In our post Selling Out Part II, we mentioned that BMOrg has been silent on the erupting Commodification Camp Controversy. Well, they’ve issued a response – of sorts. While not quite official, pink-haired guru John “Halcyon” Styn, a regular contributor at burningman.com, has written a piece at Fest300, the new web site being promoted by Burning Man Project Director Chip Conley. Some Burners have described the story as “damage control”.
There have been reports circulating about the elitist, lavish accommodations at Burning Man that come with a price tag of $17,000 and at the cost of oppressive work conditions for those who set up these “plug-and-play camps.” The thinking is that the plug-and-play experience is in direct opposition of the spirit, rules, and magic of Burning Man.
…While a “pre-fabricated experience for sale” does conflict with most interpretations of Burning Man’s radical self-reliance principle, I believe the current concern is misdirected.
Is this an attempt to “re-direct” the concern of Burners? If so, it is being presented to the community as an independent social media message – rather than something from a deep insider on a BMOrg Director’s site. The content is certainly toeing the new corporate line.
Halcyon loves plug-n-play, he’s a huge proponent of it:
I’m actually a huge proponent of creating easily accessible Burn experiences for the super wealthy and influential. I want the movers and shakers of the world to have a taste of true Gifting. I want P. Diddy and Zuckerberg to experience soul-deep joy as they give pancakes to a stranger. I want those experiences to affect the people who truly steer resources in the default world.
A plug-and-play experience lowers the barrier to entry. And in certain scenarios, that is a wonderful thing. For some people, we should make it as easy as possible to welcome them “Home. “ Apparently even Mark Zuckerberg (after helicoptering in) pitched his own tent and took his shift making grilled cheese.
My mom is another example. 2014 was her first year. She cruised in on Tuesday and flew out on a charter plane (like a boss!) on Thursday. I took care of her set-up, breakdown, bike, air-conditioned lodging, and meals. I have zero guilt for setting my mother up with what was essentially a plug-and-play camp. The challenges to attend Burning Man serve as a highly functional moat for most people—keeping out those who are not yet ready to be here. But these barriers can present insurmountable obstacles to others who deserve to attend Burning Man, they simply need a little help.
…My mom’s experience was admittedly plug-and-play, but she worked hard to be a contributing member of the camp and what we gifted. She served ice cream. She worked our water bar. She even went on an ice run.
an “Art Cart”. This guy is a true Burner
I think Halcyon may be missing the point. Being able to fly in for 24 hours, hand out some grilled cheese sandwiches, then tell everyone that you’re a Burner IS the problem. We want citizens, not tourists. We want selfless gifting and spectacular art, not spectators and daytrippers on a safari of freaks. We want to party with other Burners who are mad enough to trek out to the desert for this bizarre event…not have to turn the stereo down because your Mom wants to sleep in at 11am. Just because there’s one principle that says “Radical Inclusion”, does that really mean the festival has to become as similar to the Default world as we can possibly make it? Will we soon have a Jail and a Senior Citizen’s home? Homeless Burners? Welfare recipients? Gangs? Google bus protestors? If we have to include all these Default world things, then how about a freaking garbage man?
“Zuck worked a shift! Mom went on an ice run! Grover gave me a Cuban cigar!” wow, look at what amazing Burners. Where would Black Rock City be without them? Let’s all invite more tourists who fly in, take a selfie and tweet it from the Playa, gift something, and fly out again. Because nothing says “radical” like partying with your parents.
According to Halcyon, the issue is not:
wealth
plug-n-play
radical inclusion
radical self-reliance
The issue is Gifting and Participation.
In this new “burn for the century” vision, sound camps bringing in the world’s best DJs to gift us is wrong. 5000 people came to your sound camp? That’s not participation, compared to someone’s Mom doing an ice run or Dennis Kucinich giving speeches about Obamacare.
From where Halcyon sits, if Burners want to fly in and stay in $17,000 private rooms and call that Self Reliance, that’s just fine. And just because it’s called Self-Reliance, doesn’t mean you actually have to rely on yourself:
Radical self-reliance means taking care of your shit—or finding someone who will. Sometimes that literally means you find a service to take care of your shit (i.e the saints who empty the Porta-Potties). But it could also mean that you buy pre-made meals or pre-made outfits. We all have our own line of what we consider self-reliance. If you want to mill your own flour and weave your own fabric, my hat is off to you. Self-reliance to me means that I find a great hat to bring to Burning Man. I may pay someone to bring it onto the Playa in a plastic bin so that I can fly to Reno with minimal luggage and then take the Burner Express bus to the Playa. As long as your shit is taken care of, nobody can decide what the degree of self-reliance is right for anyone else
He pays someone to bring his hat? That doesn’t sound real self-reliant to me. That sounds more like a sherpa.
Halcyon wants the elite Commodification Burners to feel ownership of the city. If they didn’t get the chance to Gift enough, it’s the camp organizers fault.
It is a disservice to any member of a plug-and-play camp to give them an experience where they do not have the feeling of being a co-host and being able to offer a gift to the city. I don’t care who cooks your meals or what extravagances you receive. I care about what you give.
I care that you feel ownership of the event.
…The true gift is feeling like this is your city. This is your family. And at any given time you will act as a janitor, security guard, therapist, architect, carpenter, and occasionally, king.
That’s the true gift of Burning Man? To be a janitor and security guard? So how does Caravancicle giving its guests popsicles to hand out help – they feel it’s their city because they’re acting as the ice cream man?
Halcyon ends his piece by jumping on the Playa monetization bandwagon and advertising his services. Plug-n-play camps can now employ him as a consultant to help tailor the Burn experience of their tourists guests. Otherwise, they could feel like a king but experience a shallow version of the total package:
If your plug-and-play experience only provides you with the experience of playing the role of king the entire time, then sure, you’ll have a blast—but you will have an extremely shallow version of the total possible experience
…I maintain that there is a place for plug-and-play camping at Burning Man. Those camps simply must work extra hard to integrate their members into the community experience so that everyone understands and embraces the Ten Principles. It is definitely possible. In fact, I will publicly offer my pre-event consulting services to help create optimally integrated experiences for any of these camps and their members.
But I should warn you…I’m really freakin’ expensive.
Hey, everyone else is getting paid! Might as well advertise your services while you’ve got the chance. Next year there will probably be dozens of highly paid “experience integration consultants” competing for the Commodification Camp dollar.
In my recent article about a new Burning Man director’s involvement in a million dollar plug-n-play camp, I commented on Disorient, giving them praise for the way their camp seems to operate like clockwork. Just like I did in March 2012, when I first started covering plug-n-play.
It seems that Burners can survive life in the harsh desert for a week, tripping over re-bar and Darkwads. They can survive Playa lung and Playa foot, sun burn and wind burn and sinking into the mud. They can line up in queues for hours, party for days on end and still not be offended by ugly people shirtcocking. But use an ambiguous word in describing their camp? Oh my god! “WE DEMAND A RETRACTION!”
Here’s what I said:
Leo Villareal is the founder of Disorient, who certainly share a great deal with Burners. They also have one of the most impressive turnkey operations I’ve seen on the Playa. They are turnkey in the sense that there are meals and regular RV services available, and members pay camp dues. It’s harder to argue that they are the ghastly “plug and play”, where sparkle ponies show up but don’t participate adequately. Everyone who camps there has to do volunteer shifts, such as being a Greeter. It ain’t cheap, but it ain’t in the stratosphere either. From what I hear, their budget is pretty reasonable for such a large camp with so many amenities
Deb said:
I camp at disorient for years, where did you gain your informatio?n,.. You should have checked your sources, disorient is NOT a plug n play by any means. What a fucking slap to all of us here who contribute to the building, alpha team, disengage, LNT, love ministry, .. We ALL wash dishes, we all take shifts at disorient, who the hell do you think builds our camp? We do, all of us, AND we do a greeters shift, AND we have teams of art cars AND DJs, we do it all ourselves. Retract that now please , because that’s a fucking lie!
burnersxxx: I never said Disorient was a plug and play camp. Turnkey was the word I used. Surely you admit that you pay camp dues, have meals provided, private as well as public camp areas, RV services, private bathrooms? Disorient contributes plenty, and if you read the post you will see I pointed out that everyone who stays there has to do volunteer shifts.
Deb:
So, any camp where your camp dues pays for your food, portable potties and shower and biodiesel for campers and rvs is considered “turnkey “? That’s pretty fucking hilarious , I invite you over to our lovely ” turnkey” camp , hahaha, yeah, all I had to do was show up, hahahahaha, hahahaha, sorry, having a hard time breaThing here, hahahaha,..
burnersxxx:
“where do you draw the line” is a good question. Is it Sherpas that make it turnkey (vs plug-n-play)? Chefs? Private bathrooms? Showers? Pre-arranged RV services? Or is it all about having the Segways and bicycles ready? Disorient is a big camp with a six figure budget, and people who arrive early and stay late setting up and tearing down. Are any of those people paid for their time? Regardless, it’s hardly a small group of friends putting their tents up next to each other. I can’t see where you think this article is being critical of Disorient. The point of this article is not “plug and play camps are ruining Burning Man”. It’s “Burning Man’s new director is promoting a million dollar camp with the names of artists he didn’t get permission from”.
Tejawe:
I think the issue here was simply the terminology of “turnkey” vs. “plug-n-play”. DISORIENT is certainly not a plug-n-play camp, but if some come away with the impression that our operations are turnkey, I’ll happily take that as a compliment! It’s due to the incredible hard work, creativity, and dedication of hundreds of active burners, honing the camp over 14 years to continually improve how we set up, maintain, and break down our infrastructure, how we conceive of and produce our art projects, how we welcome new burners into our camp and the community as a whole, and how we interact and give back – on playa and year-round. Everyone at DISORIENT participates in the working aspects of the camp, and anyone who doesn’t is politely encouraged to camp elsewhere the next year… In 2014, we were as large as we’ve ever been, yet the camp felt tighter and brighter than ever.
On the topic of Plug-n-Plays, I’m not a fan. In a nutshell, I think they contribute more to the “mainstream-ization” of the playa than the “burnification” of the default world. And _that_ is a bad thing.
burnersxxx:
thanks Tejawe, it was meant as a compliment. Disorient got their shit tight!
Bacchus said:
“Turnkey” just isn’t a compliment in terms of what Dis0rient is all about, and it isn’t accurate. Burnersxxx was (uncharacteristically) sloppy in his word choice, whether intending to be compliment or a slight…. A handful of people in a camp of a couple hundred plus, go that route, and usually aren’t allowed to do that for more than one time. We bring our own “drive trains”, we are our own “owners”, we are not just handed keys to a functioning business, or sold a pre-packaged experience. It is wrong, and conflates different problems with a lot of hard fought, well thought out solutions to various challenges. Here’s Wikipedia on turnkey. Burnersxxx, we await your retraction, and rethinking of the epitaph …
“A turnkey project or contract as described by Duncan Wallace (1984) is:[citation needed]
“…. a contract where the essential design emanates from, or is supplied by, the Contractor and not the owner, so that the legal responsibility for the design, suitability and performance of the work after completion will be made to rest … with the contractor …. ‘Turnkey’ is treated as merely signifying the design responsibility as the contractor’s.”
Common usage
Turnkey refers to something that is ready for immediate use, generally used in the sale or supply of goods or services.
…Burnersxxx and anyone who has really looked at Disorient or spent time their knows (or should know) better. I think you owe DisOrient a retraction/-apology. We are NOT “turn-key”–never. We work shifts, build our shit, break it down, and everyone pretty much pays our modest dues, except for a few who work extra hard or contribute a lot more in effort than the cost of dues… There may be an rv or three delivered to the playa, but turn-key implies fully stocked, unlocked and loaded when you arrive with your key you simply turn. Ain’t Got No Sherpas.
It seems like by the definition Bacchus has chosen to use, turnkey is where someone else designs and sets up the camp. Camp members pay their dues, show up and get allocated a spot that’s been reserved for them, and enjoy the facilities brought and erected by others. Campers are different from owners, or designers. Just because you paid the dues, doesn’t mean you’re involved in the design, or responsible for the camp as a whole if a disaster happens.
– Work left to a competent source to complete, ready to go when needed.
And from Google:
– involving the provision of a complete product or service that is ready for immediate use.
I apologize to friends and strangers in Disorient if my use of the word “turnkey” to describe their large, organized, big-budget camp, hurt their feelings. I thought “plug-n-play” was the bad term, I didn’t know “turnkey” was also a bad term. I grew up in the military and have spent my career in business; in both worlds, a “turnkey operation” is considered as high praise indeed.
Perhaps there is another word that is more appropriate to use?
Here are the elements of Disorient that I consider combine to make camping there different enough from pure self-reliance, that their should be some sort of word to differentiate it from plug-n-play:
Elements of a Turn-key [or, Word X] Camp:
– dues cost nearly as much as tickets
– camp budget above $50,000
– someone else cooks your meals
– private bathrooms and showers
– people with early access passes get there to set up, so you can arrive when much of it is built
– you can leave the camp before it has all been packed up
– some of the workers in the camp get paid
– generators are available to plug into and someone else takes care of running them
– RV service regularly comes to the camp
– you can fly in and meet your RV on the Playa
– if you need extra tickets the camp will be able to find them
– use of an art car you didn’t build
Not every camp has all of those elements. If it does – like Disorient – is it turnkey?
I’m not sure what their prices were this year, but this is from 2012:
Our camp utilizes dues to help meet our budget, including dinners, porta potties, showers, sound, art, epicness, and a communal water tank
Our camp dues are: – tier one – $275.00 per camper through July 22 – tier two – $325.00 through July 29 – tier three – $375.00 through August 06 – overdue – $425.00 after August 06 (this goes up sharply because registering late creates a lot of extra work for our registration team!)
– $50 rebate for campers working on Disengage through 8pm on Sunday, Sept. 2. – additional $50 rebate for campers working on Disengage through 8pm on Mon., Sept. 3. – additional $50 rebate for campers working on Disengage through 8pm on Tue., Sept. 4. – additional $50 rebate for campers working on Disengage through the end on Wed., Sept. 5.
If your application is approved on a tier deadline, you will be given a seven day grace period to make the dues payment at the lower dues level.
RV campers: Please note that there will be an additional required fee of $725 per RV.This pays for the RV to be serviced with fresh potable water and pumped (grey/black water waste) every other day connection to our bio diesel generator grid. (Use of on board generators is not allowed because of the exhaust they produce.)
It’s pretty clear that the whole camp doesn’t stay to break it down and completely de-MOOP, since they have to pay $200 to incentivize people to do that. The fact that the payment occurs in the form of a rebate is a nice touch, but it is what it is. Clearly, the option to pay more and clean up less is available.
Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with these elements. I’m not hating on camps that do this, Hell, I’m not even hating on plug-n-play camps. And I never have been. I’ve been telling you they exist for years, and saying that I think Burners should direct their ire towards BMOrg, not their fellow Burners. I care as much about P.Diddy’s sherpa as I did about his umbrella holder: ie., zero. Whether or not someone had a sherpa does not change my Burn in any way. It’s bizarre that people define their own happiness by the actions of others. To each their own – what are you bringing to the party to share with everyone else?
There is no doubt in my mind that Disorienters work volunteer shifts, and I commended them for that in my original article. Likewise, Disorient itself is a gift to the Playa. I have been praising their logistical and operational abilities in this blog since early 2012 when we first started talking about Plug-n-Play, holding them up as the example that other camps should be like. There is nothing in my article that is criticizing Disorient in any way, but some of them see my words as the compliment they were intended as; and some are butt-hurt.
Sorry I ever called Disorient a turnkey operation.
I throw it over to you for suggestions, readers. What sort of word should we use to describe camps where guests pay fees and enjoy private showers and meals cooked for them, and pay others to stay and pack up…if we want to differentiate them from “plug-n-play”? Is it just “camps”?
“self reliance is the greatest art” – my teabag message as I’m finishing off this post.
Earlier this year, Burning Man CEO and Founder Marian Goodell gave a talk at TEDx Tokyo, while social alchemist Bear Kittay, part of the “Burning Man 2.0” team, debuted his new song celebrating transhumanism and the Singularity (you know, that great idea where we’re all going to become one with robots and Google).
Marian released a couple of factoids in the speech that raised our eyebrows. One was that group revenues are now $30 million. The other was that the Burning Man Project board has 19 directors.
To me, that seems extraordinarily high, and Bain Capital agrees:
According to the BoardSource Nonprofit Governance Index 2010, the average board size is 19 and the median is 17. BoardSource reports that nonprofits with budgets of $10 million or more have an average of 18 members and those with less than $1 million typically have 14 members.
A 2011 study by Bain Capital reported in The Nonprofit Times asserts that the optimal board size for effective decision making is seven people. According to Bain, “every person added after that decreases decision-making ability by 10 percent.” So for boards with the median of 17 people, Bain would put their decision-making ability at zero.
So it’s big, and likely to be ineffective, but that’s kind of the way it goes in the non-profit world.
How many directors are there? When Marian gave her talk, and as recently as August 6, there were still 17. Could she really have been out by 2 directors? We speculated about who the other 2 might be. In a talk at Columbia University last year, John Perry Barlow and Peter Hirshberg were presented as “Founders”. Barlow’s links to the psychedelic and tech worlds go deep, and it has since come out that Hirshberg is writing yet another book about Burning Man. However, neither have been formally announced as a director yet.
Right before the burn, they added Jim Tananbaum of $650 million fund Foresite Capital, and Matt Goldberg of QVC. Chris Weitz stepped down, but his wife Mercedes Martinez remains there. We now have 18 official BMP directors.
It seems unusual for a $30 million organization – that’s ostensibly all about our community – to have three Director changes on their Board without making an announcement. The reason may well have something to do with who these guys are, and what at least one of them is up to at our event.
Jim Tananbaum is founder and CEO of Foresite Capital, a leading healthcare investment fund. For the last 20 years, Jim has been a change agent in healthcare. He started Geltex (acquired by Genzyme/Sanofi) and Theravance/Theravance Bio, which produce leading drugs for renal failure, asthma and emphysema. Over the last 15 years he has also lead financing for numerous transformative healthcare companies which range from Amerigroup (HMO for the poor) to Jazz Pharmaceuticals (drugs for central nervous system) to Intarcia (drugs for type II diabetes). Jim is currently passionate about accelerating revolutionary treatment, diagnostics and delivery systems in healthcare.
Jim has been a 6 year burner, lover of music and art. Jim graduated from Yale University with a BS/BSEE in 1985 and a Harvard MD in 1989 and MBA in 1991. During this time he also received an MA from MIT in 1989
How BMOrg Directors Camp photo: Facebook, Jim Tananbaum
Yale, double Harvard, and MIT. He’s not the only graduate of fancy colleges on the Project’s Board; also represented are Stanford, Berkeley, Cornell, Virginia, Columbia, NYU, Goucher, and Humboldt.
Any connection between the world of Drugs and Burning Man is up to the reader to interpret. It’s difficult to see what relevance diabetes and renal failure have to spreading Burner culture around the world. Perhaps BMOrg really want to “go viral”.
Conspiracy theorists might wonder about the coincidence that right after a healthcare VC secretly joins the board, we get post-event hype about the possibility of a virus outbreak. There was word that the CDC showed up at Burning Man this year, on the Monday. I thought it was just another Playa rumor, until the West Nile news came out. In the world of software, it is widely believed that anti-virus companies create viruses. In biotech, official stories about viruses and vaccination are usually not the whole story. There is no conspiracy theory in saying that viruses can be artificially designed, that’s medical science.
Dr Tananbaum’s companies may have nothing to do with mosquitos in Gerlach, but monetizing the Playa does appear to be part of his plan. He has spent much of his career in medical science, with a particular penchant for financing pharmaceutical pioneers.
What about Burner culture? Can that be artificially designed like a virus? Is it something spontaneous, that flourishes in Black Rock City from 70,000 individual contributions of Burners – all adding up to a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts? Or is it something socially engineered to be spoon-fed to us, distributed worldwide on the Home Shopping Channel?
With the “Plug-n-Play” turnkey Burning Man experience, it seems that our culture is being treated as something that can be packaged and sold to the highest bidder. Pay your $25k per couple and show up in your private plane. A sherpa helps you dress in your costume and escorts you to your camp’s wristband-only art car. Gifting is taken care of with a small contribution on your camp’s behalf to Burning Man Arts. Everyone gets a scarf.
How are all of these VIPs and their workforce of sherpas getting tickets, when it is becoming increasingly hard for regular Burners to attend? Well, we already answered that for you in Burnileaks: The New Scalpers. There’s no problem getting tickets, if you can pay $650 and you’re in a VIP camp. This is the direction that BMOrg is taking Black Rock City in. More vendors, more LLCs, more PnP, more gentrification, more class war douchebags, higher ticket prices.
Why have an RV, when you can have a Mobile Fortress?
Caravansary was an attempt to avoid “walled off RV fortress compounds”, and instead have “oases of the desert, where weary travellers could drop by and exchange gifts”. Did that work? From the stories and comments of Burners this year, it appears that message went over the heads of these dreaded nouveau riche Burners. They just wanted to ride their Segways and party.
Many Burners feel that the influx of elitist super-rich, celebrities and politicians is a real threat to our culture, one more serious even than the shark-jumping of the directors.
It seems those directors, though, may have different ideas.
Love money? Got a million dollar plug-n-play camp? Want to rip off Burners? Then it’s straight to the top of the pyramid for you!
Welcome to the world of Caravancicle on K Street. Theme:
$$$, I ♥ $
See this pic? Zoom in. It says “I heart $”
Thanks to Anonymous Burner for doing some sleuthing into this.
15-time Burner, first year was 1996. So I’ve seen the ebbs and flows, and feel a bit… conflicted by the recent evolutions, that’s all.
my only real “connection” to this story is the fact that Stefano Novelli is a friend of mine and he (along with at least 3 other artists) discovered today their names and professional reputations were exploited on Caravancicle’s site for their uber expensive plug and play camp, without their prior consent, authorization or approval:
They have nothing at all to do with this camp and they’re angry for the representation that they’re associated with it. I’m sincerely curious to know the chain of events that led to such falsehoods being advertised on this for-profit enterprise’s website.
That prompted me to dig around and when I discovered the person behind Caravansicle happens to be a rich dude who’s also on a board member on The Burning Man Project (ie: an insider) and it all started to feel like a bigger story to me. Especially after hearing so many stories of douchey behavior from this crew. Feels like an insider like James Tananbaum should be setting a better example instead of indulging in such smarmy commodification and radical dependency.
Anonymous Burner points out that he has not yet uncovered any direct evidence linking BMOrg itself to this camp; just the new BMOrg director, who appears to have underwritten the million dollar camp as well as the prototype hotel room cube technology they used.
.
The controversy (and conflict-of-interest) surrounding these camps isn’t necessarily a new story. What seems provocative to me was this:
1) at least 4 established artists/burners — Stefano Novelli, Adam Mostow, Erica Halpern, MsesyDoesit — were shamelessly exploited (without their knowledge or permission) by Caravancicle’s “sales brochure.” It stands to reason that their professional and personal reputations could be harmed by this false association. And a $1 million+ camp that charges at least $13k per customer has profited off their good names.
2) That this business venture is led by (at least) one member on the board of The Burning Man Project
3) The free placement of this (and other) camps, and their location (which negatively impacts campers around them) certainly implies cooperation and acknowledgement from BMorg.
It’s important though to note that I don’t see any concrete evidence (even in Caravancicle’s participant agreement: ) that proves BMorg is behind this enterprise. Contained therein in the list of people to whom ire should be directed:
“…the organizers of the Caravancicle Camp and/or the Burning Man Event, including, but not limited to, Back to Earth Inc., dba ‘dovetail events’, Ari Derfel, Jim Tananbaum, Space Cubes LLC, Brad Peik/Peik Construction Inc./Peik Invstments LLC, Black Rock City, LLC and any and all owners, officers, directors, employees, agents, representatives, volunteers, contractors or affiliates of these individuals and entities…”
It’s kinda gross that behind the veiled curtain, deep inside The Burning Man Project itself, on the board — is at least one opportunist making a for-profit Plug and Play camp (and financially associated with The Lost Hotel too) and LYING about what artists are affiliated with them, in order to ride on their good reputations and exploit them.
Now I need a shower…
The Plug and Play camps associated with Caravancicle, which gave out bicycles equipped with popsicles for its elite residents to gift, were the Lost Hotel and Sinbads Oasis.
“Sinbad’s Oasis is partnering with The Lost Hotel to host a unique and compelling experience. Our experienced event production team will augment the superb infrastructure developed by the designers and builders of the 2013 Temple.”
Ethics of commodification aside, folks got pissed when they realized that Caravancicle is lying on their site, exploiting the names of established Burners/artists… who ACTUALLY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THEIR CAMP.
I found this part most Infuriating and intriguing (to some degree) – and so I put on my investigative hat. Out of respect for the good name of my friend Stefano, and the integrity of our community.
That said, what I have discovered so far is some freaky, interesting shit. Strap in tight:
Caravancicle.com is 1 month old . The site doesn’t have big presence on the social networks. With around 0 facebook likes, it is most successful on facebook, while doing equally well on other social networking sites, for example it has 0 tweets, and 0 google plus ones The website was registered by () and has its servers in United States
The Crystal Experience will include key essentials plus additional luxuries to a provide an unforgettable Burning Man Experience.
The Ruby and Emerald Upgrades are available based on community will and interest. The amount of additional funding will further extend the level of luxury in the camp.
Burning Man’s theme this year was miraculously well-suited to promoting the opulent aesthetic of this luxury oasis.
The Caravancicle camp was designed by Ari Derfel, a restaurateur, and Zak Brazen. Zak is a Creative Director at George P Johnson, “the #1 ranked experience marketing agency creating live experiences globally that motivate audiences and activate brands”. Camp Architect was Scott Mahoney, and “the architecture of Burning Man” was promoted to the Caravancicleers.
To create the Caravancicle experience, the team created Pinterest groups with fashion suggestions for their theme nights.
Rather than being Playa-appropriate, it’s cultural appropriation: every one features feathers and war bonnets.
Suggested Playawear for Neon Night
Caravancicle’s page lists a number of established Burning Man artists who are presented as being part of the camp. The problem? No-one told the artists.
Today I contacted the artists listed, and so far have received a response from three of them. None of the artists who got back to me had been consulted about being listed in the camp’s marketing materials, and none of them camped there. Two don’t mind the association because they are friends with the organizers, but Stefano Novelli was emphatically against his good name being associated with plug-n-play camps.
i dont want to be affiliated with anything that has to do with a plug and play camp period.
i had no involvement and would never have any involvement with a plug and play camp. the fact that they used my name to promote their camp is very disappointing to me. i am in the process of talking to my lawyer about this matter.
It’s ok… I think this may be Scott Mahoney‘s promotional site for the high-end Lost Hotel that they created before the burn..
But they have an led tree next to my face that is not my art. And the description isn’t anything that I heard of.. It’s says I will showcase my unique VJ Skills!! Ha ha.. I think they were just trying to throw together a site quickly for promotional uses… But in that case, I should have gotten a CUBE!!
Well I can see how lots of people think there is controversy with this website. The Lost Hotel Cubes project is run by Scott Mahoney, using Gregg Fleishman’s patented nodes. I’m very close to Scott and know Gregg as well. I started working on this project with them as the Industrial Designer to the cubes. I then was diagnosed with cancer and had to drop out of the project and focus on my health. Adam Mostow and Stefano who were also featured on the website are also close friends with Scott and others that were part of the design build team for this project including Toby Smith and Elliot Shuffle who worked on the Cubes, design, fabrication, prototyping, and build. I can’t remember specifically if they ran the website by me, but honestly i am flattered that they would post me on the website. Any publicity is good publicity… Even tho They used the incorrect photo of my art and the description about me was incorrect as well. But they were just using the website as a promotional hype to rent out the cubes. They could say almost anything about me on there and I wouldn’t care, because they are like brothers to me. And they helped me unconditionally with many things in the past. I don’t think Adam or Stefano care as well but I guess that is not my job to say. Someone did some research and found that The website is registered to a James Tananbaum which I believe is one of the investors to the Cubes project. They also found that he is part of the Burning Man Project on the Board of Directors. This has angered people it seems. Scott, Toby and Elliot’s dream was to build Stackable Collapsable Module Camping Cubes, which they succeeded well at I believe, and they rented them out for BM 2014 to help with the funding for this project. This project was horribly expensive and they needed investors to fund the design, fabrication, prototyping and production and build. I don’t think they are walking away with loads of profit. I believe that any money made, went back into the project. They used the “plug and play” camp as a way to promote the cubes, which they want to eventually sell. They haven’t had a chance to respond to any of the criticism because I believe they have barely left the playa, breaking down the hotel and cubes. I am very sorry to those that feel that they have been hurt or affected negatively by this project, but I honestly can’t see how this hurts anybody. Everything changes, including Burning Man.
We wish Erica all the best for a speedy recovery of her health. These Cubes seem like an interesting technology, and there is no rule against Plug-N-Play camps. They are part of Burning Man, and I doubt they’re going anywhere. Erica is right about change, get used to it, Burners. Change is a constant.
Tini Courtney had nothing to do with the camp this year either. At first she didn’t mind being mentioned, and was happy to answer our questions. Later in the day after giving some further details, she asked to be “excluded from further mentions – this is not correct”. Make of that what you will, I am respecting her request.
The Lost Hotel’s services agreement shows them charging $13,000 per person to camp there. A number of individuals and companies are named in their indemnity, including Jim Tananbaum and Black Rock City, LLC – aka BMOrg.
These risks include, but are not limited to, those caused by: (a) the actions, inactions or negligence of the organizers of the Caravancicle Camp and/or the Burning Man Event, including, but not limited to, Back to Earth Inc., dba “dovetail events”, Ari Derfel, Jim Tananbaum, Space Cubes LLC, Brad Peik/Peik Construction Inc./Peik Invstments LLC, Black Rock City, LLC and any and all owners, officers, directors, employees, agents, representatives, volunteers, contractors or affiliates of these individuals and entities, (collectively, “Event Related Companies and Individuals”),
If you’re interested, it’s one hell of a waiver. Check out the indemnification clause. I definitely wouldn’t sign it.
The Caravancicleers were encouraged to arrive via private plane. $1400 per person, return from San Carlos.
Charles Mui, CEO of Megas – $13,000 per head. The lady on the far left says: “I’m in this picture but had absolutely no idea who that douche was! No plug and play for me… I was at Beats Boutique where you actually work for your stay and absolutely no RVs. Completely agree with this article”
The Megas team is led by Charles Mui (CEO of Megas, Inc.), Adam Businger (VP Field Logistics) and consists of expert branders, internet marketers, project management teams, event producers and entrepreneurs. A dedicated project manager will be assigned to the Camp Sponsors and is always available to ensure that you are informed and satisfied with the work performed. It is the goal of the Megas team to expertly serve the Camp Members with the services and resources listed in this agreement.
As a full-service event production and entertainment company, Megas will support the Camp and Camp Members with the infrastructure needed to have an unforgettable experience at the Event. Leading up to the Event there is a tremendous amount of planning and organizing that must take place to insure a fun week. The expert logistic team at Megas will handle the registrations and communications with the Camp Members. Client agrees that the Megas team will engage in the tasks needed to gather and purchase the supplies needs for the adventure as the necessary funds become available, Travel arrangements to the event are the responsibility of the Camp Member. A direct line of communication will be available for all Camp Members, 7 days a week leading up to the Event. Megas will be available to answer questions and give direction to the Camp Members. Megas looks forward to providing an unparalleled experience to our camp members.
According to an SEC filing, the company, Megas Inc, has burned through $17.5 million of investor money, without yet booking any revenues. They spent almost $6 million in an all stock transaction to acquire 2 modelling agencies, “Sexy Population” and “XS Modelling”:
On February 5, 2013 the Company entered into an acquisition agreement with Sexy Population, LLC and XS Modeling, LLC. The Company acquired an 80% interest in Sexy Population, LLC and XS Modeling, LLC. The Company issued 5,600,000 shares of Series A preferred stock with a value of $1.00 per share.
They also bought afterpartylive.com for $300,000 – a domain that has not even been activated. Charles Mui, the CEO, has a Multi-Level Marketing background. It seems this crew has a strong focus on branding and creating live experiences.
It looks to me that this camp were name dropping artists they’re friends with, rather than listing the art that was actually created for the camp and shared with the rest of the city in the spirit of Burning Man. There doesn’t seem to be any real effort on the part of Caravancicle to direct fundraising towards these artists. Showing up to a basket of gifts ready for you to distribute, is pretty far down the other end of the spectrum from Radical Self Reliance.
Other Burners shared their feelings:
Deborah:
starstar was open to everyone, NOT a plug n play, caravancical, on the other hand was taking fruit away from people, closed bar, no principles displayed AT ALL
Bara:
I stopped by Caravanicle – – a friend from the East Bay was on ‘staff’ there. Aesthetically, the place was beautiful (so were the people – – they looked as if they sauntered off of a high-gloss magazine spread). Everyone was super nice to us, I spoke with one guy who invited me back to jam with him. I don’t have issues with people with funds to come to BM. Once exposed to the love and positive ethos herein, I can only expect that it will ripple out for the greater good.
Marissa:
Carvanicle on 9:00 & L was pretty ridiculous. Every camper had their own private “cube” tent with a hammock and mattress. Absolutely everything was white and pristine. Their camp dome/bar was stuffed to the gills with top shelf liquor and they had staff and a private music ensemble serving them nightly. They let us hang out there but did not share alcohol. (No bigs, I always carry my own.) They also had 20+ each of segways and fat tire bikes lined up inside. The campers looked like a mix of boorish white collar stiffs and models flown in from a catwalk. It was quite the people watching spot.
…Just because I visit Paris, order a crepe, go to the top of the Eiffel Tower and say “Bonjour” to a French guy doesn’t mean I can call myself a Parisienne.
Similarly one can’t go to Burning Man, ride a pre-fab art car, get some dust on their clothes and call it burning.
It’s tourism versus being a local. Neither are really bad or wrong, per se, but they are also not the same or equal.
Similarly, Parisiennes couldn’t give two whole fucks among themselves about tourists. They know why and how Paris is awesome and aren’t going to bother sharing that with guys taking photos wearing fanny packs who try desperately to play at being “French” so they can feel like they belong somewhere. So it is in Black Rock City. The locals know what’s up.
The PnPers are white noise on the playa. Forgettable and easy to ignore. Ten minutes gawking at Caravancicle and I got a nosebleed from all the fun I was having.
Fortunately, PnPers all have the ability and the means to change, should they so desire. No one has to be a tourist forever. All one has to do is immigrate, learn the language and make new friends.
And every year someone does and they come back the next year different, more willing to engage. The rest move on to the next spot. That’s why this crazy town keeps getting bigger – immigration!
James:
The super rich own politicians, the government, corporations, our fiscal system, the Fed. Reserve, and our vote to change any of it. Sorry for being an exclusionary person on this, but they don’t get to have Burning Man. Fuck them…I think that it should be considered whether the financial contribution you bring to an art project justifies the social degradation of the burning man experience.
Eric:
We thought Caravancicle was the fucking Scientologists. Wide Awake (Insomniac’s camp) on the other hand was cool as hell and very friendly.
Matthew:
A couple of us stopped in the one with the mirrored entry tunnel and Michael Christian’s piece, “Home”, in the courtyard. Did they lease or buy that piece? Anyway, the notable thing for us was that in the crowded bar of dustless beauties, no one would talk or make eye contact with us “outsiders”. That’s when I thought, “It’s like we’ve stepped OFF the playa.”
Kenny:
I was denied an alcoholic beverage at Caravancicle because I was not a member. I was served down the street however at the stacked cubes at the place that was on 9:00. They served raw juice with Vodka. Internally, Caravancicle was a mess and they had a lot of their paid employees quit.
Libby:
Stefano had nothing to do with this camp- he runs the space wench art car (which is pictured on their site and his bio) but he had a small camp with only 12-14 people….. And Scott Mahoney organized the lost hotel and raw bar- Adam Mostow brings the jabba barge and also was camped in his own small camp near the hotel- additionally Ericka Halpren who is listed brought her art but is not part of a large high priced camp- I don’t know what this faux site is talking about but these are my friends and are listed falsely on this site!! …These are all hard working artists who wouldn’t ever be part of a big money grubbing camp like mentioned above- so this website listing them is only the true organizers hiding behind GOOD people-…the “about us” is who I am referring to- almost all the people listed are my friends and my campmates and I do not camp at this horrible place spoken about!! The people listed on the about us: have given to the community at large for years and years…this community sticks together and I KNEW none of my amazing friends who work blood, sweat, tears, and time to bring amazing things for you all to enjoy would had anything to do with this and to be listed as such on a fake website- without permission is absolutely disgusting….. Let it be known our community is tight and this is not sitting right by any of our good people- we will not support this type of slander in the name of big plug and play camps getting rich-
we are now discussing the legal actions and possible outcomes: I knew whole heartily that my people wouldn’t sell out like this- no way- Erica, stef, Scott, Adam- none of them believe this is what the burn is about-
Maria:
One friend worked at Caravancicle and another at one of those “fortress RV camps.” The RV camp was friends and big contributers to the BMorg art programs. Caravancicle was super douchey.
JCAIN:
The Sinbad Oasis URL is linked to Adam Krim who co-founded the Confluence Group. They are a company that specializes in commoditizing and marketing to the festival community.http://theconfluencegroup.com/
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Confluence’s clients include GE and Intel. Intel built a “Burning Man-like” figure, not The Man but SiMan, for a recent conference.
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Jason shared some deeper wisdom within these divides:
For me it boils down to what is said in one of my favorite TED talks of all time:
Bigger income gaps lead to deteriorations in Social Relations: Child Conflict Homicide Imprisonment Social Capital Trust Health: Drug abuse Infant mortality Mental Illness Obesity Human Capital: Child Well-being High School dropouts Math & Literacy scores Social Mobility Teenage Births
More Inequality = More superiority or inferiority More status competition and consumerism More status insecurity More worry about how we are seen and judged More “social evaluation anxiety” (threats to self-esteem & social status, fear of negative judgements)
So, Burners…what does all this mean? Let me break it down for you in a sentence:
Burning Man’s latest director is behind a $1 million+ plug-n-play camp that promotes wearing feathers and native headdresses, and associates itself with artists who camp elsewhere and have no desire to have their reputations linked to commercialization of our culture.
Jim Tananbaum is by no means the only big money BMOrg Director associated with turnkey camping. First Camp, of course, has meals served and trash cleared. Leo Villareal is the founder of Disorient, who certainly share a great deal with Burners. They also have one of the most impressive turnkey operations I’ve seen on the Playa. They are turnkey in the sense that there are meals and regular RV services available, and members pay camp dues. It’s harder to argue that they are the ghastly “plug and play”, where sparkle ponies show up but don’t participate adequately. Everyone who camps there has to do volunteer shifts, such as being a Greeter. It ain’t cheap, but it ain’t in the stratosphere either. From what I hear, their budget is pretty reasonable for such a large camp with so many amenities.
Chris Weitz was the concierge of Ashram Galactica, which at one point had joked about building a multi-room hotel on the Playa. Anonymous Burner says:
The whole “performance art” and gift of the Grand Hotel at Ashram Galactica is that it is “the only 4.5 star hotel on the playa” — there is lots of silly pomp and overwrought decoration in the Moroccan tent that is shared with everyone to enjoy — neatly decorated rooms are awarded nightly, to the public. Weddings are officiated there, it’s a lovely and inviting spot. The campers put on a show for the whole playa. The Gilded Lily bar is an open bar and everything is gifted with a smile.
Although the “joke” may have been amusing at first due to its irony, it is now no longer a joke: hotels at Burning Man have become a reality. There are multiple camps following in the footsteps of a “quirky luxe boutique on the Playa” – and charging five figures per head for rooms. Since August 6, Weitz has stepped down from the Board, and been replaced with Matt Goldberg – a Melbourne boy who is SVP of Global Market Development at $9 billion home shopping behemoth QVC. Once you jump the shark, it’s time for the infomercials.
Chip Conley is the founder of Joie de Vivre, an operator of boutique hotels all around the world. He is a director of AirBnB, who were selling spots at Burning Man camps this year – another example of something that gets presented initially as an ironic farce, but paves the way for less ironic imitators in the near future. Conley called his theme camp “Maslowtopia“, suggesting that all the needs of his residents are met so they can self-actualize. He also created Costanoa, the original plug-n-play “glampground” for hispter techies, located on the coast between Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz…
For those who want to have a “camping experience” without actually getting their hands dirty – the folks at Costanoa will set up a fancy tent for you, start a nice campfire for you, cook your (non-camping) food for you, and presumably sing campfire songs and make s’mores for you! All for a price. Of course you can upgrade to fancier accommodations…
There is nothing illegal about any of this. However you choose to interpret the Ten Principles, Plug and Play is completely acceptable on the Playa according to the rules – as long as the BLM get their 3% cut. Headdresses are legal, sherpas are legal. Self-reliance can now be outsourced, for those who find it an inconvenient obstruction to their partying.
Plug and play, ain’t going away. Gentrification is here to stay.
Readers whose thoughts have been provoked by this article may also enjoy Emily Witt’s insightful piece:
In other news, based on their success in 2014, sherpas are being recruited from the San Fernando Valley and Lower Pacific Heights:
Hurray! Our clients want us back on the playa next year, and we have begun accepting bookings. We’re thrilled to be hosting our fine guests, and we have begun accepting applications for 2015 sherpas.
All applicants must have prior experience in waiting tables, pole dancing, or catering. Pay is generous, and Burning Man tickets will be provided. You won’t have to work the entire time, but you will be asked to work extended hours.
Serious applicants only
That’s one way to get a ticket. Maybe instead of “low income tickets”, BMOrg should issue “sherpa tickets”.
Radical sherpa reliance.
[Update 9/6/14 7:55pm]
Wanted…more sherpas. We have cash.
Nice way to bypass the cost and hassle of finding a ticket and camping space for each sherpa – recruit from the pool of talent already inside the Gate.
Burner Gina:
I met someone from Carvansicle a short while later at Playa Surfers party, and asked him about it.. he said that they were short staffed because some of the “hired help” had left, so the camp was looking to replace them with new paid workers….you know.. like it was a resort at Cabo short dishwashers
In our post Selling Out Part II, we mentioned that BMOrg has been silent on the erupting Commodification Camp Controversy. Well, they’ve issued a response – of sorts. While not quite official, pink-haired guru John “Halcyon” Styn, a regular contributor at burningman.com, has written a piece at Fest300, the new web site being promoted by Burning Man Project Director Chip Conley. Some Burners have described the story as “damage control”.
