The man burns in less than 90 days. To help us get excited, BMOrg have finally announced the 2014 Honorarium Art Grant winners. The delay this year may be related to the Temple shenanigans. In the past, they’ve been quite vocal about how much they donate to art. As their revenues increase beyond $30 million, and the party is “no longer about money”, for some reason financial information is becoming more secret (for example: where is the 2013 Afterburn report?)

The annual art budget is “around $800,000” and the experts at Golden Eagle Coin say “grants over $20,000 are rare”. This year there are 60 lucky art grant recipients. Lucky, if the art grant covers their logistical expenses for getting the art to and from the Playa. There’s also materials costs, workshop and warehouse rental, lighting and flame efffects, not to mention the large amount of human time required for each major art installation. 29 of the winners are from California and Nevada. Three are from overseas – all from London, UK, and there is also one from London, Alabama.

For the first time, a new system of “Fiscal Sponsorship” has been introduced. As well as the “Honorarium Winners” (presumably funded out of ticket sales), there are also 10 “Winners of the winners” – projects hand picked by BRAF as ones you should donate to.

The Black Rock Arts Foundation is pleased to offer fiscal sponsorship to a select number of projects produced for exhibition at the Burning Man event in 2014. We hope that this pilot project will help Burning Man artists raise necessary funds for their art by enabling tax-deductible contributions to their projects. these projects include a “Donate” link next to their listing below.

It’s not clear why donations already made to the Black Rock Arts Foundation or the Burning Man Project aren’t used to sponsor these (and other) art projects. Instead, Burners are asked to donate once more. All of the Honorarium grant winners require Burners to kick in money to get the projects there – as do the thousands of other art pieces brought by Burners to the festival. What makes the “fiscal sponsorship” projects special, and why can’t BRAF donate themselves?

Glen Ellen artist Bryan Tedrick, who created the amazing Wind Coyote last year, is back with a Caravansary-themed Minaret. Other prominent Burning Man artists featured in the honor roll include Jen Lewin, David Best, Peter Hudson, Michael Christian, and the Flaming Lotus Girls.

Shout out to Tonasket, Washington, which seems to have produced a disproportionate number of epic Burners for such a tiny and remote place.

And the winners are (from the Burning Man official web site):

(In)Visible is a juncture of finite forms and light. Its sleek, iridescent cuboid forms rise 21’ high, a pillar of prisms, balanced point on point.
Iridescence: a visible metaphor for the invisible shimmer of spirit and flash of creative insight. Iridescent color is not directly found in pigment of an object’s surfaces, but as a result of its combined reflections…eluding our grasp and resisting containment, like our own embodied spirit.

Circling this tower of spectral mirror and steel, colors morph and surfaces shift between translucent and reflective. The experience of catching a flash of brilliant color is direct, unfiltered by mind or concept, like the childhood thrill of glimpsing the rainbow, or the excitation felt in a flash of insight. Shifting heads and bodies to chase the unpredictable flashes of color, evoking the rainbow to rise from the surfaces … we find ourselves in a dance with the spectrum.

URL: http://www.kirstenberg.com/invisible/
Contact: kberginfo@gmail.com

The Agora of Light is a marketplace of experiences and ideas. In Ancient Greece, agoras were civic gathering places created for philosophising and community building. Embracing this history, the Iron Monkeys are creating the Agora of Light for BRC.
Six columns are set up in pairs to create three entryways to the 60’ wide circle of the Agora. Curved benches framed by illuminated Acolytes complete the exterior ring of the circle. A 36’ wide pavilion made up of screened steel petals sits in the center of the Agora and serves as the central gathering space. At night propane flame effects outline the pavilion, light up Acolytes and fuel three interactive zen gardens.
Won’t you come in out of the dark?

URL: http://www.ironmonkeyarts.org/agora-of-light.html
Contact: info@ironmonkeyarts.org

Appearing throughout the epochs, crews are enslaved and are driven by a mysterious rancor to pilot the Machine into battle, often adding their own technology as they feverishly execute another volley of combat against the very civilization from which they came.

https://www.facebook.com/TheAlienSiegeMachine

URL: www.thealiensiegemachine.com
Contact: fox.dan@gmail.com

Born out of frustration in attempts to find the portapotties at night, the Bathroom Beacons Project helps light your way to bowel and bladder utopia. The Toilet Bowl is one of the project’s installations and has a sign illuminated high above the portapotties to indicate the presence of restrooms nearby. Upon arrival at The Toilet Bowl bathroom seekers are pleasantly surprised to find a two-lane, regulation size bowling alley equipped with a shoe rental counter and classic alley seats.
The Toilet Bowl was inspired by classic American bowling alleys from the 1940s. The Toilet Bowl sign is a replica of The Wagon Wheel Bowling Alley sign in Oxnard, CA. Similar to classic alleys in the 1940s, there is an overlay ball return and manual pin re-racking. However, unlike the classic bowling alleys, the lanes are trimmed in lights and the consoles run The Big Lebowski on repeat all night.

URL: http://tracygillan.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Ryan-Jesena.jpg
Contact: tracygillan@gmail.com

Brooklyn, NY

Welcome to Fabulous is a redux of the iconic Las Vegas sign, guiding travelers to their #1 or #2 destination spot on the playa.

Contact: starpony@bathroombeacons.org

“Between Dimensions” is a way for the citizens of Burning Man to create and interact with fractals. Fractals and the beautiful images that can be made from their structures have captured the attention of the public mind. What differentiates fractals from regular objects is that fractals have non-integer dimensions. In other words, a fractal object has a dimension between the first and second dimension, the second and third dimension, etc.
“Between Dimensions” utilizes a camera pointed between two 20’x30’ walls consisting of 794 projection screens. When dancing and playing between these screens, the images and movements of Burning Man citizens run through a user-controlled computer program based on experiments by James Crutchfield, creating fractals which are projected onto the screens.

To play and experiment to gain a better understanding of fractals is invaluable; for from the scientific to the esoteric, fractals are woven into the fabric of our world.

URL: http://www.nathankandus.com/between_dimensions.html
Contact: betweendimensions2014@gmail.com

Big Al is a 21.5 foot tall wooden alligator head effigy representing the New Orleans Burning Man Community. The NOLA burners create a similar effigy every year for Burning Bayou, their local burner-friendly event, at T-Bois Blues Festival in Larose, Louisiana. This installation pays homage to the spark that brought the NOLA Community together, the inspiring event known as Burning Man.

Contact: steelebrennan0@gmail.com

The Bike Bridge is a collaboration with the youth of Oakland. The twelve enrolled participants, all young women, began the project with classes in welding and art-bicycle creation. The program culminated in the collaborative creation of a large-scale sculpture made of reclaimed bicycle parts.

URL: http://blackrockarts.org/projects/civic-arts/the-bike-bridge
Contact: mc@michaelchristian.com

The BioTron is a large translucent cocoon inhabited by a superorganism of hyperexotic alien light creatures. These beings have been programmed to induce meditative brainwave frequencies in humans so as to gently calm you and leave you feeling Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Contact: edmorphic@yahoo.com

Celestial Mechanica will allow its participants to travel to a whimsical world that is our own world. You have not seen our world in this way and you will be amazed. It is a kinetic mechanical representation of our own solar system. By just walking a few steps one can travel great expanses and explore this amazing place, you are the spaceship. Seeing this piece in the day will allow us to observe the mechanical guts of the machine as we see elegance in motion as the planets whirl around the Sun. At night the mechanics will hide away while brilliant light emanates out of the gas giants allowing us to see the beautifully hand painted details. The Sun will be glowing with propane fire periodically flicking out a wisp of flame just as our Sun bursts with solar flare activity. Welcome to the greatest show in this system.

URL: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2ptZuk_NkVeVS1QNk96dVNfSEk/edit?usp=sharing
Contact: welzart@yahoo.com

In Islam, minarets broadcast the call to prayer. Cosmic Praise, while perhaps evoking a similar spiritual response, primarily seeks to issue a “call to curiosity” inviting those entering to ponder the mind-expanding depths of the Universe. Our lives are perpetually bathed in a rain of sub-atomic particles passing through our selves, our homes & deep into the Earth. The sources of these cosmic rays are enormously energetic processes in distant parts of the Universe. Ordinarily invisible, but with a spark chamber they can be seen. This stunning physical realization of Galactic phenomena inspires a range of emotions. Awe, amazement, insignificance & even fear are felt as the viewer ponders their place in the Cosmos. Perhaps, returning from contemplation of the distant reaches of our Galaxy, their view will turn inward, reconnecting with their humanity & the Universe of thought & emotion that lies within. Cosmic Praise indeed.

URL: http://douglasruuska.com/cosmic-praise/
Contact: ruuskado@yahoo.com

In celebration of the crossing of ideas and minds, and the direction humanity has travelled throughout the centuries, CrossReads is a freely-revolving crossroads sign resting on top of a library post with a totally interactive, original BRC book collection. Whether you take to the direction it points out, take a spin to see where you end up, or take to your own way, by chance or by determination, the purpose of this piece is to move you in one way or another. When you open a book on one of the shelves of the library, it is to open your mind to examine the wisdom in and of yourself, or that which others can offer. Do not judge a book by its cover, however! There may be tricks along these trade routes!

Contact: Joyce.Jamiel@gmail.com

A suite of collage-based paintings presented as large scale glowing “Illuminations” (lightboxes). The collage-paintings are composed of 19th Century engravings that are painted over and embellished. The antique illustrations from which the collages derive evoke a “pages of history” sentiment, however through dramatic juxtapositions these quaint images are transformed into symbols that are relevant in the current day. Representing the crossroads of a dreamland, the Illuminations are to be arrayed in a square opposing one another within the boundaries of the Caravansary.

Contact: normal@crazyology.org

Cucumber stand from Istanbul, the stop of the Silk Road. Cold salty cucumbers for the Playa pilgrims, and traders. Find us on the inner Playa and have a sip of Raki too!

URL: https://www.facebook.com/groups/735510116483380/
Contact: cs@TranslatorTurkish.com

The Dragon Smelter AKA Dragon Wagon Sculpture was originally designed and constructed by artist Daniel Macchiarini and Moises Luarte for the 2000 Burning Man event and has been used at various Burning Man events since. Its primary function is to promote recycling by facilitating limited art in action smelting and casting production events using recycled aluminum cans. The Dragon Smelter itself is a kinetic piece of sculpture which is made up of 60% recycled materials. It contains a propane-powered reduction furnace for the aluminum melting, has a rotation causable for safely pouring it into sand molds which contain designs by the artist and participants who learn to make casting molds through artist workshops. The Dragon Smelter also has fire effects which blow fire out the mouth and tail sections overhead.

Contact: danny1mac@sbcglobal.net

The Dreambox is a video booth that allows you to input your email and record a statement of your life’s dreams, goals and intentions into a HD camera. Your video will then be linked to your own private account on a brand new web platform specifically designed to allow other people to follow and support your dreams. It also includes an outdoor theater, where your dreams can be watched by other burners during the week.

URL: http://facebook.com/projectdreambox
Contact: ted@tedshots.com

ePod (Eidolon Panspermia Ostentatia Duodenum) is a 24 foot-tall steel voronoi-inspired open-cell mycelial ovoid structure representing a possible matrix manifold of the panspermia transportation vesicle designed to inspire a profound sense of apophenia. And it has pretty lights.

Contact: mc@michaelchristian.com

Embrace is a 7 story tall wooden cathedral-like sculpture of two human figures in an embrace. It is a spiritual center dedicated to the moment and our relationships with our loved ones. We hope to create a new tradition at Burning Man of a third recurring structure dedicated to the now.

URL: http://embrace2014.com/
Contact: mrschultz@gmail.com

Enlace is a plywood laser-cut sculptural installation focused on the principle of shell lace, a single surface, lightweight structural technique inspired by the evolution of seashells and the ancient art of tailoring, generating ultra-light single-surface structures. The structural principles learned from seashells: curvature, corrugation, and distortion, all lock in strength and stiffness, allowing for incredibly thin structures. The final step of perforation further optimizes their lightness, keeping material only where structural strength is needed. Enlace acts as a wedding chapel, a shelter and an altar to the sun. The project is a multi-faceted, powerful object in the Black Rock Desert. The art piece celebrates the display of lightweight structure and material efficiency and allows light, views and the external and internal worlds to invade one another.

Contact: ealw10@gmail.com

Zoetropes are remarkably qualified to portray the cyclical nature of life. I have been blessed with the opportunity to explore this timeless theme through diverse cultures and eras. In brief three-second loops I have been able to explore some of the most timeless tales that transcend culture.
The concept of the eternal return is touched upon in virtually all cultural and religious narratives. The concept can be found in Ancient Egyptian, Mayan and Aztec beliefs, in East Indian, and ancient Greek philosophy, as well as the 19th century deliberations of Friedrich Nietzsche. Tibetan Buddhism’s Bhavacakra is a symbolic representation of samsara, or “cyclic existence”
The concept of the eternal return speculates that the universe has been recurring, and will continue to recur, in a self-similar form, an infinite number of times across infinite time and/or infinite space.

Contact: peter@hudzo.com

Fledgling is a large mechanical bird, powered by a single human operator. One person at a time is allowed to climb a staircase up the tail-feathers and climb into the rib-cage, where they sit in a seat and assume the position of a recumbent bicycle rider. By pedaling a set of bicycle cranks, the operator sets in motion an intricate arrangement of chains, sprockets, gears and cranks which surrounds them and powers the wings, which open and close and simultaneously fold inwards towards the body, much as a real birds wings do. Fledgling is constructed almost entirely of stainless steel, with small amounts of carbon steel and aluminum.

Contact: crobox@gmail.com

Flying Mantis is a metal mantis, spread-winged and ready to fly. He’s a lover and is all fired up, literally, ready to find his mate. Made of galvanized steel and lit up at night. He blends in with the leaves, stalking his prey, protected. His power pose represents the strength and importance of nature, something to which we should all humble ourselves.

DONATE to this project through BRAF

The Genie Bottle will attract travelers along their journeys with its inner glow and the promise of wishes fulfilled. An Arabesque genie bottle evokes the twin spirits of temptation and the fulfillment of wishes. For most of us travelers found along the roads and trails of Burning Man, temptation is always at hand, and the promise of wishes fulfilled propels us further along the road. This genie bottle is a beacon to these travelers. Like a siren, it lures with a sensuous promise of adventure and discovery. And temptation. When found, the bottle provides a soft and cozy protected space where wishes and aspirations can be incubated and called upon. It’s a place where rubbing the right object the wrong way can have astonishing consequences!

URL: http://gwenbeads.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-genie-bottle.html

“Getting Your Bearings” is a restful space where Burning Man travelers can stop off and relax under a wind-driven kinetic canopy of motion. More than a wind sculpture, it is a place to “Zen Out”, hang with friends, and actually enjoy the wind.

Contact: windart@sbcglobal.net

‘Hayam’: a filigree temple of light and shelter, a spiritual retreat resting lightly on the Playa, a tiny tessellated palace named for love and open to the sky, a miniature caravanserai to welcome the weary traveller.
The Hayam embodies the spirit of Islamic geometry: intricately interwoven patterns and repeating themes that speak of infinity.

Erupting flowers of perforated plywood joined together to form a beautiful curvilinear structure. Reminiscent of muqarnas and moucharaby but stripped back to the pure essential fretwork and form, leaving behind only what is necessary. Enamels, glazes and precious metals are replaced by the gold of scattered light filtering through the delicate tracery of the screen, elevating the spirit. The treasures are not material things; they are spiritual. A place of illumination, intended for contemplation.

URL: http://wewanttolearn.wordpress.com/2014/02/15/hayam-temple-to-sunlight/
Contact: J.Haywood@my.westminster.ac.uk

Contact: simplecivilian@gmail.com

The Dream
The sounds of a child crying in the distance – metal squeaking, a modest crash – bang – boom! Then, suddenly a big, maniacal, dunce cap-wearing, flag-waving baby made of steel is coasting along the skyline. Wait! As it appears from the dust you notice the baby is pulling metal play toys along behind . What? This baby is shooting fire from its head! While muttering playful baby sounds, POOF! Fire pours out of the toys and a fun-filled congregation assembles to celebrate throughout the night!
For this trail of toys, 3 existing wheeled fire cauldrons are brought back from the past. The fire cauldrons will celebrate the history, intention and symbolic meanings our past, present and future existence. The Infinite Infant brings “Hot Mama” – the earth mother, “Mr. Nice Guy” the corporate suit, and “Infanity” the fire carriage of the infinite infant! These guys are known back home for best limousine services atlanta has to offer.

DONATE to this project through BRAF

URL: http://www.sparseland.com/infinite14/
Contact: infiniteinfant14@gmail.com

The Last Outpost is an experiment in large-scale immersive and narrative art that expects and begs to be explored, touched, read, climbed. It can be an adventure story, a treehouse playground, or snail-paced psychological horror.
The Last Outpost sits on the deep, open playa, near a stretch of orange fence. People once lived here, the final holdout against an approaching storm. Who were they? Why was the Last Outpost abandoned, still filled with the detritus of their everyday lives? The Last Outpost invites participants to create their own narrative amidst a decaying structure.

URL: http://www.sawdustbear.com/portfolio/the-last-outpost/

Inspired by Borges’ short story The Library of Babel, this project intends to physically reinterpret this story. This installation asks participants to write in hand-crafted books in order to access the primary theme in the story, that of the limitations of the written word. From the exterior it will resemble an Islamic mosque, a space of deep contemplation coupled with beautiful tile designs to invite wanderers of the playa to see what awaits. The interior will be a manifestation of the infinite universe Borges conceived, a space with infinite direction and infinite possibilities.

DONATE to this project through BRAF

URL: http://imgur.com/a/jpaQj
Contact: wmacmil@gmail.com

Lost Nomads of Vulcania is a steampunk-inspired gypsy encampment featuring the Teluriz, one of the few remaining Vardo Class Steam Walkers built by the last surviving members of Captain Nemo’s crew. The intrepid explorer will be able to enter the Teluriz through the hatch and contemplate the mysterious disappearance of the crew and the ephemera left behind. What were they doing so far from the island of Vulcania in the desert wasteland of Blakroxiti?

Contact: info@archivedesigns.com

The Lost Tea Party is a camel train like no other. Lost in the sands of time it has lost not only its way but it has lost its original form, it has trans-mutated into a procession of giant teapots. Lovingly attended by a rag tag band of Tea lovers from continents known and unknown, it has stumbled into the New World. At its head a 1943 GMC WW2 6×6 weapons carrier urges the teapots to journey forth. If it were not for the creatures’ striking resemblance to a caravan of giant teapots one might simply say it was a Camel Tow. This Party brakes for Tea, it’s a simple offering from one stranger to another, as a precursor to what can be achieved when individuals meet, and first impressions are important. “Would you like a biscuit?”

Contact: wreckageinc@yahoo.co.uk

lumenEssence is a sheltering organism that serves as a waypoint and retreat for weary playa travelers. A nexus of laughter, discovery and surprise. Its many tentacles shield its residents from darkness and chaos. Dissipating fear and engaging curiosity and wonder. Rewards await those who explore the central pleasure platform.
The sculpture is composed of 33 interactive and dynamic towers surrounding a central viewing platform. Each tower is thirty feet tall illuminated with full color LED pixels.

URL: https://www.facebook.com/seagrassProject
Contact: m@bustos.org

Our generation has put a lot of faith in renewable energies, in energy that comes from natural resources such as sunlight. Yet there is so much we still do not fully comprehend about our environment.

To this extent, the faith translated by LÛZ is a belief in the power of the sun, the star at the center of the Solar System, the Star Of Love (s.o.l. in Spanish). We respect this faith as something that makes us inherently human.

In LÛZ the relative power and triviality of the sun and its light is expressed through the structure’s changing shape and wistful transfers.

URL: http://www.lesmechants.co.uk
Contact: hello@reddeer.co.uk

MerKHANa will be a quiet outdoor salon where burners can take respite from the fast paced city.
MerKHANa will be a white hexagonal onion dome surrounded by 6 seating areas
MerKHANa will entice passing burners with an alluring sound and visual display. Each face of the dome will be the screen for a dreamscape video montage. Concurrently an interactive sound montage will emanate from the dome.
Those who chose to stop for a moment might share a seat with a stranger or two. Our sound and video montages will invite these participants into interaction with each other as well as with the MerKHANa dome.
As burners share and reveal themselves within the MerKHANa sanctuary, a gateway of connectedness and community might reveal itself as it opens back into the larger playa.
We envision MerKHANa as a sanctuary for social communion facilitating the process by which we create culture and community.

URL: http://michaelemeryartworks.blogspot.com/
Contact: miko111@comcast.net

Merope II and feathers from the Angel of the Apocalypse will create a warm and inviting space for the weary playa traveler to gather and interact with other moths drawn to the flames. Presented by the Flaming Lotus Girls of San Francisco, both are reincarnations of sculptures from Burning Man’s past. Merope II is a filigree stainless steel star with seven points that emit powerful flames in irregular patterns and a central heart that emits sparkly flames. Flanking the star are two large pointed feathers from the Angel of the Apocalypse, ablaze with fire and light. All flame effects are interactive, controlled through a button box with which participants can play. Wooden benches surround the sculptures, providing a space for warmth and rest.

URL: https://drive.google.com/?tab=mo&authuser=0#folders/0By8OAFBIkSDOdkFPMlQ1UmRoUlk
Contact: info@flaminglotus.com

MICRO explores the small universe that is our body and mind.
It delves into a world we cannot see, but is the very fabric of reality, the world of atoms, sub-atomic particles, and quantum fluctuation.
MICRO consists of a 8ft x 12 ft x 8ft structure that has 200 translucent silicone balls hanging from the ceiling of the structure. When bumped into, each one lights up with one of 5 different colors as well as generating a unique sound. As people play with the balls they are engulfed by a symphony of lights and sounds surrounding them on all sides.

URL: http://www.purringt.com/micro
Contact: info@purringt.com

Contact: tedrickart@sbcglobal.net

Playing on a swing is the simplest form of childish fun; playing together with friends or people you just met on swings and making random music is a true Burning Man experience. A total of six swing sets arranged in a hexagonal shape plays beautiful music as people ride the swings and trigger the bells. Each swing set incorporates two swing seats, for a total of 12 actual swings. Each individual swing triggers the sound of a distinct and different bell tone; all 12 swings together sound like a Carillon of church bells.
I have made many bells and gongs from recycled fire extinguishers, gas cylinders and fuel tanks. I plan to tune a set of 12 harmonic bells, mount each individual bell above each swing, and construct a bell striker on a pole fastened to each swing support.

URL: http://www.artsblast.com
Contact: ron.v.simmer@gmail.com

The Otic Way is a continuation of the Otic Oasis waystations from 2011 and 2012 – the first installations in Walk-In Camping, a zone free of motorized vehicles, loud amplified music, and bright lights. The Otic Way satellites and shade provide space for contemplation, play, shelter, tranquility, shade, and comfort for appreciation of our natural surroundings. This wilderness outpost is only reachable by foot or bike. Fluent in the language of geometry, there will be 8 honeycomb stand-alone 8’x8’x14’ “Satellites” spread along an arc, each private yet connected, all assembled without the use of nails, glue or metal fasteners, providing private spaces in the desert stillness or gathering spots to view the panorama. At the center of the arc will be a large shaded pyramid structure for group assemblies, with a module outpost at the apex, and geometric-patterned shade repurposed from the 2013 Temple of Whollyness.

Parasolvent is a mechanical expression of loss, release, healing and decay. Participants turn a crank to rotate a 20’ tall ring of red parasols. The collapsed parasols rise up through the chest cavity of a human figure and gradually open as they climb upwards, reaching full extension at the apex, and slowly closing as they descend.
This piece is a meditation on the idea that engineering and architecture can create a space or object that acts a vessel for spiritual healing; imagining something we have held inside of us, be it sickness or pain, leaving us, rising, blossoming and decaying.

DONATE to this project through BRAF

Contact: dan@benedictaugust.com

The pavilion is a small tent, with three doors (one in, two out) where you can go and break up with people. A beautiful place to celebrate new beginnings, turn lovers into friends, and change paradigms. Hand dyed silk flags by Michelle, tensioned tent by Quill.

Viewed from across the playa, an oasis of color and pattern emerges from the dust. It is a place to take respite among large-scale moving silk banners, each hand-painted with traditional textile designs from along the Silk Road. This is the Playastan Crossroads, where the traditions of the past meet the visions of the future. Powered by the wind and the sun, it is a resting point, a crossroads where travelers can share their stories and experience a moment out of time.

Contact: playastan@gmail.com

Pulse and Bloom is an interactive art installation that visualizes the heartbeats of participants with the hope of syncing human heartbeats in a rhythmic pattern. Composed of 25 mechanical lotuses arranged in a circular matrix shape with LED lights embedded inside each lotus, Pulse and Bloom is activated when individual participants physically interact with a lotus. Each lotus is equipped with a pulse sensor that, when pressed by a participant, translates their heartbeat into flashing LED lights within the lotus. As more people begin to interact with the different lotuses, visualizing their heartbeats in flashing lights, we will begin to see the effects of each person’s heartbeat on the other and the effect of meditative synchronicity unfold.

URL: https://cambridge.nuvustudio.com/studios/pulse-and-bloom
Contact: pulseandbloom@gmail.com

Amidst the playa, a doorway. From where to where? From when to when? From what to what? Arrive to R’eyh and face a choice: enter or go around. Inspired by the aphorism, “I can only show you the door, but you have to open it” R’eyh gives you a chance to reflect on the role of intention in the surreal context of a passage point in the desert. The opportunity to choose is sacred; the ritual of passage, cleansing. The doorway can be a symbol of joy, of homecoming, but who emerges on the other side is unknown. Just as every journey changes us, so too will the choice of how you engage R’eyh, the door in the desert.

Contact: me@matthewmosher.us

Return of the Racken! is a giant 9-piece octopus bike rack that is able to hold over 100 bikes at any one time. With glowing eyes and illuminated suckers, The Racken! will draw you within reach so that it can invite you inside its head where you’ll find a nice little chill space. The Racken! is skinned in reclaimed bike wheels and gears that cast fantastic shadows at sunset.

DONATE to this project through BRAF

URL: http://www.tylerfuquacreations.com/art-installations.html
Contact: tyfu@me.com

Ripple explores how information is propagated across loosely-coupled networks with no central controller. The installation mimics the way ants communicate in the sense that information is relayed to the nearest neighbor only, as opposed to being broadcast to all participants. Where the ants use pheromones and touch as the message medium, Ripple uses infrared signals. The invisible infrared communication between the nodes is translated to visible light by each node so that viewers can get a glimpse of how information travels across a network when each node can only communicate with its immediate neighbors. Viewers may further interact with the installation by breaking the “line of sight” between the nodes there by blocking or reflecting the IR signals causing information to be lost or distorted.

Contact: hello@madschristensen.info

The Silicone Meadow is a special place – an oasis at the desert where caravans and travelers can stop to have a rest for their body and soul.

DONATE to this project through BRAF

Contact: lithuania@burningman.com

The Silk Road invites the adventurer up a winding path through a bower of arches hung with the most protected, the most secret, the most highly valued textile in the world, Silk.
From the Land of the Rising Sun to the Birthplace of Democracy, the arches will evoke ancient civilizations.
Fabric is one of humankind’s earliest inventions, and perhaps it’s most important. Silk has a long and varied history – it was traded as currency in many parts of the world for centuries. It was worth more than its weight in gold.
The arches are shaped to evoke the architecture of the lands traversed by the historic silk routes, from Nara, Japan, to Rome, Italy. From a swooping Japanese gate to a perfectly round Roman arch, each arch design will echo the previous and predict the next, so the overall effect is of a multi-cultural evolution of The Arch.

URL: https://www.facebook.com/thesilkroadartproject
Contact: julia.logan@gmail.com

Spiral of Doubt is a dark foreboding structure, narrow at the ground and wider at its top. Each panel is covered with intricate patterns cut into the wood. The entrance is a narrow hall spiraling into an inner room. Only one can enter. Inside, you are prompted to record your self-doubts. Your doubts are added to an evolving loop and played back through speakers. Spiral of Doubt is a reminder for some, and a notice for others, that you aren’t alone in the whirlpool of fear that threatens to suck us all in. You realize that everyone is full of self-doubt, that those happy people outside are also full of fear of their own future, that they still keep going, regardless of their own self-doubt, and that you can keep going too.

SQUARED is a 50’ tall obelisks made out of square steel tubing and 800 cast polyurethane cubes with inset full-color LEDs. Each cube is geometrically arranged in a fractal orientation, creating a 30’ canopy that provides shade by day and light by night beneath each obelisk.

The LED programming focuses on big color fades in bold hues, keeping the obelisks in near solid colors within a paired visual harmony. The programming also incorporates jaded fractal transformations that are enhanced by the fractal arrangement of the
physical plastic cubes. SQUARED changes the patterns based on sensory input and interactive controls.

This work is an abstracted organic form, bold and rigid, with mathematical aesthetics.

URL: http://www.charlesgadeken.com
Contact: INFO@CHARLESGADEKEN.COM

What is The Pool:
The Pool is an environment of giant, concentric circles created from interactive circular pads. By entering the pool, you enter a world where play and collaborative movement create swirling effects of light and color. Imagine a giant canvas where you can paint and splash light collaboratively.
For Burning Man this year we would like to do something we have never done before. We would like to bring and install a Super Pool, or “POOL”, which would consists of a giant double-sized version of the existing Burning Man grant-supported and BRAF-supported sculpture.

URL: http://jenlewinstudio.com/community-sculpture/the-pool/
Contact: info@jenlewinstudio.com

Petaluma, CA

The Temple of Grace is intended to be a spiritual and sacred space for memorials, reflection, celebration, and to commemorate life transitions. It is the latest in a long line of temples going back to 2000, which started the tradition of the temple built as a spiritual center for this art festival. It is a special work of art given to the community, and is a spiritual refuge where thousands gather, each to engage with it in his or her own way. The community comes to write their memorials and place tokens of their transitions, and it is burned at the end of the festival in a tradition of releasing them by the immolation of the temple.

URL: http://templecrew.org/grace.html

The “Tree of (Im)Permanence” is a tree-shaped set of playable tubular bell chimes. The chimes are played by pressing the keys of a toy piano at the trunk of the tree. At night when each bell chime is played it also lights up and then fades off.
The piece represents our physical and spiritual connection to the objects around us. The experience of the bell chimes is a union between the measurable physical processes involving the fundamental vibrational properties of the metal and air and the subjective interpretation of these vibrations by our physical and spiritual selves. This is meant to be not only an auditory experience but a journey of self-discovery.
In the spirit of this year’s theme “Caravansary”, the tree also represents the confluence of spiritual philosophies – people will lead meditation, yoga and shamanic journeying sessions every sunrise and sunset incorporating the sounds of the bell chimes.

Contact: yetiroot@gmail.com

Warp Detour is a 100-foot-long tunnel that people can walk through made from evenly-spaced, wooden square frames. The consecutive frames are rotated and arranged in a curving path to create a ‘falling over’-like aesthetic from inside and out as well as a snake-like appearance from a distance. At night, the LED rope lights threaded through the corners create a double helix look from afar while colorfully enhancing the spiral path on the inside. Warp Detour focuses on the means of a journey – not the end, for these are what make the best adventures. The changing aesthetics allow a unique experience at every encounter, whether it be from outside or from within.

DONATE to this project through BRAF

Wheel of Fortune is an interactive divination tool inspired & created by a wise circle of women.
Explore the circumference of this curious structure whose walls are made entirely of portals.
The 26ft diamater circle of 22 doors have their own unique character & message.
Each door bears a unique life-sized image with a likeness of a figure etched from centuries of vision and myth. A glow from within the circle’s nucleus dances through the cracks… music and laughter beckon you from within. These wonders intrigue a weary traveler, whose silk road journey has thus far been an elusive quest for meaning… until now. Enter into the warming void of light.
Raised high above is a flaming hearth held by a wondrous sculpture of exquisite metallurgical craftsmanship and detail. Deep sienna-orange hues dance to beautiful sounds that reveal uniquely feminine shadows on the 22 doors that face the fire.

URL: http://livinlargephoto.com/wheel_of_fortune_project
Contact: LIVINLARGEPHOTO@GMAIL.COM

The Wheels of Zoroaster are two large wheels, hung on two axles driven independently by two drive shafts with hand-cranks. The wheels are cages that will contain firewood that is set on fire and spun by the hand-cranked drive shafts. The spinning generates lots of sparks and flames.

URL: http://deepcreekmine.org/zoroaster
Contact: antonviditzward@gmail.com

URL: http://josephrobertmerritt.com/?page_id=1296
Contact: joebob@solspacelight.com

The Wind Sound Sanctuary is a vintage windmill-driven set of playable pipe organs, flanked by a pair of aeolian harps made of copper, canvas and birch. The Sanctuary shade hall is laced canvas cut open to the winds. A way-station on the Playa to rest, listen and play with wind.

DONATE to this project through BRAF

A wormhole is a theoretical passage through space-time that creates shortcuts for long journeys across the universe. For us, space is the final frontier, where no man has gone before, and the wormhole, the new silk roads upon which we voyage into the future. Come celebrate the emergent, layered symphony in light and sound generated by traces of fearless adventurers thrusting themselves out into the great unknown.