Burning Man 2012: Fertility 2.0

Posted by Joseph James Photography on September 5, 2012 · 82 Comments 

Burning Man is an annual event in Black Rock City, Nevada, where people from all over the world come to celebrate art and life. Black Rock City is built, maintained, and dismantled every year by volunteers who pay admittance into the city and is also Nevada’s third largest city with sixty sixty-thousand attendants in 2012.

It is impossible to stay out of the dust at Burning Man so be prepared for it with goggles and a handkerchief.

Unlike conventional music and arts festivals with a central line up of music and events, Burning Man is a decentralized gathering where you are the event. Dress up and exchange compliments with all the beautiful looking people – they spend a lot of time and effort picking and choosing what to look like.

The PerVertical Playground is one especially fun mutant vehicle to hop on. Make sure you exit off of the slide before you go!

Camps at Burning Man are often elaborate and well constructed with furniture, decorations, and other creative items that are brought in. The popular theme between camps at Burning Man is goods and supplies are gifted and bartered. That is to say – many of the events, kitchens, and workshops are managed and maintained by burners and are free and open to others. Everyone is encouraged to visit each other’s camp, wherein a thick booklet that is handed out upon arrival lists a number of registered events.

Kelsey and Eric make Bloody Mary’s for the first time this year at camp BoCoNoCo, located at 9:30 and A. The ingredients were pickled themselves on their farm in Vermont.

The Man is forty feet tall and is located in the middle of Black Rock City.

“Mutant Vehicles” come in all shapes and sizes on the playa.

Black Rock City hosts an unremarkable display of art and imagination – unlike a museum or gallery, the art is hands on and participants become the art as they engage one another.

One notable piece is in camp Area 51 that is decorated on the outside by Alex Grey’s artwork. The artist in here explains on his statement, “that it cannot be photographed, or videoed,” but only experienced. This artist builds a hollow box with an assortment of mirrors and openings from the outside so that eye contact can be made through it between two or more people creates a unique experience to share.

Joel and Brittney stand together at sunset over Black Rock City.

As art pushes the boundaries of the human imagination, Burning Man inspires a celebration of what this world is made of and the kinds of rolls one can have in it. Work shops are abound at Burning Man to explore one’s boundaries. Human suspension and tickling work shops are to name a few, but the list goes on in a book that is hundreds of pages long.

Black Rock Desert is the site of Burning Man, which possess a unique geographic history; Lake Lahontan was once one of North America’s largest lake-beds.

Black Rock City has its own unique lay out based on the clock watch and the English alphabet with The Man directly in the center. From two o’clock to ten o’clock is where everyone’s camped, plus there many other sculptures to see. The rest of the three-hundred sixty-degrees is called deep playa where more art and The Temple are located. Rides from Mutant Vehicles are popular here and are very helpful when moving across the playa or wanting to have fun and see the city.

These “Mutant Vehicals” are one of a kind and incredibly fun.

The culminating event at Burning Man is the lighting on fire of a forty foot structure called The Man. At the beginning of the evening fire troops – people that spin fans, staffs, poi, and other tools lit with fire, dance in syncronicity around The Man. Proceeding it are fireworks and then The Man is burned.

This is a spectacular event as people gather at a distance around The Man to sit down in a ring and watch it burn. Outside of this ring of people are hundreds of mutant vehicles that play music and give rides across the playa. This year a replica of Wall Street was built and burned, as were other unique pieces including big box letters that read “EGO.” Effigies are numerous and are burned the night before The Man

The Black Rock Desert is administered by the Bureau of Land Management and is affectionately known as The Playa. Its unique geography helps to differentiate it from other regional Burning Man events across the world.

Without Burning Man it is difficult to say that any of the art and imagination which makes Burning Man possible would exist.

Evenings on the playa become chilly and people stay up all night riding around on different art-mobiles, dancing, cuddling, standing near some fire, visiting bars, making music, and enjoying Black Rock City in other unique ways.

It is not uncommon to be married at Burning Man. This couple is still dressed for their ceremony.

“White Outs” on the playa are common. Here The Temple of Juno remains barely visible in the late afternoon.

Filed under Communal Gatherings · Tagged with 2012, Adventure, Black Rock City, Burning Man, Festivals, Hippie, Hippie Bus, Intentional Communities, Joseph Sherrock, Love Bus Community, Travel