Monthly Archives: March 2016

Mar 14 2016

Art Budget Shenanigans [Update]

A Burning Man artist has responded to my request for feedback in yesterday’s post Follow the Money, with a most interesting tale.

 

From Anonymous Burner:

BMHQ Artists meeting, 2014

BMHQ Artists meeting, May 2015

 

This picture was taken at the Follow Up Artists’ Summit held last May at BMHQ.  This was the second meeting after the first one in 2014 where a group of artists tried to make changes in the artist contract for the event but were met with a meeting facilitator that broke everyone up to bitch in different sessions.
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Then last May they held the follow up meeting.  Whereas there were upwards of 50 at the first meeting, this one was poorly attended.  Besides myself there was 2 other “Playa” artists and a bunch of newbies.  No one would show up because they knew nothing was going to come out of this meeting. They had tons of food…
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Looking at the pie chart, they state that for 2015 they would spend $3M on the art.  For ease of discussion, look at 40% Grants, 40% Services, and 20% Administration.
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1.2M for Grants (now includes Man and Man Base)
$600k on Admin?  Pick a number of FTEs for BRC art at $100k each.  They don’t have 6 FTEs working on BRC art and they sure as hell aren’t paying them $100k
$1.2M on Services?  For the heavy equipment thats used to build the site and is already out there?
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They won’t feed the artists at the Commissary.  The art projects have to pay for water, fuel, light towers, wood, DG for burns, Etc, Etc.  Plus pay for Port-o-Lets, feeding their crew, and everything else.  How are these service and Admin amounts calculated?
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Here’s the problem these folks have:
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They can’t raise money for the BM Project because if you donate to it, what is your donation doing?  I see lots of folks flying around the world talking.  What specific programs can they point to to make a case for donating money to the BM project?
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That leaves them trying to run the non-profit on the back of the event.  Yes the event makes money, finally – they ran the outfit out of a cigar box for years –  but leaves them unable to increase funding for the artists.  And given the way these lemmings throng to get a spot on the cliff, why should they even consider it.
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And now that they have to raise money for the BM project, where do they go?  To the folks that have been funding these pieces and supporting the artists.  It is a very shallow donor pool.  The result is “donor fatigue”  these folks are weary of being badgered by the Org and look for more permanent art installations.
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At the same time, they have to be careful in getting the community to support the artists more – Larry’s latest efforts are lame in that he keeps referring to the moneyed class and most folks say “he can’t be talking about me, I don’t have any money”.  My wealthy friends that have supported art projects in the past have been insulted by his “let the rich folks pay for it”.  Many are taking the year off this year, as am I.
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Well, I found that somewhat cathartic.  Thanks for hearing me out.

 

burnersxxx:

Thanks very much for sharing that. The artist raises some good points.

Specifically, from a $3 million budget, the numbers work out to:

$1,290,000 Art (43%)

$570,000 Admin (19%)

$1,140,000 Services (38%)

Heavy Equipment Rental was $2.45 million in 2014.

From a $1.2 million Black Rock City art budget, in 2016 they are paying for:

60 Honoraria art projects. Partial grants, artists have to raise most of the project costs themselves

33 Guild Workshops. Regional projects. Projects required to raise almost all the funding and supply personnel themselves.

The Man

The Piazza

The “Turning Man” contraption

The Temple. Partial grant, artists who “win” the project have to raise most of the funding themselves

4 Belltowers

A blacksmith shop

Possible other sculptures

Is the $90,000 what gets spent on art across Burners Without Borders, Black Rock Arts Foundation, Burning Man Arts, and all the other non-Playa activities?

[Update 3/15/16 5:44pm]

The artist has responded to some of the questions raised in our comments. emphasis ours

A question was raised about tickets and that was a good point.  I don;t know how the value of the tickets given to artists/art projects is calculated or categorized.  Here is what I do know – 
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Registered art pieces (funded and non-funded) get access to free tickets, vehicle passes, early arrival passes and the coveted 12 mile (aka Point 1) access privilege
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In addition to the free art project tickets, there are also half price (aka staff tickets) that are made available to the project depending on project scope, schedule, and staffing.  And if that isn’t enough, the Org can also press the special button and grant full price tickets to the artists as well.
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When the Org gives an artist a free ticket (or a half price ticket) how is it categorized in the accounting?  I would bet that in the calculations for the BRC art budget that the tickets are added to Administration or the Services figure at face value ($390).
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One way artists can take advantage of the Org is to have a high profile project start to go bad.  When that happens the tickets and vehicle passes can really start to flow.  A case in point is last year’s Temple – they had like 150 people in their build camp – due to physical constraints they really couldn’t have more than about 30 people working on the Temple at a time.  Even allowing for a generous support crew there was still upwards of 50-75 burners early to the event getting the party started early.
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The other question that was raised had to do with the construction of the Man Base and The Man.  One of the reasons the contractors category has been growing is that the “traditional” Man Base and Man Build crews have been terminated.  The Man and the Man Base are now basically built by hired carpenters – the Org has outsourced the construction function under the guise that “professionals” were needed to build the infrastructure for the city.  They got rid of the Man Base crew in 2013 (Cargo Cult) and the Man Build crew in 2014 or 2015 depending on how you define the termination.
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Another change for contractors happened this year when the Org eliminated the DPW Power Crew and outsourced the electrical grids to Agreko.  They kept a small crew of former DPW Power folks in supervisory roles, and the end result is a little more Disneyfication of the event.  Eventually they’ll outsource gate and perimeter to a security firm and the event will have all the charm of a visit to Ikea.
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The shark was jumped in 2012 with the ticket lottery.  When we look back 10-15 years from now I believe we will acknowledge that the year tickets became scarce was the year the Org stopped caring.
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This is an interesting point about the accounting. If a $397 ticket is sold for half price, do they write it off in the books as $200 of “Admin Costs” (claiming full revenue for the ticket, then the lost revenue as an expense) and then claim that they are contributing this towards arts?
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Why is the only time this “$3 million on art” figure appears in a small, quiet meeting with artists – and all the press discussion is of $1.2 million or $1.5 million? Why do they feed artists generously  (and unnecessarily) at HQ, yet shut them out of the Commissary during their builds?
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Thanks very much to the artist who has been contributing here, I can confirm that I have also heard what they are saying about entire crews being sacked and replaced with contractors from other sources. People who have given a decade or more of their lives to physically constructing Burning Man have been shunted out the door, while newcomers get to cash in. One consequence of this corporatization/Disneyfication is that it is more scaleable and movable. As I said recently to VICE, let’s take this show on the road!
Mar 13 2016

Follow the Money [Updates]

If you thought this year’s theme of “Da Vinci’s Workshop” and the corresponding shift of Propaganda Minister Will Chase over to the Maker Movement meant that 2016 was going to be all about 3d printing, laser cutting, computer-controlled manufacturing, nanomaterials, and all of the exciting things going on in Silicon Valley with the built environment…think again.

So far, it seems, it’s all about money.

We’re not quite 10 weeks into the year, and already we’ve had:

Art, Money and the Renaissance: Re-imagining the Relationship

What Powered the Renaissance? (Could it Have Happened Without Cash?)

The Renaissance’s $ecret Weapon for Arts Funding

How Burners are Re-Inventing the Artists Workshop (answer: “fronted by a master and funded by a relatively small group of wealthy clients”)

And now, Larry Harvey’s latest post “Following the Money: the Florentine Renaissance and Black Rock City”

Is it just me, or is there a bit of a “theme within a theme” starting to emerge here?

In the new post, Larry likens BMOrg spending $1.2 million in art grants to Lorenzo de Medici taking notice of the young man Michelangelo and moving him into his palace to get intimate, or Peggy Guggenheim sponsoring Jackson Pollack.

When Lorenzo de’ Medici adopted the young Michelangelo into his family, he did much more than hire on a hand to serve his needs. Private patronage is personal; it is immediate and intimate, and what is true of Florence and our temporary city is also true of every celebrated art scene ever known. One example is the relationship of a famous heiress, Peggy Guggenheim, and Jackson Pollack, a struggling painter. Peggy paid the painter’s daily bills, bought his work when no one else would, and organized his first art show. At a soirée held in her home, she even let him pee in her fireplace (though not on the carpet)…

…Money sluiced through the streets and piazzas of Renaissance Florence, and yet the sheer hydraulic force of capital did not determine every outcome. Money was a means, but not an end. What mattered most was social interaction in the context of a networked culture driven by ideals, and Burning Man may be regarded in a similar light. One way to fathom this phenomenon is to follow the money. In 2016, Black Rock City will distribute 1.2 million dollars to artists in the form of honoraria.

It is around 3% of revenues – almost exactly half this year’s $2,349,000 Vehicle Pass take.

Artists have been asking for a fair and equitable contract. Here at Burners.Me, we have been suggesting more should be spent on art than on lawyers. It doesn’t sound like Larry & Co are listening to either of these groups, so we wonder where the feedback he’s getting is coming from – and if his information diet is being distorted and propagandized as it moves up the food chain.

In the case of Burning Man, such quasi-governmental patronage does not exhaust resources that are devoted to art. As with competitions sponsored by the Wool Guild, Black Rock City’s honoraria are awarded by a small committee, but this curatorship, as practiced by a few, is counter-balanced by a radically populist patronage. Each year many artist groups will subsidize their projects through community fundraising events and crowd-sourced campaigns on the Internet. Some critics say that Burning Man should shoulder all of these expenses, but we have found that self-initiated efforts create constituencies, loyal networks that support these artists on and off the playa.

This has produced a flow of art that’s issued out of Black Rock City in the form of privately commissioned work, civic installations, and exhibitions subsidized by festivals. Now this surge of money in support of art is going global.

[Source: Burningman Journal]

Radically populist patronage? Sounds like Sanders and Trump voters.

I would love to see a link to somewhere on the Internet where somebody said that BMOrg should pay all the costs of all the art at Burning Man. I think the general consensus here has been that they should pay more of the costs than a third of the pieces they promote the crap out of and claim credit for – and they should probably pay for The Temple, the same way they do for The Man.  Let us spend our artist funding budget supporting pieces that wouldn’t otherwise get there, rather than mega-works you can promote with Oprah and Dr Phil and sell tickets to for $1207+ for spectators to come and behold.

Here is a recent link to Larry Harvey repeating his oft-told tall tale that “no artist has ever signed their art at Burning Man”. This previously espoused philosophy seems to be the antithesis of his latest claim, that the art at Black Rock City funded by their annual Medici donation of $1.2 million (by year BM30) has enabled outside careers and markets for its artists. Personally, I believe the latter to be closer to the truth, and his earlier claim to be false. Nice to see you coming round, Larry.

Last year, in an interview with Ignite Channel, BMOrg were claiming to have created their own art market.

So instead of trying to cater to the traditional art market, Burning Man has created its own. The Burning Man Project not only funds art projects shown at the festival itself, but supports artists creating interactive projects in cities internationally. 

Many cultural festivals have since followed Burning Man’s example in putting art front and center. With pride, Harvey shares: “Many people come [to Burning Man] for the art and stay for the community. (…) We are making it more possible for artists to sell their art in such a way that they can live off their art.” By supporting artists who would otherwise struggle to gain recognition in the traditional art market, Burning Man and other festivals are giving birth to creative dreams while shining a light on unlikely art.

“Anybody who’s going to take art as a vocation has to endure enough. Artists deserve to make a living.” — Larry Harvey

I would be interested to hear the opinions of some Burner artists about this. Has BMOrg helped them to live off their art? Last we heard, BMOrg’s artist contract specifically forbade artists from paying themselves anything from the art grant. It also said BMOrg take a 10% cut if the art piece is sold off-Playa.

Are they going to claim credit, and a cut of the money, for this? If you ask me, the credit and the money should all go to Marco.

Bliss-Dance-Marco-Cochrane-web_t1000

Artist Marco Cochrane with Bliss Dance, now in front of the MGM at Park Las Vegas. Image: MGM Resorts

[Update 3/13/16 11:55pm]

A reader has let us know that the reason the art grants have “increased” from $850k to $1.2m in the last couple of years is that the costs of The Man are now being lumped together with Art Honoraria grants.

 

[Update 3/13/16 5:42pm]

Here’s what BMOrg said last week:

Burning Man Arts is funding BRC art to the tune of $1.2 million this year, including these Honoraria recipients, as well as the sculptures, the bell towers, and the 33 Guild Workshops in the Piazza around the Man.

The sculptures? Meaning, The Man and his rotating clock frame? Or other sculptures as well as the Man and the Temple?

The $ are also funding blacksmithing collective Iron Monkeys, linked to BMOrg Board member Kay Morrison, to provide a functioning blacksmith shop in the desert:

There will even be a functioning, participatory blacksmith shop — the Piazza de Ferro — built by the Iron Monkeys. Sparks will fly!

What further indications do we have that the $1.2 million BRC art budget is funding The Man, as well as everything else listed and fractional funding of 60 art projects?

In the most recent financial information we have for the Burning Man Project (2014) the Man and platform can be found at the bottom: $407,055 for Cargo Cult and $237,581 for Fertility 2.0. It’s hard to imagine that 2014’s 120 foot-high Man cost much less than this to construct.

As you can see, in 2014 the Man and Platform are no longer being listed as a separate line item (Donations to Schools and Regionals have also disappeared). Are they office expenses? Contractors has risen $2 million from 2013 to 2014, neatly mirroring a drop in (estimated) profit after all expenses from $4 million to $2 million. Perhaps it could be hidden away in there – but, why?

2014 bmp comparison financials 2013 2013 burnersdotme 2

Mar 11 2016

Party Like A Rockstar: Tips For Festivals & Burns Without The Ruin

By Terry Gotham

One year, in my camp, there was a fellow named Bad Andy. He had a penchant for yelling “Rock & Roll” at the top of his lungs while executing bad ideas, which is how he got his name. One such bad idea was drinking a bottle of Jameson & a 24 pack of Bud Light before going on a midnight art walk without a Camelbak. Some of you may have seen this episode before…

The next day, after Rangers delivered 3 IV bags of fluid & 4 32oz bottles of Gatorade into his system, he was back at our camp, suffering in a hammock while we poked him with sticks. His penalty was the same as it was for all Burners who get a little too confident. He lost a literal day to the hangover and had 10-15% less Burning Man than the rest of us (depending on how many days you’re usually there, of course). With festival season s about to kick off, I figured I’d create the spiritual successor to my New Year’s Eve article and get our faithful readers information they can actually use when going hard at weekend festivals, regional Burns, or even the Big Kahuna itself. Some advice will be more relevant to Burning Man, while other notes will apply more to regionals and retail festivals.

Basic Tips For Comfort

One thing that I learned the hard way my first year on Playa: Bring more than 2 pairs of sunglasses. There’s nothing worse than bringing a pair of sunglasses and having them break, or bringing 2 pairs, loaning one to your friend, and then smashing yours by accident. This may seem like a fashion faux pas, but wearing a cheap pair of plastic gas station sunglasses will get you way more Instagram likes than squinting in a 3-7 days worth of pictures.

For Burners, this goes double. Have 2 pairs of sunglasses & 2 pairs of goggles. Even a cheapo 2nd pair purchased as an afterthought can seriously decrease the amount you mutter “fuck fuck fuck” to yourself during a whiteout.

For anyone who hasn’t been to Mysteryland or PEX Summerfest or Burning Man, trust that the sound never stops. Ever. No matter what festival you’re going to, have a noise cancellation/hearing protection plan. This is more than just “bringing a pair of foam ear plugs,” because we both know you’re going to lose those on night one. At least 1 pack of foam ear plugs or those custom fitted/molded ones are must-haves if you’re planning on camping anywhere near amplified sound. If you bring extra, you can earn friends on the dance floor when you’re generous with the rest of the pack. This might be a good time to do some window shopping at gearhungry.com, camping survival gear and burns just go together, trust.

Additionally, if you’re bringing a child, know that protecting their hearing is paramount. Construction grade noise cancelling headphones are a must. If I see you with a baby on the dance floor, and that baby doesn’t have ear protection that makes him look like he works on a tarmac at an airport, I’m going to hate you to death with my mind.

One little suggestion to help you feel refreshed: Bring a toothbrush when you head out for the night. While this tip doesn’t really work in club land, giving yourself a fresh clean mouth and splashing some cold water on your face is as rejuvenating as a 20min nap.

Know the route from where you’re partying back to your tent in daylight & the dark without relying on too many landmarks. One of the biggest issues newbie Burning Man attendees report is, the day after the Man burns, no one can find their way around because they were using “the man” as a guide post to locate themselves.

Even if you don’t plan on tanning during the event, don’t forget sunscreen! Not tanning oil, sunscreen, with at least SPF30.You’re going to be in the sun all day, so even if you’re not lily white, you might burn. I wouldn’t wish a sunburn on my worst enemy at Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas or Burning Man.

Lastly, have a plan to get there AND TO GET HOME. I’m amazed I need to say this, but apparently it’s a tough one for some of us. No one wants to be the guy who is hitching a ride away from the festival. And yes, if you’re hitching to get off playa on Sunday or Monday after the man burns, we all hate you.

How To Avoid The Penalty Box (Hangovers)

While some issues are largely surrounding being comfortable while partying, some will sideline you if you don’t handle them properly. That’s why the mistake Bad Andy made was so costly. He lost 24hrs of Burning Time, which is pretty expensive, given the cost to attend and how much he’d been looking forward to it all year.

On day 2 and 3, start mixing Gatorade & salty snacks into your water regimen. Pissing clear is important, but because you spend so much time sweating, unless you’re replacing those electrolytes, you’ll be at risk for an equally problematic situation. Here’s a pile of potential problems to look forward to if you’re not maintaining those levels.

Moreover, at Burning Man, unless you’ve got an RV, by the time it’s 10 am, it’s too hot to sleep in the tent you took to Rainbow Gathering & pitched in the shadows of a big ass tree. So, this is a big one. Get to bed early enough such that you’re solidly in deep sleep by the time the sun is up. While you may not be punished for this so severely at a forest-based festival, if you’re on a beach or on playa, messing this up will cost you a night of sleep. That may not be 100% disabling, especially for our younger readers, but do this 2 days in a row, and you’ll be a zombie, guaranteed.

An easy way to sneak snooze time is to schedule a nap during a DJ you hate. It feels like you can’t miss anything and you’ve gotta go hard, trust me, don’t give in to FOMO. You’ll have a better time if you’re well rested, and you won’t piss off the people you camp with. Even a nap that only lasts 90min is a full REM cycle if uninterrupted.

One oddly helpful suggestion I received on playa one year is to start collecting/packing out your garbage daily over the weekend. This sounds like a thing we all say we’re going to do, but never remember. I tried it once and can attest to how smoothly it made my departure. Bag stuff up and get it ready to process/bring back with you from Leave No Trace events, so when you’re hungover/tired the day after the burn, you’ve got one less thing to think about.

Reports of My Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

This last category will be a bit more serious. Certain mistakes will ruin your night and the following day, while others can ruin your life. For example, know where the crisis intervention/Ranger stations are before you have an emergency. This can literally make the difference between life & death. I cannot stress this point enough. Say hi to the Rangers, Ground Control (EDC) or Conscious Crew (Seattle/Tacoma region events) before you get fucked up. Make sure your sober spotter knows how to get the attention of emergency staff. I cannot stress this point enough. When you need help and everyone’s on Ketamine, reading a map’s gonna get real tough, real fast.

No matter what the amphetamines tell you, don’t dance for more than 4 hours at a time without stretching and taking a break to cool down. Seriously. The stimulants have gotten powerful over the years, but the cardiovascular system of your average dance floor participant hasn’t. Stretching isn’t just because it feels good while you’re fucked up, it’s to prevent soreness, stiffness and aches you might attempt to medicate with painkillers. Take a break, the party will still be there after you take 20min to relax in a cuddle puddle.

Secondly, calm it down with the frat row level drinking. No really, you can’t be conversationally drunk for more than 12 hours. Either exhaustion finally overtakes you, or you mis-time that 14th shot and you crash hard. I couldn’t be a bigger fan of margarita walks in the inner rings near center camp, but don’t plan on day-drinking all day and partying until sunrise that same night. Give yourself an early bedtime and a Camelbak or two of water, so you can actually hit up Utili-kilt Yoga the next day.

If you’re honestly attempting to take drugs to stay up longer than your body allows, skip the adderall and hit up the provigil. You’ll get a couple more hours of party but less of the amphetamine jitters & insanity. The old urban legend of being awake for 72hrs causing you to qualify as clinically insane is a total myth, but amphetamine psychosis most certainly is not. Don’t try and push it, because the drugs will knock you around.

Be kind to yourself. Don’t try and push so hard, there will always be another party. Slow your roll so you make it to Labor Day with epic memories that don’t involve ambulances or puking on the deep playa because you needed more calcium. If you find me on the dusty dance floor, I’ll have ear plugs for you.