The Burning Man Festival, that is, “the burning man,” brings together every year active dreamers, ready in the wilderness without the amenities of civilization to create a city of the future that will disappear completely as soon as the festival is over. It is a triumph of radical self-expression and freedom, limited only by the physical abilities of the participants. Shocking works of contemporary art are erected on the festival grounds in the desert, mutant cars drive between them, and participants dress up in whatever costumes they can think of. Here are the artists, organize performances, dance parties with DJs, and around the clock. The atmosphere at Burning Man resembles a sci-fi movie, but it’s all happening in real life.
Since 1995, the events of each festival have been united by one common theme; in 2017, it was radical rituals.
The festival runs for 8 days from the last Monday in August to the first Monday in September, which in the U.S. is Labor Day, a day off for most organizations. The main event of the festival, which gave it its name, takes place on Saturday after sunset: a huge wooden man is burned, symbolizing a return from fantasy to reality. Many of the art objects of the festival burn with him, as there is no place for them in real life.
A bit of history
The first Burning Man festival took place in 1986 on a beach in San Francisco. A small group of friends got together to fool around and burn a statue of a wooden man. It turned out to be fun, so they decided to repeat it a year later, and then in two years. The number of participants grew rapidly, the craziness and freedom of expression progressed, so soon the festival moved to the Black Rock Desert in Nevada, where it is still held today. In 2016, the festival attracted 75,000 guests.
Festival features
Burning man does not like spectators, or rather, they are simply not allowed in. Everyone who comes automatically becomes a berner, i.e. a participant. The duties of an ordinary berner are to actively express themselves and help others. Installations, absurdist performances and any kind of fun are welcome, but definitely unusual. Otherwise, what is the point of leaving the familiar life in the desert?
The organizers of the festival do not think about creating any comfort for the participants in matters of everyday life. This is one of the main principles of Burning man: everyone provides for themselves everything they need, and after he is obliged to take away all the waste products of their life. The only exception: there are toilets. The organizers joke: “You can’t throw away here what hasn’t been inside you.
Ten principles govern everything that happens at the festival:
- Radical Inclusion: everyone creates this temporary unreal world by giving their all;
- Radical self-sufficiency: the participant himself is all that is needed for a harmonious existence at the festival;
- Radical self-expression: a maximum of bright new ideas;
- Giving: everything for free and on enthusiasm, no one tries to sell their works;
- Decommodification: total independence from the market and leveling of capitalist values, no advertisers or sponsors;
- Public effort: everyone is free to express himself, but everyone is united by a common idea and helps each other in the realization of any plans;
- Responsibility: there are no police at the festival, participants are responsible for safety and order;
- Leave no trace: after the Festival all traces are destroyed or taken away, and the desert becomes lifeless again;
- Participation: you can’t just come to watch;
- Here and now: no one makes plans or thinks about how to use the ideas of the festival in the future, all its events are momentary.