burning man: a brief history of the desert festival and black rock city

the burning man monument, also known as 'the man', mid-burn atop a pyramid structure
image courtesy of nick wolfe

twenty-five years ago burning man was a thought that festival founder larry harvey shared with his friend,
jerry james. harvey's hope was to build an eight-foot figure to burn in a pure spontaneous act of radical
self-expression to celebrate the summer solstice. in the company of twenty friends and strangers,
james and harvey brought their wooden man monument to baker beach in san fransisco, california.
it was in the assembly of this community comprised of individuals-- valuing total inclusivity, public
expression, and the act of ritual as a necessity, gathered to celebrate and ignite the humanoid figure--
that the very first burning man festival was held.

from the first burn in 1986 until 1989, harvey and friends continued to conduct a yearly gathering on
baker beach. the attendance of the festival had grown to 100 individuals in 1990 as 'the man' grew to a
height of 40 feet-- it was in this year that burning man founders created black rock city, the more contemporary
and widely understood form of the festival. the festival moved from baker beach to a dry, dusty lakebed in
northern nevada, usa, known as black rock desert, or 'la playa' to festival goers. due to this shift in space,
the event took on a new life with greater space for mobility and platform for expression. black rock city
was created by the gathering and its founders as a dadaist temporary city—a community existing only once
a year in the period of seven days before labor day weekend, and it is still recreated in this location today.

wide-view of the playa as seen from atop a living-structure. the temple, community members, mutant vehicles and one sculptural installation pictured
image courtesy of bryan snyder

jellyfish-like lanterns carried by festival goers in an act of collective public performance and inclusivity.
image © patrick roddie

the man sculpture, from its earliest build was made to have a triangular face and simple, skeletal form. angular formations are considered to be essential in the modern construction of the man.
the consistency of shape is both a nod to the original shape of the man as well as homage to the black rock city location-- on pyramid lake.
image courtesy of nick wolfe

one of the several mutant vehicles accepted by burning man's own transportation registration system, BRC department of mutant vehicles
image  © patrick roddie



performance art such as fire spinning is widely practiced and appreciated at burning man. in the foreground, a community member dances with spheres
of cloth set aflame, held and spun by long chains of metal or rope. in the background, rests the temple.
image courtesy of bryan snyder

the primary concern of a community member in attending burning man is that of survival—
to maintain health, wellness and creativity in the blistering desert heat. the force sustaining citizens
of black rock city is in the constant actualization of art and unconditional inclusively within the community.
participants are expected to bring food, water, and shelter in order to maintain their self-sufficiency and
burning man  distributes a survival guide to aid in this effort. the only rules of the city are created to ensure
the health and safety of all participants—leave no waste, engage in no commerce, no use of non-mutant
cars moving above five miles per hour, and no interference with any other citizens immediate experience.

the harsh conditions of black rock city create necessity for community members to properly attire themselves with goggles and access to shelter, should a regular dust storm arise. 
image courtesy of bryan snyder



while mutant vehicles are once-cars turned to slow-paced black rock city approved transportation, art-bikes yet are another platform inwhich community
members may choose to express themselves while navigating the playa.
image courtesy of michael lattizori

the first themed camp at burning man arose in 1993, however, it was not until 1996 that burning man organizers
announced a central concept-- hell. however, themes are never a rule as participants are encouraged to enrich the
artistic community whether or not their contribution be directly related to this encompassing idea. the burning
man theme of 2011 was 'rites of passage'. designs, encampments, costumes, vehicles and artistic media produced
by the community are greatly influenced by this concept. sculptural structures found through out the burning man
site and are often constructed by artists who are grant recipients  from the burning man organization. the burning
man organization funds near ,000 worth of artwork for the event each year and in 2011, was able to fund 44
installations for black rock city.

black rock arts foundation is a resource for artists after they return to their lives post-black rock city, as they
continue to exhibit the outsider and visionary art that appreciates the festival theme. BRAF is the ideal
environment for burning man artists, as their organization funds and displays only highly interactive, public,
community-driven works of art. in addition to the foundation, burning man websites and forums,
the first appearing in 1994, are a platform in which participants of this experimental society are better able to
maintain connection with the community. it was not until 1997, with participation rates of 10,000 that burning
man had a direct connection to the media. 

sculpture works by unknown artists.
images courtesy of michael lattizori

collective performance art installation on the playa
image © patrick roddie



wooden circular snake sculpture by an unknown artist
image courtesy of nick wolfe

left: the 'temple of transition' frequented by the citizens of black rock city until the final night of burning man, in which the temple was incinerated in 2011
the right: interactive sculpture is a very strong artistic presence at the burning man festival. in this form-- a whimsical balloon chair, open for all community members' enjoyment.
images courtesy of nick wolfe


the concentric, semi-circle design of the modern black rock city construction was developed by burning man founder friend
and san fransisco landscape designer, rod garrett in 1997 to house 10,000 festival goers. with thirty years of experience in a
field that was not directly connected to urban planning, garrett’s concept was innovative and fashioned in a way that recognizes
the new urbanist perspective. it is a walkable, connected, centrally oriented, mixed use and housing community city structure
and was borne from the necessity for the festival to have city planning after the crowd grew to 8,000 individuals in 1996.
the original plan has been re-shaped and oriented annually since its initial sketch and implementation with garrett remaining
the primary architect of the city plan until his death in august of 2011. the C shaped plan spans 240° with axes of the half-wheel
made on each half-hour mark, intersecting with the ten concentric semi-circles that comprise the city in its entirety.
the semi-circle promotes the interconnectedness of the city and encourages citizens to engage in the central space,
where 'the man' is located.

in 2011, for the first time in the twenty-five year history of burning man, the festival sold out. on 29 august 2011, 50,000
individuals moved their lives to their plot of land in black rock city, the desert utopia that garrett help to orchestrate for
a week of total creation. the entirely temporary black rock city. during the time of the festival, black rock city is the tenth
largest urban area in nevada, USA coming in just behind carson city, nevada, USA at 52,457.

aerial view of black rock city, nevada, USA, home of the burning man festival. the central point of the 2/3 circle is where 'the man' lives
image courtesy of geoeye

left: the man, mid-way through the burn on the final evening of the festival
right: the wooden horse sculpture as seen mid-burn.
image on left © patrick roddie; right image courtesy nick wolfe

a mutant vehicle, navigates the playa, pointed in the direction of the man, as the dust begins to move in the early morning in black rock city
image © patrick roddie

radical inclusion
anyone may be a part of burning man. we welcome and respect the stranger. no prerequisites exist for participation
in our community.

gifting
burning man is devoted to acts of gift giving. the value of a gift is unconditional. gifting does not contemplate a return
or an exchange for something of equal value.

decommodification
in order to preserve the spirit of gifting, our community seeks to create social environments that are unmediated
by commercial sponsorships, transactions, or advertising. we stand ready to protect our culture from such exploitation.
we resist the substitution of consumption for participatory experience.

radical self-reliance
burning man encourages the individual to discover, exercise and rely on his or her inner resources.

radical self-expression
radical self-expression arises from the unique gifts of the individual. no one other than the individual
or a collaborating group can determine its content. it is offered as a gift to others. in this spirit, the giver
should respect the rights and liberties of the recipient.

communal effort
our community values creative cooperation and collaboration. we strive to produce, promote and protect social networks,
public spaces, works of art, and methods of communication that support such interaction.

civic responsibility
we value civil society. community members who organize events should assume responsibility for public welfare
and endeavor to communicate civic responsibilities to participants. they must also assume responsibility for conducting events
in accordance with local, state and federal laws.

leaving no trace
our community respects the environment. we are committed to leaving no physical trace of our activities
wherever we gather. we clean up after ourselves and endeavor, whenever possible,
to leave such places in a better state than when we found them.

participation
our community is committed to a radically participatory ethic. we believe that transformative change, whether in the individual
or in society, can occur only through the medium of deeply personal participation. we achieve being through doing.
everyone is invited to work. everyone is invited to play. we make the world real through actions that open the heart.

immediacy
immediate experience is, in many ways, the most important touchstone of value in our culture. we seek to overcome barriers
that stand between us and a recognition of our inner selves, the reality of those around us, participation in society, and contact
with a natural world exceeding human powers. no idea can substitute for this experience.