport at the festival
The festival area is large, it is hot during the day, so people are looking for ways to move as quickly as possible, and mutant cars appear. People ride bicycles or similar vehicles.
Mutant bike. Source: scottlondon
From the desert to the big world
We want to bring the experience we got in the desert to the city. At first we organized events like Burning Man when we returned to San Francisco. For example, "depressurization" (decompretion) and "sealing" (precompretion). We organized a street fair in San Francisco, only our artists gave away their creations for free.
It all started with what the artist did light sculpture bridge at the festival. Then the light installation was temporarily placed on the bridge. However, a year later, the installation was decided to be made permanent. After this sculpture in San Francisco, Leo was invited to design a bridge on the Thames, and to date he has designed 17 bridges. This is an example of creating a small temporary piece of art that can lead to something really big.
David Best, who created the first temple at the festival, was invited to build a temporary temple in Derry, Ireland. In this city for a long time there was a confrontation between Protestants and Catholics, and in 1972 a massacre took place at this place. David worked with 90 volunteers from 18 to 25 years old.
Temple in Derry, Ireland. Source: terraoko.com
In the process of building the temple, David taught the volunteers how to laser cut and computer design. A few days after the opening, more than 60 thousand people came to this temple and wrote the names of the people who died in that Time of Troubles. After the people burned the temple, and it became a symbol of the end of religious hostility.
How to become part of the community
Now we have 287 regional representatives. They are all volunteers. We have 80 official regional events in over 40 countries. In addition to official gatherings, there are thousands more that we don’t know about – from parties to mass cleanups. And many of the regional offices have created non-profit organizations and give grants to artists, just like we do.
Where are Burner meetings held?
I am very inspired by how our community develops and how we overcome the borders of countries, despite the political situation in the world.
Here is an example of Afrika Burn - our largest regional event, or another of the fastest growing - Meat Burn in Israel. Before organizing such major festivals, they all started with small meetings on the beaches.
Afrika Burn, Tankwa, Africa.
Burning Man is an annual eight-day event taking place in the United States, the state of Nevada, in the Black Rock Desert. It collects more 50 thousand person every year. The event starts on the last Monday of August, at zero hours one minute. Burning Man challenges its guests to give up goods and money, take care of each other like family, and have a great time. Imagine - for eight days the participants of the grand party are freed from the daily routine in order to get into a fairy tale. whole year they are preparing to become what they only dream of being - incredible characters, bright freaks, each participating in his own, as well as in the general intricacies of the performance.
The organizers themselves define the event as an experiment in community building radical self-expression, while completely relying only on himself. For a week in the desert, works of modern art are set up, often in fantastic forms. Some of them are burned by the creators before the end of Burning Man. There are hundreds of "mutated" machines the most incredible appearance, many participants walk around in costumes of art characters, animals, objects and so on. Artists who came to the desert give performances, various dances are popular. DJs music is played around the clock on several dance floors. At the same time, each participant is responsible for his own life support (which includes food, water, protection from heat, wind, cold, a place to sleep, possibly a shower) and cleaning the desert from any traces of his stay; All this must be taken care of in advance.
The first burning of a small wooden man was in 1986, then on one of the beaches of San Francisco, small group friends. Subsequently, the circle of participants expanded and moved to its current location in the desert in Nevada. In 2015, 70 thousand people participated in the festival.
The Burning Man festival does not have one single purpose of its holding. To a large extent, the festival is created by themselves burners(eng. burners) - ordinary participants who are called to express the community, art(in the form of so-called installations), absurdity, decommodification(English decommodification) and general fun. The organizers call for active participation in the festival, attending the event as an observer is not approved.
All participants live at the campsite. Each camp has its own themes and the basic rule is: "to give to society, not to take", - they can offer you something for free. For example, food camps are preparing breakfasts, lunches and dinners, they not only feed a huge number of people, but also have the appropriate names: "Pancake Theater", "Twilight Spaghetti Theater", "Cheese Camp" and so on. Other camps are responsible for providing various services: massage, foot spa, hairdresser, there is also a camp where everyone can fix their broken bike. There are those who are happy to offer you sleep or rest to wait out the hot hours. They have huge awnings, under which you can find couches, cozy hammocks and hundreds of pillows. But the most interesting are camps that arrange sex lectures, erotic performances and contests. Tent ”Orgy Dom” provides a huge number of services: sex with your partner, orgies, blind sex and so on.
Declared 10 core principles:
1) Radical inclusion
2) Donation
4) Radical self-sufficiency
5) Radical self-expression
6) Public efforts
7) Responsibility
8) Leave No Trace
9) Participation
10) Here and Now
How to participate
This 2016 Burning Man festival will take place in August 28 to September 5 in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada.
The organizers of Burning Man do not support passive participation in the festival, so each participant must contribute to the event by presenting their work of art, concert or other performance. To buy tickets, you need to register on the site and fill out a form in which to briefly present your project to the festival. Only then can you submit a ticket purchase request.
How to get there to Burning Man: by plane to San Francisco, then transfer to the festival (transfer cost 40 euros per person).
Accommodation: all participants live in the campsite.
20 facts you need to know about Burning Man: eyewitness opinion
1) Dust can get everywhere.
2) Your parents and the parents of your friends represent only a small part of all possible types of adulthood.
3) How strongly and hopelessly dependent the majority of the members of society.
4) You have no idea how much meaning can be put into a costume.
5) Waiting in line at the entrance can turn into glee if you knew what was waiting for you outside the gate.
6) An art object can make you want to quit your job and spend the rest of your life with a welding torch in your hands.
7) Boredom is always your fault.
8) This trip can change your life forever.
9) Camping can radically change your relationship with the people you always travel with.
10) You won't be bothered by the fact that you only shower 2-3 times a week.
11) That you need a bike. You will simply exhaust yourself trying to walk everywhere, and catching one of the art cars is a real success.
12) There are no garbage containers here. And there's no trash here. Each visitor cleans up after himself and takes the packages with him.
13) You will understand that you have never experienced anything like this, even if your life is connected with art.
14) People bring a lot of things with them. In fact, they are building a city in the middle of the desert.
15) It's always noisy here. If you arrive at 3 am, don't worry about waking up the neighbors.
16) You actually need a lot less sleep than you thought.
17) You visit parallel reality right here on planet earth.
18) Even an activity like washing dishes can make you feel like you're taking part in a higher purpose.
19) You can feel safe at 3am in the middle of a dark street filled with 50,000 drunken strangers.
20) The desert can be so beautiful.
For a whole week, people gathered from all over the world in the desert expressed themselves radically. In the middle of the sands, various unusual structures and installations were erected, often of fantastic shapes. Here you can find hundreds of cars of the most incredible view, many participants walk around in costumes of animal characters and various objects.
Burning Man begins in the Nevada desert on the last Monday in August at exactly 00:01. It ends on Labor Day, a holiday celebrated in the United States on the first Monday in September. It is a public holiday for most organizations.
The three main ways of expressing yourself here are original costumes, original vehicles and unusual installations. Here is one of them - an incredible car. (Photo by Jim Urquhart | Reuters)
The organizers of the Burning Man 2016 festival define it as an experiment in creating a community of radical self-expression, while relying only on itself. No more, no less. (Photo by Jim Urquhart | Reuters)
Light installation. Black Rock Desert in Nevada on August 29, 2016. (Photo by Jim Urquhart | Reuters)
The Burning Man Festival 2016 takes place in the Black Rock Desert in US state Nevada. This desert is a salt marsh and an endorheic lake. It is part of the dried up prehistoric lake Laontan, which existed 18-7 thousand years BC. e. during the last ice age. (Photo by Jim Urquhart | Reuters)
Here you can sit on the couch. TV cabinet - on a chain, apparently, so as not to rest. (Photo by Jim Urquhart | Reuters)
Wooden towers with bridges. (Photo by Jim Urquhart | Reuters)
Winged swing. (Photo by Jim Urquhart | Reuters)
An installation that reminds you that you are still on Earth. (Photo by Jim Urquhart | Reuters)
In the background is a boom-mobile with powerful speakers. Mobile disco. (Photo by Jim Urquhart | Reuters)
Art installation Space Whale. This is understandable, there is little earth here. (Photo by Jim Urquhart | Reuters)
stilts - popular view local movement. Black Rock Desert in Nevada on August 29, 2016. (Photo by Jim Urquhart | Reuters)
(Photo by Jim Urquhart | Reuters)
Everything always ends the same at the festival - burning wooden structures ... (Photo by Jim Urquhart | Reuters)
...and the Man himself. (Photo by Jim Urquhart | Reuters)
Another photo from the most unusual festival in the world. It's 2011 and a mega car that Mad Max would envy.
Burning Temple of Grace, August 31, 2014. (Photo by Jim Urquhart | Reuters)
Black Rock Desert in Nevada on August 31, 2014. (Photo by Jim Urquhart | Reuters)
At times, a sandstorm rises in the desert. Behind - a huge Man who stands in the distance and waits for the hour of burning, August 31, 2014. (Photo by Andy Barron)
Burning man 2014.
Interested in attending the 2017 Burning Man Festival in Nevada? Remember 10 basic principles:
- Radical Inclusion
donation
Decommodification
Radical self-sufficiency
Radical self-expression
Public efforts
Responsibility
Leave No Trace
Participation
Here and now
And for sure, an alien costume will not hurt you, although costumes of animals and objects will do.
The burning of a wooden figure symbolizing a man at the Burning Man festival. The first burning of a small wooden man was in 1986, then still on one of the beaches of San Francisco, by a small group of friends. Subsequently, the circle of participants expanded and moved to its current location in the desert in Nevada.
About 65,000 people annually come to the Nevada desert to build their dream city of Black Rock City.
The Burning Man festival for one week makes the bold dream of living in a society of freedom and creative development. The action of the festival takes place in the middle of the desert, 3.5 hours by car from the nearest big city Reno. Black Rock City looks like real city with an extensive infrastructure and residential "streets" around which the main art objects, stages, and entertainment venues are organized. The cyclopean tent-car camp is built in a semicircle. In its center is the symbol of the festival - giant figure Burning man.
Every season new objects and The cultural program"Burning Man" are tied to a single theme, reflecting one of the ideological aspects of the "citizens" of this virtual state. The topic of 2017 was "Radical Ritual" - an appeal to the ritual practice of various beliefs as a creative process, without being tied to specific religious dogmas. Symbolic center of Burning Man became " The Temple of the Golden Spike is the main festival square, where more than 20 "temple" structures of various sizes were erected. By good tradition"Burning Man" , on the last night of the art party, its largest objects are ritually burned, which turns into an enchanting show.
Due to the sandy wind in the desert, it is possible to move freely around the festival area only with special protection - closed glasses, a face scarf and a powerful flashlight at night. All devices for photography and video filming must be equipped with sand protection. To avoid overheating, festival goers are also advised to bring sun umbrellas and carry a constant supply of water.
At Burning Man, you can stay both in a large organized camp and in a free camping area. The first option is much more comfortable, because. involves a developed infrastructure with a kitchen, a place to relax in the shade, water supplies, etc. But such camps do not always accept people from outside and additional fees are always introduced for their members.
Tickets for Burning Man are only available online, after registering on the event website. $425 - standard ticket. There are tickets from $190 to $1200 dollars.
By the way. The international response from the Burning Man festival is so high that it has "relatives" Worldwide. The most large-scale events of this kind are festivals of music and creative expression: in the USA, in South Africa, in Germany, in Australia, in England, in Israel, in Hungary, as well as in Russia.
Burning Man 2019 theme is Metamorphosis.
