Taking Part in Burning Man
Aerial shot of the “We, Human” performance by my camp, Art Haus, under The Orb installation on playa. Photo Credit: Jamen Percy
Taking part in Burning Man for the first time in 2018 was a huge highlight for me. Yes, taking part is what you do — no spectators! In fact, it’s one of the core principles — I encourage anyone to learn about the history and the 10 guiding principles to look past the surface media coverage that you generally come across about the event. It was amazing to experience the sheer spectacle and human creativity that exists there — as difficult as it is to describe this visceral experience, I wanted to reflect back on it through some words.
My Experience
View of some of my campmates from Art Haus performing “We, Human”. Photo Credit: Tomas Loewy
I was privileged to be part of the Art Haus Collective camp, which features extraordinary musicians, artists and creators who I am in total awe of — but more importantly, is made up of incredible people who I have so much respect for.
Burning Man is a different experience for everyone and it is very hard to write about the experience and do it justice; just look at any other account of the experience to find that to be the case. It’s not always substance or hedonism-fueled as you might hear, and mine certainly wasn’t. In fact, there were several 10:30pm bedtimes for me.
First, I wanted to share this video to show Art Haus's story, featuring some of my excellent camp mates. Grateful to have been a tiny part of it.
Second, as I gear up for another stint at Burning Man 2019 at the time of writing, again with Art Haus, I took the opportunity to reflect on 9 of my favorite things about my first Burn last year:
Helping build our camp – seeing Black Rock City (population ~70,000) take shape in the first 3-4 days from absolutely nothing is humbling. Getting my hands dirty to help build the Art Haus camp, figuring out how to put things together, and executing as a team in the desert heat was tough, fun, and ultimately so rewarding. Even better without any phones being involved (no signal for 10 days).
Art Haus’s “We, Human” performance – the setting, the background story to the lead-up (see the video above for details), and seeing my camp mates as musicians for the first time was nothing short of spectacular. We were standing in the crowd of ~500 and a very senior music director from LA standing next to us was just in awe of the performance just like everyone else. I couldn’t believe Joan and I were even remotely involved with this project. My heart was filled with pride and pure awe at seeing this performance come together. Pics here.
Art Haus’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” performance (got my name in the credits for this one!) – another ambitious and incredible show (hard not to be given the scene and the caliber of performers). Our contributions, both Joan’s and mine, went to another level for this one - Joan helped orchestrate the full-on backstage and I managed to be coerced into, let’s just say, front of stage… Pics here.
Seeing Black Rock City from a distance – this was a very special night as Joan and I rode around BRC side by side and made it to the edge of the BRC boundary line miles away. I remember seeing her ride next to me and being hopelessly in love. I also remember parking up, staring back at the city for several minutes and reflecting on what a group of humans had managed to build out of nothing. Thinking that no matter how spectacular, how peak of an experience the gathering was, that it would all come down just like that; how Burning Man itself may not exist in the near future – and that’s absolutely okay. It was a moment in which the concepts of impermanence and immediacy really sunk in.
Seeing people “in flow” – some of the reasons why the Art Haus performances captured the imagination so much was because you get to witness flow and human creativity in motion in front of you. It’s the same feeling as watching a supreme athlete in action or even a barrister at the top of his or her game presenting in court. You witness this several times over at Burning Man. One of the most memorable for me was being entranced by a young ~mid-20 year old skateboarder, shirtless, totally immersed in his craft on a half-pipe at midnight on playa (how’d they bring the half-pipe there?!). Dancing in the tent of inverted flames (Incendia) or at one of the Art Car sessions (Mayan Warrior particularly) was also a sure way of delving into that experience of appreciative joy.
The 3am Diner finds you – how do you find a diner serving hot coffee, toasties, hot dogs, and the answers to life’s problems at 3 in the morning in the middle of the desert? You don’t — it finds you. We rode into said diner not knowing or expecting to. One of the people who showed up was in tears of pure joy at running into such a thing. There’s something transcendental about the incongruence of experiencing everyday luxuries in a place you don’t feel you should be – I had my first ever s’more (delicious) in the middle of the playa, prepared by a super-friendly adult boy scout secretly stationed in a glass cave sculpture (these things are honestly hard to describe); we had several espresso coffees served to us by baristas at several cafes; fresh watermelons from the fresh produce camp; and even got full body massages. I have no hesitation in describing even these experiences as spectacular – and gets you thinking about giving these experiences as gifts to others.
Dr Bronner’s Foam Against the Machine – having a full shower in the desert is an ecstatic experience to the say the least. Doing it naked with your partner and 150 of your closest friends is beyond. This was a supremely joyful experience – best described in what I read as “an intimate experience but not a sexual place”.
The Art; Visiting other camps; other Burners – the Art: “How’d they get that here?”, “How’d they make that?”, “What is that?” Really, some of the best you’ll ever see, no joke. We had friends at other camps that are just as rich in their stories as Art Haus, or been there for decades, or even just whimsical – it didn’t really matter. There was always something new, something exciting to experience, some new gift to be had. Other Burners could be from anywhere in the world, in a broad range from ages 18 to 80, could be a janitor or CEO of a 10-figure company – again, it didn’t really matter. People were people, burners were burners.
Before and after Burning Man – the principles of Burning Man, namely radical self-reliance, communal effort, and leaving no trace begin well before Burning Man and continue after it. My experience was one of somewhat heavy and rewarding involvement. Being very new to the Bay Area at the time, being part of something bigger was invaluable.
For a more articulate (and professional) take of someone else’s experience, do read my fellow friend and Kiwi Derek’s account of his first experience in 2015 - https://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/news/article.cfm…
Can’t wait to do it all again in 2019.
Part of the “Pictures at an Exhibition” performance with Art Haus. Photo Credit: David Sun Kong