I love New York because... of the brass band on the corner this afternoon.

The Signage Series #2: No Capoeira?

Spotted in Boston.

Burning Man 2006: a drive through the playa

Odd little balls on sticks out on the playa.
Another odd piece found on drive-by - a 1950's style office desk out in the middle of the desert.
A strong proclamation for saving the foreskin...
The dancing British girl who hung from the edges of the art car for the whole day.
The gothic cathedral skeleton. At night parties happened here - as in many places.

Art car called on all sorts of cultural reference - but this one definitedly fit the desert setting - the Jawa Cruiser.
The Cheshire car.


The Belgian. I don't know it's full name but the piece has since been written up in many magazines.
The first daylit hours of my time here were spent amidst a dust storm. I recall walking through the playa and seeing this odd formation of dust rising out of the background haze. I was not sure if it was moving or static as it seemed to change shape as I walked. Only when I came closer did I realize it was man-made and rising from the playa.



Views of the playa.







One of a number of war memorial pieces.

Another Star Wars inspired art car.

A crane converted into a flower.
Gregory.
A kite.
Ip.
Loading onto our art car. Most of the art cars are hop-on nad hop-off. Ours was a three-story scaffolded affair with a blender and plenty of frozen drinks.

Me in my self-made uniform.
The temple.



Ever-present and ever-important... portos.

Red and the man who never spoke and hardly moved.
The Serpent Mother during the day. At night she flamed from almost every edge and moved her head.
The silent guy again.


Watching us watching her.



The Dramatic Guy. One of the crew of our art car. He was pumped - leapt over fences to dance in the middle of the no-go zone, zipped around the scaffold - you can see it in his walk.

A half-pipe on the edge of Black Rock City.


The captain of our art car.
The shadow of our art car for the day - very much a Mad Max affair.

Not all of the playa artworks worked.




The Spider!


One of the passengers late in the day - entertaining us with hula.


As evening began to fall the dust began to rise from the playa.


Counterweight.
A bit of the fireworks before the burn of the man.

Burning Man 2006

Thanks to a wonderful gift by a friend, I participated in Burning Man this year. It was glorious! I pulled my camera out the last day, realizing that words wouldn't suffice - but the camera is buried in some box somewhere so I'll rely on other's images until I can find it.

The Art Cars!

Burning Man spreads across a dry, desolate playa - filled for the week with art, people, and strange, wild, but consensual energy. The art cars invited you to hop on for a ride.

The flower and the flytrap were gorgeous and lit at night. Beneath the skins both were cranes - and a delightful presence.

Star Wars lives - not only the Jawa land cruiser but also Luke Skywalker's vehicle of old.
Artworks!
So, most things there are artworks - from the people's clothing to how they act and share with each other, and from the simplest camp to the wildest art pieces. These are the stationary ones out on the playa.

This family of inquisitive figures walked along the main road to the man.

Interactive and inviting participation as many pieces did, this three-legged spider invited you in and on to climb up it - and reminded me of childhood playgrounds our father used to take us to.

Imagine this serpent mother awake and alert at night - her back and head aflame, guarding her egg. During the day she is interesting, but at night she was gorgeous and hosted scores of us within her flaming sides.

Not all the art was so bold - these sails spoke to the winds moving across the playa, the absence of water, and to the more peaceful and contemplative side of the event.

This metal sculpture is one of my favorites. Also along the main road, this fish of metal and wood was delicately balanced and would move to the light press of your hand, swimming and rotating. That responsiveness delights me - even more so than the freedom to clamber all over the artworks - perhaps because it feels more like a life responding to me than having the power to conquer something.

The imagination runs wild here - if you've always wanted to make it - you can and share it with people - like this foot powered ferris wheel and massive playground climbing dome. And here if you make it, people will come and explore it.

The Man!

By day a simple, unassuming structure of wood.

By night, a bright beacon on the playa. And at the end of the event, a symbol burnt in the largest fire I've ever been close to - to celebrate the passage of time and the renewal it brings.
Dust!

While getting my dress spray painted I looked behind me on the second day to see - lo - and behold - a real dust devil swirling across the playa. The stories I had heard and the presence of many many Mad Max style goggles made sense as the dust came to envelop the city. (It was fun!)


Not sure if it's the middle of Africa or Nevada?

Our camp


More later and my recommendation you go next year!

The Signage Series #1: The final exit!

Philosophy in the stairwell at work in NYC.

Late night snapshots of the new place.

just moved in to my new place!

Yes, really moving in.

Back to my childhood

Mystic seaport.

My friend Josh threw a wedding celebration in Mystic Seaport. I arrived early and explored the town on foot. The Mystic Seaport preserves old ships and is a museum to the shipping culture of the Eastern seaboard. Walking through the museum I realized that I do come from this visual history - the Northeast Whaling and seafaring of New Bedford, Boston, and Mystic.