The Art of the Desert

copyright 2008 Leigh Anne DelRay, Burning Man

The Libra Birthday Extravaganza, produced by Champagne and Bacon Productions and benefiting the Black Rock Arts Foundation, took place Friday, September 26 at Neutron Nightclub on Kietzke Lane. Appearances were made by BoHoBurlesque - a risqué dance troupe, as well as countless burners, and entertainment was provided by a bevy of amazing DJs.

All the freaks and sluts came out to raise money for one of the only good things to come out of Burning Man: the art.

However, the art necessarily takes a back seat at Burning Man, which bills itself as a counter culture festival. Burning Man, as an event, is less about art and more about training for a post apocalyptic wasteland where bombs filled with Ecstasy tablets seemed to have annihilated the normal people, and turned the survivors into shower-shy, sex obsessed zombies who gain sustenance from the constant mmphtz-mmphtz-mmphtz of the techno heartbeat.

The hypocrisy of Burning Man showed its true colors for 2007’s “Green Man,” designed and orchestrated to raise awareness of the threat of endless, needless energy consumption, self-obsession, and the exploitation of the natural environment. What seems to be lost on the organizers and attendees – either by chance, ignorance, or willfully ignored – is that Burning Man itself inherently contradicts all concepts of being ‘green’: over 40,000 people descend on the once-pristine Black Rock Desert with carloads of food, bottled water, and useless trinkets to party, explore their inner selves, and watch the fiery consumption of a massive “Man.” In 2007, the “Man” was burned twice (once as an act of arson, once as planned). For the week that Black Rock City is in existence, it is one of the 10 largest cities in Nevada. How much gas is needlessly burned, how much is the Black Rock Desert tainted, how many “gifts” end up in landfills as a result of being aware?

As for the art of our collective post-neo-futuristic American Gothic, it is reflective of society as a whole: some winners, a whole lot of losers. But art isn’t about winning; art is about self expression and in that regard, one would be hard pressed to find a more expressive culture than that of the Burners.

Take the Mangrove exhibit on the corner of Island Avenue and South Sierra Street. The collection of convoluted metal trees that occupies the otherwise barren gravel space brings a certain magic to the River Walk. Some of the trees are kinetic wind sculptures in the vein of those that decorate the lampposts downtown, some play with light and form, providing a constantly changing experience. Recently, the Mangrove was the site of “World Grooves,” a collection of music from around the globe, to which Burners and Normals alike danced away the afternoon.

One could also look to the wrought iron lotus of Kate Raudenbush – The Guardian of Eden – that is now part of the permanent collection of the Nevada Museum of Art.

Both the Mangrove installation and the Guardian of Eden were made for Burning Man. To an extent, the work of local metal artist Harry Shearer could be said to be at least partially inspired by Burning Man. Some of the works at local boutique La Bussola are invariably made for, at, or inspired directly by, Burning Man.

For all its ills, Burning Man is the most fertile ground in America, perhaps the world, for experimental and traditional artists, and the work of the Black Rock Arts Foundation is to be lauded.

To call the Burners who came out to Neutron sluts and freaks is perhaps disingenuous. Without people who are willing to bend, break, rewrite, and ignore the rules of art, class, taste, gender, and humanity, the world would be both sad and uninteresting.

The next event by the Black Rock Arts Foundation is the Biggest Little Decompression, to be held at Club Bliss on October 18th. Music will be provided by Skidjam, with their converted ambulance/mobile DJ station - Janice the Jamwagon. One can expect to see a collection of boys as girls, girls as nudists, people as animals, and most importantly, society as an art form.

For pictures of the burlesque show visit our gallery.