These Stunning Burning Man Art Projects Need Your Help

Article by: Emily Ward|@_drawylime

Fri June 30, 2017 | 13:00 PM


There is no community in the world like the Burning Man community. Nowhere else will you find such a passionate, highly skilled group of people willing to donate countless hours, dollars and emotional support to champion an artistic vision. So much of Burning Man's magic comes from the art. None of that art would be there without you, and all supporters of the Burner community and culture.

With eight weeks to go until Burning Man 2017 begins, the 73 recipients of Honoraria art grants (like the stunning Tree of Ténéré) and hundreds other artists around the world are knee-deep in Playa prep. The projects profiled below are in particular need of your assistance; Burners, let's do what we do best and help them out.

If you're working on a project for Burning Man that needs financial or volunteer support, please leave a link to your campaign in the comments.

The Temple (Steven Brummond, Marisha Farnsworth & Mark Sinclair, Oakland, CA)

What It Is: " The Temple is a place of refuge, mourning, and healing. The burn on the final night is a solemn ritual; a cleansing, a rite of passage, a pyre. The Temple project is central to Burning Man – it is built by and for the community. The power of the Temple comes from the energy, dedication, and devotion that is built into it by its contributors (in building and in offerings). Join us and help continue this tradition of healing.

For the first time in Temple history, the lumber is coming from a very unusual and unexpected place. Throughout many of our forests, millions of trees still standing are either dead or dying caused by an infestation of bark beetles. These beetles took hold of the trees due to the human interruption of forest fire cycles and climate change. The dying and dead trees actually pose a real threat as they become kindling in a forest fire. We are partnered with a local Bay Area sawmill to mill these trees into usable lumber for our Temple."

Donate here and help bring The Temple 2017 to BRC! [ENDS: Wednesday 7/12]

ALUNA - (Juan David Marulanda, Brayan Orjuela, Colombia/Los Angeles, California)

What It Is: "An interactive experience that explores the cosmological struggle of life towards equilibrium. You are seated, suspended midair inside Aluna, a 26ft interactive installation crafted for exploring balance, interactivity, and struggle. The structure and its octophonic sound installation spatialize a rich cosmological environment based on the wisdom of the Arhuacos, an indigenous community from the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta, Colombia. 

Aluna is a structure that sits on its own reflection and stands as a unified entity on the Playa. Upon entering, two pairs of seesaw swings hang from the ceiling, inviting you to find counterweight in a partner, who will collaborate and engage with you in a game of balance and trust. Prehispanic melodies converge with experimental sounds and techniques to accompany the breath and silence of the Black Rock Desert. You will be sonically immersed in an ever-oscillating universe reaching for balance. As dusk approaches, Aluna will be illuminated by hundreds of LED lights that line its frame and body, reflecting and challenging the sounds of Aluna, creating a complete interactive experience for participants."

Donate here to bring ALUNA to BRC[ENDED]

Aperture 11 (David Cocciante & Bertrand Lanthiez, Paris, France)

What It Is:  "Ape rture 11 is an art installation that will be presented at Burning Man 2017. It is an interactive & intergalactic photo booth right in the middle of the Playa, and it will look like the Apollo 11 Lunar Module, taking you and your friends on an intergalactic journey!

In the main structure, a camera and a thermal printer are installed, both communicating through sensors placed in front of the module in the shape of two flags. They will detect when at least 5 people are physically connected between the two flags (by holding hands, or any kind of contact) and will trigger the camera. A panoramic picture of the moment is printed by the booth, for you and your friends to take home."

Donate here to bring Aperture 11 to BRC[ENDS: Monday 7/17]

Bloom (Peter Hazel, Oakland, CA)

What It Is: "From a distance this piece will appear to be one large jellyfish, forty foot tall and thirty feet across, with huge steel and fabric tentacles floating in the desert wind. Up close, one will realize Bloom is thousands of small jellyfish. The steps ascending twenty feet into the “belly of the jelly”, lead to a large platform viewing area. On the platform, the visitor will have a raised view of the playa, through the filtered light of thousands of handmade glass eyes. 

Bloom is comprised of thousands of glass bowls rigged to a massive steel frame, and towering 40ft over the desert floor., It will be lit with 1,400 linear feet of LED lights, currently being programmed to bring the sculpture to life on the Playa."

Donate here to bring Bloom out to BRC! [ENDS: Monday 7/31]

Firmament Reborn (Christopher Schardt, Oakland, CA)

What It Is: " Firmament is a large LED sculpture first created for Burning Man 2015. It’s 54’ in diameter, 42’ tall, with 21,600 LED modules, each controlled by a computer. It’s been exhibited several times since then, delighting hordes of Burning Man participants, Steampunk Masqueraders, and other connoisseurs of animated beauty."

Donate here to Firmament Reborn back out to BRC! [ENDS: Wednesday 8/2]

Gummy Bear Mandala Pyramid (Karla DelCarpio, Long Beach, CA)

What It Is: "14ft Light Installation made of over 200,000 glowing gummy bears. A radiant pyramid of rainbow prisms & translucent hues. It encases over 200,000 hand-casted traditional sized gummy bears laid out in elaborate patterns. Wander into the center of the pyramid to let your imagination run wild."

Donate here to get the Gummy Bear Pyramid Installation out to BRC [ENDS: Friday 7/18]

La Victrola (La Victrola Society, Oakland, CA)

What It Is: "La Victrola is the world's largest Art Nouveau gramophone—a five-ton steel sculpture and cabaret stage paying tribute to early music and performance and transporting listeners back to a time of vaudeville, speakeasies, and cabarets. After a limited debut last year, the La Victrola crew is working hard to complete La Victrola this year, placing the gramophone horn on top of a nine-foot box with new railings, staircases and cabaret features, to take it to Burning Man, and then beyond..."

Donate here to bring La Victrola back to BRC[ENDS: Friday 7/15]

Maya's Mind (Mischell Riley, Carson City, NV)

What It Is:" Maya's Mind is a large bust of Maya Angelou on top of 3 books where you can walk in to the back of her head. Maya's Mind is a 15 foot tall 7 feet wide sculpture of Maya Angelou, the African American great poet. This sculpture will be a large bust that will be placed on 3 books lying flat and creating a stairway that you can walk up into Maya's mind."

Donate here to bring Maya's Mind to BRC[ENDS: Sunday 7/30]

Opulent Chill  (Opulent Temple co-Founder Syd Gris & G'Lux, San Francisco, CA)

What It Is:  " Opulent Temple co-Founder Syd Gris and his sister G'Lux have teamed up with other OT members and the newly interested, to create this side project to provide a sanctuary of chill vibes, dance performance, music, gathering & connection in BRC. The camp was inspired by the chill lounge/ side room at the annual San Francisco version of Opulent Temple Sacred Dance ‘white party in which a beautiful loungey space is created with more chilled out music, and all forms of dance and theatrical performance happening on a stage throughout the night."

Donate here to bring Opulent Chill to BRC[ENDS: Sunday 7/23]

Pyramid of the Dead (Tomás Bürkey, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico)

What It Is: "A monumental Mexican-inspired Day of the Dead community altar. The Pyramid of the Dead is a community altar and participatory art project that invites individual artists to be a part of a larger overall installation. The Pyramid is very near and dear project to us and has been an integral part bringing the Mexican culture of Día de Muertos to La Calaca Festival every year in San Miguel de Allende.

The Pyramid is comprised of 128 Mexican hand-crafted tin frames called “nichos,” each showcasing custom artwork and images as tributes to those who have passed or honouring the concept of death. Participants are invited to honour personal loved ones, create homages to cultural icons or paint your own imagery of death in these 1.5m high x 1m wide frames. We believe channeling loss into art is a life-affirming experience, and the shared communal structure brings us together to admire and revere the beauty that results from death."

Donate here to bring The Pyramid of the Dead up to BRC! [ENDS: Tuesday 7/25]

The Rite of Spring (The Playa Players Collective, San Francisco, CA)

What It Is: " This year's Burning Man theme is Radical Ritual, and for those of us who practice the religion of classical music, there is no better gift that we can bring to the Playa than Igor Stravinsky's Rite of Spring- the 20th century's most groundbreaking ballet about the Pagan ritualistic sacrifice of a virgin. We are bringing an orchestra, contemporary dancers, fire dancers, and collaborating with art cars and The Tree of Ténéré to create an amazing spectacle unlike anything Burning Man has ever seen."

Donate here to bring Rite of Spring to BRC[ENDS: Sunday 7/30]

Sun Goddess (Daniel Popper, Cape Town, South Africa)

Burning Man 2017 Sun Goddess Daniel Popper

Photo by: Daniel Popper

What It Is: "30 foot sun goddess statue. Rich in textures. Tactile Earth-tones. creating Space. Live music. Fully projection mapped at night. Light, dark and everything in between. Access your nature.

Donate here to bring Sun Goddess to BRC!

The Altar of Intentions (Camp AmaZONE, Brazil)

What It Is: "The A ltar of Intention is designed after the essential movement of the universe (the Torus) and seeks to encourage participants to co-create an unprecedented quantum experience. The Torus of water becomes a tool of interaction, of purification, and of co-creation of reality, and generates a record that symbolizes the energy of all the people who will encounter it. In the process of contemplation, each person tends to emanate a positive energy of admiration and respect for that water, especially when water is present in the form of an art installation. In addition, we invoke the force of the vortex movement so that it continually replenishes the cycle in harmony with the energetic fields that give life to the universe. On Friday night, we will light a flame inside the water vortex to emanate the energy into the universe. This flame will remain on the whole night of Friday and Saturday, symbolizing the universe receiving all the positive energy deposited in that water."

Donate here to get The Altar of Intentions to BRC[ENDS: Thursday 7/13]

The Temple of Awareness (Utah Builders Community, Salt Lake City, UT)

What It Is: "The Temple of Awareness at Burning Man will be a beautiful place for contemplation and healing. The structure will stand approx. 40 feet tall and 55 feet wide, and is a catenary dome with decorative wing-like elements that bring it to life, reaching up towards the sky. It is made primarily from Douglas fir and plywood that will be stained with a natural aging patina and copper highlights. The centerpiece will be a harmonic sculpture chandelier hanging inside. Several altar spaces will be located in the temple for visitors to leave writings or memories. The space is meant to invoke a feeling of calm and peace upon entering."

Donate here to bring The Temple of Awareness to BRC[ENDS: Saturday 7/15]

Temple of Gravity (Zachary Coffin, Palm Springs, CA)

What It Is: "In 2003, Zachary Coffin built the Temple of Gravity for Burning Man as an expression of the year's theme - Beyond Belief. This year, we're bringing the massive 180,000-pound sculpture back for Radical Ritual. The Temple of Gravity’s 60-foot diameter steel dome is made up of 5 arms, and suspended from each of these arms is a 15,000-pound granite stone slab, which yes, you can climb on. 

The Temple of Gravity’s 60-foot diameter steel dome is made up of 5 arms, and suspended from each of these arms is a 15,000-pound granite stone slab, which yes, you can climb on. If you've seen this impressive piece before, then you know the treat you’re in for."

Donate here to bring Temple of Gravity back to BRC[ENDS: Friday 8/4]

Tree of Ténéré (Zachary Smith, San Francisco, CA)

What It Is: "Imagine a towering, lifelike tree. It's nearly four stories tall and wide enough to hold 60 climbers in its limbs. The bark is sculpted and painted by hand to look impossibly alive. There are tiny LED lights hidden within each leaf. At night, the leaves begin to glow. Together, the 25,000 leaves form the largest "light canvas" in the world. Lying beneath the tree and looking up, you're enveloped in colors, shapes and patterns that move to music through the canopy above you."

Instead of giving control of this canvas to a single artist, imagine we put sensors around the tree that empower YOU to control the canopy lights using your voices, movements, and biorhythms."

Donate here to bring Tree of Ténéré to BRC[ENDS: Wednesday 7/12]

If you're working on a project for Burning Man that needs financial or volunteer support, please leave a link to your fundraising campaign in the comments!