I enjoyed this recent post from David Houle, a Futurist with an Art Degree, who was blown away by what he saw at his first Burn. Who? I feel like, with his accomplished career, I should’ve heard of him before:
David Houle is a futurist, strategist and speaker. He has been called “the CEOs futurist” having advised or spoken to close to 2,000 CEOs and business owners in the last four years. He is regarded as the “emerging global futurist today” having spoken on five continents in the past year and delivered 350+ speeches in the last 4 years. He spent 20 years in media, entertainment and technology.He was part of the executive team that launched MTV, Nickelodeon, VH1, and CNN Headline News. He has won two Emmys, a Peabody and was nominated for an Academy Award.
I’m just a humble futurist without an Academy Award. But enough about me – back to David, and what he thought about Burning Man Fertility 2.0 2012:
As someone who has an art degree and has traveled the world looking at art I was absolutely stunned by the quality, creativity and shear uniqueness of art that was everywhere. It was hard not to think that I was looking at some of the best art in the world, free from the physical boundaries and the constriction of the art world and galleries. To look at magnificent, monumental pieces of art in the middle of a beautiful desert both in the summer sun and the light of the full (blue) moon was, at times, transcendent.
Our team was fortunate enough to stay at Sacred Spaces Village, one of the most prominent camps at Burning Man and certainly one of the most spiritual and inspirational in terms of all the seminars, workshops and endless sessions of yoga and ecstatic dance that went on all week. The Future Wow! team shot a documentary of Sacred Spaces Village, and are now in the early stages of editing and compiling footage. We hope the documentary will be finished by the end of the year and available for viewing early in 2013.
Burning Man is one of the most important events in the world today. It has obviously evolved from its early years when it was largely a place where free thinkers, hippies and artists could go to party and be free for a week. It has developed into so much more. The word that kept coming up was Renaissance. Without question, Burning Man is the Renaissance of humanity during its 9-day existence. The high quality and originality of the art, the music, the speakers, the architecture, the costumes, the theme camps and the vehicles is simply unparalleled in the world.
What is equally impressive is the freedom of spirit, the complete willingness to share and to gift and the depth of humanity and openness that is everywhere. It was a place of widespread, ongoing and intense self-discovery and letting go. One felt totally safe and free even amidst tens of thousands of complete strangers. It is the one of the only places I have ever been where, during practically every conversation, with someone you know or a complete stranger, eyes lock and hold during the entire conversation. Think on that and take a look wherever you go in the next 24 hours and you will see people looking away, checking a screen or avoiding eye contact. The depth of human interaction at Burning Man, even if just for seconds or a few minutes is full and fully present.
Gosh this guy really knows what he’s talking about! Here’s an excerpt from his June 6, 2008 blog:
‘Nuclear energy is one of the sources that now must be better utilized in the U.S and around the world. Contrary to trailing popular perception, it is a relatively safe energy source.’
I think, in light of events in Fukishima (not to mention Chernobyl), that this esteemed-in his own mind anyway-prognosticator needs to dust off his crystal ball.
My hunch is that this guy is a corporate parasite full of the grandiose platitudes those in corporate headquarters love to hear. His post regarding Burning Man sounds like unadulterated ass kissing for those that think their attendance at Burning Man is a bell weather for their ultimate coolness.
Unfortunately attendance by corporate lovin’ blowhards like this show how diluted and removed the event has become from it’s conception.