We feel like the subtitle of Nick Jonas’ new music video could really be called “Nick Jonas Goes to Burning Man” — because that’s basically what it looks like is going on in “Chains (The Wynwood Walls Edition).”
Think you already saw a video for “Chains” back in July? You’d be right. The Jo Bro released a very brooding music video of the same song over the summer. We think the “Jealous” hit-maker wanted to release a wilder more vibrant visual offering for this legion of fans now that he’s a chart-topping star.
From the light-up bug cars (reminiscent of the Disney’s Main Street Electrical Parade) to the painted ladies and dance parties — the vid is a carnival for the eyes. Check out the vid — we definitely prefer the first one. It’s so dark and moody — just the way we like our favorite Jonas! [Source: X17online]
He was nominated for a Grammy for Best New Artist in 2009
No word on if the very Christian Jonas Brothers are Burners. Anyone spotted them on the Playa?
“I’ve had an incredibly intense journey with faith and religion and my own growth,” he went on.
“My belief in God is still very strong and important to me as a person and I think that’s all that should matter. I grew up in a church environment and still have love for the church.” [Source: demanjo]
South Park did the Jonas brothers pretty well…
We can add Nick’s new video to the Defaultification list, along with commercials for Taco Bell, Fiat, Acura, and all the others that choose to appropriate our culture for their marketing.
Like it or not, the “Burning Man look” has now become a mainstream fashion, and is seen as desirable by marketers to sell certain types of products. Which means all that Burner profile data is potentially very lucrative, too.
The Lady Buggies and other Art Cars from the Overkill Movement have also been seen at Art Basel Miami, Electric Daisy Carnival, Lightning in a Bottle, Coachella, and many other events. They even provide a taxi service.
It’s great to see art cars out in Defaultia. Is this the future direction for Uber? Uber Mutant?
When Hurricane Sandy took out power to Lower Manhattan, the Lady Buggies were one of the few things still glowing off
Here’s a great idea for an art car that could be used in the real world to spread the mission of The Burning Man Project. I think it would be more effective than panel discussions preaching to the converted. They could even hand out their “death of god” book club material they’re so fond of.
Raul Lemesoff, an eccentric artist in Buenos Aires, Argentina, has created a bizarre tank-like ‘Weapon Of Mass Instruction’ (Arma de Instruccion Masiva) that he intends to use to battle ignorance and spread knowledge.
Lemesoff converted a 1979 Ford Falcon into a bizarre tank-like vehicle complete with a swiveling turret, a non-functioning gun, and space to store about 900 books – inside and outside of the vehicle. A video about the project made by 7Up shows him driving through the streets of Buenos Aires and delivering books to young and old alike. His only demand – that they promise to read what he’s given them. “My missions are very dangerous,” the artist jokes in a video about his project. “I attack people in a very nice and fun way.“
So far the most exciting announcement about Burning Man 2015 is not the $800 VIP tickets, or the “chumps and suckers” circus theme…it’s Big Imagination, who are going to bring a 747 Jumbo Jet as their art car.
This is surely the most ambitious project ever on the Playa. As we were packing up at the end of Cargo Cult, I heard a rumor that there was a plan to bring an art car that required 100 crew. I dismissed it at the time as bullshit – “what art car needs 100 crew? A cruise ship?” – but some rumors are indeed true, and this is very real.
3 stories tall, 4 buses wide, half a football field long, on 18 squishy wheels, able to carry more than 300 people. And it moves.
747Ken is one of the main instigators of the vision, and he’s someone who knows what he’s doing. He designed the very popular Charlie the Unicorn art car, and was part of the Robot Heart team.
I’m the knucklehead who dreamed up this crazy idea.
My Playa background was being a workerbee on Robot Heart from 2008-11, then I designed and built Charlie the Unicorn (with a lot of help). In the default world I have a varied background but experience in managing large, complex projects from aerospace to film.
Charlie The Unicorn. Image: Jun/Flickr (Creative Commons)
Big Imagination Foundation is a arts and education non-profit. Specifically, the mission is to incubate and support projects that bold, inspiring, and visionary. We’re purposely trying to stay flexible on our first project.
As for why this big thing? I sketched this out on the Playa dust in 2009. I swore I would never do another art car after Charlie unless it was truly epic. When I found out we could get our hands on a scrap 747, welllll, it was just too good of a chance to pass up. Once in a lifetime, right? I’m not necessarily shooting for the “biggest” just because. We could do a plane-oriented project much easier with a smaller fuselage. However, the 747 is iconic, and that upper deck is spectacular. When this baby rolls down the playa, peoples minds are going to melt. [Source: Reddit]
Truly epic is right – my mind has melted already. If you have the resources, better to do something like this and share it with everyone, than sell exclusive hotel rooms with porcelain toilets to VIP guests who hand out a few popsicles.
The top of the plane will be cut open to make an outdoor lounge.
The latest design…the “mohawk look” is gone
Despite what some Internet armchair pundits have speculated, they will not actually be flying a 747 onto the Playa. The aircraft will be chopped up and moved by truck from the Mojave Desert airplane boneyard. The route has already been surveyed for the length they are considering.
A couple of years ago, I stopped to get gas in Inglewood, Los Angeles. If you’re familiar with LA, or hip-hop music, you know that Inglewood is not exactly Beverly Hills. “The hood” would be one way to describe it. So when I saw 3 helicopters hovering above me, I was somewhat concerned. A crazed shooter on the loose, perhaps? Then I noticed thousands of people lining the freeway overpasses. What was going on? As it turned out, the Space Shuttle had been retired, and Endeavour was being towed through the streets to its resting place at the California Science Center. How did they get the Space Shuttle to LA? On the back of a 747. That’s how big this aircraft is, Space Shuttles ride on top of it.
Space Shuttle Endeavour being carried to LA on a 747. Image: Nasa HQ / Flickr (Creative Commons)
The Space Shuttle caused quite a scene on the streets of LA. Image: J Jakobson/Flickr (Creative Commons)
A full size Boeing 747 is 231 feet long, and its wings are 196 feet wide. Its fuselage is 32 feet high and the tail section reaches to 63.5 feet. The aircraft weighs just under 200 tons without fuel or passengers – more than enough to sink into the Playa.
This is not quite full size. They are not bringing the 4 engines, the wings, or the tail section – not to mention all the wiring, hydraulics and seats that will be removed. They will chop the Jumbo’s fuselage at 120 feet, about half the total length. In the future they may turn the tail section into another art car, able to move independently and perhaps “form like Voltron” when the 2 art cars get together at the same event. The cut-down Jumbo will weigh 55,000 lbs, which is about the same as a semi-trailer. The fuselage width is 21.3 feet, as opposed to a standard semi-trailer width of 8.5 feet and a road lane width of 12 feet. The 747 will take up 2 lanes of road for the nearly 500 mile journey between the Airplane Boneyard at the Mojave Air and Space Port (CA) to Black Rock City (NV). All care and consideration is being given to the necessary permits for transportation, and minimizing impact on the Playa. They have a moving company that has been “hauling big ass structures for years”.
A 747 dwarfs regular commercial airliners. Image: Airliners.Net (via Kampungkai)
Big Imagination are considering a variety of options for moving the thing around at Burning Man, including towing it behind an aircraft tug. One spokesperson for the DMV has said that the tug needs to be a mutant vehicle too, it can’t just be a stock airport vehicle. Safety third! It would be a shame if this wonderful project was green-lit by the BLM but got killed by BMOrg’s bureaucracy. Big Imagination have been speaking to the DMV and seem to have support at the right levels.
An airport tug is not exactly a small vehicle. Image: Christian Junker/Flickr (Creative Commons)
They are looking for volunteers in LA (and possiby Tucson) to help them out – that’s the “100 crew”. Get involved at bigimagination.org. Support the project with a donation.
The non-profit Big Imagination arts foundation has a broader vision than just a week’s partying in the desert:
YOU CAN CREATE ANYTHING IN YOUR MIND WITH YOUR IMAGINATION. OUR QUESTION TO YOU IS WHAT HAVE YOU DREAMED OF? WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BUILD? HOW CAN YOU MAKE IT A REALITY?
WE BELIEVE YOU CAN. WE BELIEVE IN YOU! HUMANS ARE INCREDIBLE.
OUR MISSION IS TO INCUBATE AND SUPPORT PROJECTS THAT ARE BOLD, INSPIRING, AND VISIONARY. THESE PROJECTS INCLUDE A WIDE RANGE OF DISCIPLINES; FROM THE ARTS AND SCIENCES TO ENGINEERING AND HUMANITIES, AND SHOULD ALSO INCORPORATE COMPONENTS OF COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION AND EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY.
Here are some further comments from Big Imagination about the project:
Zero wristbands…We are focused on “radically inclusive exclusivity”. Everything will be First Class and top shelf, and everyone is invited. No private events, no “hot chicks only”, no “we don’t know you”. Hey, we WANT to know you. As long as we’re safe and not too full, everyone is welcome. And we should have plenty of space…
I spoke with the BLM this morning. They said there are zero restrictions on weight and as long as the DMV/BORG give us the green light, we’re fine…this plane has been completely gutted. No seats, no hydraulics, lots of wiring out, I could go on and on. The heaviest parts left are the wingbox and and the rear landing gear. I’d be stunned if we tip the scales over 70,000 lbs. Just to give you an idea, when the front 80′ are scrapped (section 1200 forward, I believe), it comes out to about 30,000 lbs of aluminum and such. We’re going to section 1480, which includes the wing box and gear.
We won’t be leaving marks any more than anyone else…
We’re aiming to drive around deep playa but could come into closer to the space between center camp and the man if a single spire of each 3,6&9 o clock trail is removed. That way, we could have a path to drive into the circle…
The 747 is a substantial upgrade to previous aviation-themed art cars.
Black Rock Air Force F-15. Image: Ranger Twilight/Fest300
