Wooden Mirror

By. Sae byull Lee

One of the most beautiful harmonies that can happen is between art and technology. Daniel Rozin is the one of the striking new media artist who built mechanical mirrors to explore the line between analog and digital. Daniel designed mirrors from unreflective surfaces so that becoming a surreal, tactile mirror. By using a warm and natural material such as wood, he brought an analogue impression, and portrays the abstract notion of digital pixels on his work as well.

His investigation of material mirror metaphors began in 1999 with Wooden Mirror. The Wooden Mirror is an impressive physical presence, 203cm tall and 170cm wide. Move in front of it, and its surface of wooden tiles comes alive. The tiles tilt up and down, and the resulting pattern of light and shade creates an image of whatever is before the mirror. Movement is reflected instantly by the tiles in ripples of motion, accompanied by a rustling sound reminiscent of stiff breeze in a forest.[1]

There is a barley visible camera in the center of the mirror that interprets the image in front of it. 830 thin pieces of wood on individual motorized swivels that move the pieces upward to catch the light and down to mark a dark pixel, towards and away from lights above, in order to create a real-time video image, a live woodcut. In other words, what Daniel does is the same idea behind Pointillism, several of color dots gather around displaying 1 color at a time. When they are put together in the right order these pixels make up an image, Daniel define unusual elements to take the place of these pixels. Each tile changes position to 255 ways, which also can be shown 255 gray levels in regular lighting condition.[2]

What makes a huge difference between Wooden Mirror and the actual mirror is, Wooden Mirror only reflects abstract silhouette of objects. For these reason, people not just focus on one’s look, gesture, and movement, they create their own contents. People can enjoy the work and also enhance creativity at the same time. Daniel has been explained about his work, “In many ways, this is the essence of what we try to do here: taking the power of
digital computation and concealing it to see how it influences something more in
touch with the human condition. Wood doesn’t want to be very digital, each tile is
slightly different. But computation can take all this randomness and messiness and
put it into an order….The piece is on the line between analog and physical vs.
digital and computational,” [3]

Wooden Mirror is new media installation that creates new relationship between art and technology. This piece differs for our common perception of what a mirror is. Labeling it as a “pixelated device”, would also be incorrect, as the wooden tiles don’t produce light, but rather use the ambient light and tile rotation to reproduce the desired effect. However, It is enjoyable high technological 3D work, yet it is a warm, interactive and analogue piece that suggests coexistence of post art and technology.

Works Cited

[1] Rozin, Daniel. Wooden Mirror, Accessed 11 Nov 12, http://vimeo.com/42038567

[2] Daniel Rozin Interactive Art, accessed 11 Nov 12, http://www.smoothware.com/danny/woodenmirror.html

[3] Cass, Stephen. “Electronic Realism.” IEEE Spectrum Online, Last modified 2001. Accessed March 16, 2001.http://spectrum.ieee.org/at-work/education/electronic-realism

Piano Piece

By. Sae Byull Lee

Today, there is no exact definition for what video art is. “All art is about communication, but the video arts in particular are about mass communication.” [2] There are different types of video art and one form of the video art is “actually created on the television screen by manipulating dials, selecting colors, combining figures and other elements.” [2], and the other form of video art is filmmaking that is create a visual elements more like story lines.  Video Art had the most activity during the middle 1970’s. It was during this time that artists have recognized video as an artistic object.  As I look through the text book, I was very happy to see name of the artist from my country, Korea.  Name of the artist was Paik Nam-June.

One of the recent work of art pieces by Nam-June Paik is “Piano Piece.” This art work is homage to his friend and mentor John Cage, who died in 1992. It appropriates an upright piano as the primary object with closed circuit video cameras placed at angles to the keyboard and near the hammers above, both using wide angle lenses. Piled in a grid on top of the piano and to either side are television monitors of varying sizes, turned at different angles, displaying images, including Cage, and various audio and visual equipments. A computer program by Richard Titlebaum plays music by Cage on the piano, and Paik’s hands and feet are shown in several of the monitors as he plays, as well as choreographer and friend Merce Cunningham. Paik developed inventive visual effects, which are displayed on the monitors, creating a dynamic and coordinated visual presentation. [1]

Historical context that Nam-June Paik’s art shows is the technological advances that it took place during 1970.  The 20^thcentury had become increasingly interactive, and mobile – after moving pictures and television were invented, painting seemed suddenly static. As crowds rushed to the movie theater, perhaps some artists felt a desire to compete with this new dynamism, adding not only movement, but sound as well, to their work.  First official television broadcast in the United States took place in 1939 but in 1950, 11 years from first official television broadcast, television became one of the household items for American homes. Video tape and video camera were introduced for amateur use during the 1960’s. But, people had to wait for another ten years for the video art to be introduced to the world because expensive cost of the mediums that required for video art.  “Piano Piece” by Nam-June Paik was created and introduced during 1990s.  “Piano Piece” speaks its historical context of what Nam-June Paik was going through during this time around.  John Cage, the mentor and friend of Nam-June Paik has passed away in 1992.  This art work shows how much Nam-June Paik loved his friend John Cage and how much he missed him by just looking at displaying images and music by John Cage playing on the piano.

In my opinion, Nam-Jun Paik and video art made significant transition in the field of art by utilizing the innovative technology of today.  However, downside of the Paik’s art piece is that it costs a lot of money to produce and dimension is huge that it is not expected to be displayed in home.  Because of the uniqueness and brilliant idea draws huge attraction whenever it is displayed in the museum.

Works Cited

[1] Doyle, Nancy. “Artists Profile: Nam-June Paik” Nancy Doyle Fine Arts. 26 Mar. 2005  http://www.ndoylefineart.com/paik.html

[2] Getlein, Mark.  Gilbert’s Living With Art  6^th ed.  McGraw-Hill Higher Education.  New York.  pp. 238 – 240

[3] Halfon, Leeron. Current Work on Video Art. 26 Mar. 2005 http://www.ma-radio.gold.ac.uk/videoart.htm

[4] Morgan, Robert C. “Plexus: Paik’s Fragments” Robert C. Morgan & Holly Solomon Gallery. 1995.  26    Mar. 2005  http://www.plexus.org/morgan/paik.html

Artificial Moon

Artificial Moon

Alex Njynski

Artificial Moon is a highly unusual sculptural new media piece of art created by Beijing based artist Wang Yuyang in 2006.  It is a 13ft wide sphere steel frame made with ten thousand of various types of compact fluorescent energy-saving light bulbs.  The piece is a re-creation of the Earth’s moon even down to the craters with the strategically placed lights.  The location for its original exhibition was ironic in that the city of Shanghai, due to its own light pollution issues, has been known not to see the moon moving through the night sky.  “In an odd way the Artificial Moon draws attention to the collision between the ‘natural’ and the ‘artificial’, commenting on how the timeless phenomena of the stars and the moon are becoming increasing obscure by the light pollution common in many contemporary cities.”¹  Yuyang’s work conveys the power of energy consumption while simultaneously displaying the diminishing power and awe of looking at the moon.

Society has infused nature’s night with light and “this kind of engineering is no different than damming a river.  Its benefits come with consequences—called light pollution—whose effects scientists are only now beginning to study.  Light pollution is largely the result of bad lighting design, which allows artificial light to shine outward and upward into the sky, where it’s not wanted, instead of focusing it downward, where it is.  Ill-designed lighting washes out the darkness of night and radically alters the light levels and light rhythms to which many forms of life, including ourselves, have adapted.  Wherever human light spills into the natural world, some aspect of life—migration, reproduction, feeding—is affected.”²

The night sky in the country has a tendency to look remarkably different than the sky view near a city.  More stars are visible and brighter, and in some remote areas, the Milky Way galaxy can extend across the sky from east to west.  In contrast, lights in the city illuminate night skies to such an extent they hide many of the stars.  Any outdoor lighting that interferes with the natural landscape is termed light pollution and as urban areas grow, so does this type of pollution.  Maybe Yuyang has made reference to this fact in relation to Shanghai and other international cities around the world to examine the possible damage we have done to the planet, beast, and fowl, so that we would reduce our urban foot printing now before it’s too late.

Yuyang has been quoted saying about his work,  “I wanted to re-create a ready-made moon into a definite architectural space and I wanted to relay three aspects; 1. I wanted to show a dramatic vision of artificial moon, 2. I wanted to show an enormous consumption of energy, and 3. I wanted to show the basic feeling of the sight of the moon.”³  Has society become so numb to light pollution we’ve lost the basic awe feeling of sighting the moon?  Does society even miss the moon?  Does society realize they cannot see the moon anymore in some parts of the world?

Word cound: 513

1.  Jean Francois Diord, Scoop It, accessed 11 Nov 12, http://www.scoop.it/t/ms-1/curate?hh=1; www.transmediale.de.

    2.  Verlyn Klinkenborg, National Geographic: Our Vanishing Night, November 2008, accessed 11 Nov 12, http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/11/light-pollution/klinkenborg-text/1.

3.  Antonio Glessi, The Making of Artificial Moon (ext. version), accessed 11 Nov 12, http://vimeo.com/4535653.

Liquid Time Series: The Our Actions Stop and Start Time

By: Ashley Wiley

Camille Utterback created the “Liquid Time Series,” to analyze our perception on the world and our physical interaction with art. The series represents how we view the world in fragmented pieces, never seeing the whole picture. Once again Utterback forces viewers to use their bodies to make the installation function. Our active part in creating the art makes us think about our roles and how they relate to change and time. As the viewer walks past the installation, the still image ripples, revealing a video clip of a fragmented scene. Showing us how the world is made up of multiple moments.

This is one of Utterback’s more complicated installations. The installation appears to be a still image of a busy Tokyo or New York scene. The viewer’s presence activates the installation. The area on the screen in front of where the person stands, transforms the image into a video clip of the scene. The rest of the installation remains a still image. It shows us how fragmented our view of the world is. We are only allowed to see a section of the whole scene and never shown the whole picture¹.

In an interview, Utterback describes the installation as “kernels of narrative.” The fragments of action make us think of the bigger picture, of cause and effect like the rippling of her installation. As the viewer plays with the idea of stopping and starting time they ask themselves “How am I affecting this? What changes happen because of my actions?” The viewer becomes the narrator, deciding what happens. The use of their bodies makes the viewer think of these questions when they view the installation. The viewer is the one physically changing the scene, making it move or stand still. It makes the viewer think of their own actions and how they affect the world in a bigger sense then just themselves. There is also the element of no control because viewers can’t predict what other viewers might do. Another viewer may walk past the installation causing the entire image to ripple, changing the entire scene².

Just like in her installation “Text Rain,” viewers can work together to put the pieces of the fragmented scenes together by standing in different areas at the same time. As people stand in various positions some of the installation will be in motion while the other is still, showing how multiple perspectives can all coexist whether we see them or not. Our bodies alone can only create one part of the scene, but together we can see multiple fragments of the larger picture. As more viewers interact with installation, it allows them to become aware that not just their motions change what happens. The movements of various parts of the image is a combined effort of all those interacting with the installation³.

Utterback has created an installation that makes the viewer think of their role in life. Alone, viewers can see the installation as symbol of our fragmented view on the world. If not for the interactive aspect of this installation, the deeper meaning would be lost. Viewers must physically start and stop time to understand that their actions affect the bigger scheme of things. The “Liquid Time Series” puts time in the viewer’s hands to show them how much their actions change things and how little control they have over the bigger picture.

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word count: 560

1.  Dan Cameron, “Running Out of Time,” review of Speed #3 — Against the Clock, by various artists, Valencia Institute of Mod­ern Art, Valencia, 2007, 146.
2. Camille Utterback, interviewed by Meghan Jean, Meghan Jean Blog, December 10, 2012, http://meghanjean.com/camille-utterback-at-the-sacramento-airport/ (accessed November 1, 2012).
3. Camille Utterback, “Artist Statement,” Camille Utterback Website, http://camilleutterback.com/vitae/statement/ (accesed October 31, 2012).

Puppet Parade

by Ashley Wiley

Puppet Parade is an interactive installation that premiered in the 2011 Cinekid festival in Amsterdam. The installation allows children to use their arms to control large creatures that are projected onto the wall in front of them. Children stand on a certain spot to direct their puppet while other children interact with the puppets by petting them or creating food for them to eat (the colorful dots on the screen). This dual interactive setup allows children to perform alongside the puppets, blurring the lines between audience and the puppeteer,  and creating a playful dialogue between the children in the space and those controlling the puppets.

Amon Tobin: Sound Designer – Revised

Amon Tobin is a Brazilian musician, composer and producer who is renowned for his epic live performances. He is often referred to by “The Creators Project” as a “scientist of sound”.(1) Tobin’s music resides in the electronic part of the musical realm where instruments and vocals are so distorted you’d never be able to guess what they originally were. Tobin has been working in the music industry since 1995, and at 40 years old, he shows no signs of slowing down.

What is really unique about Tobin is that he uses new media in nearly every aspect of his productions, but primarily these two. He uses new media technology to produce and compose his music. His use of new media is most impressively utilized his set design. His sets are astounding and captivating display of inorganic shapes and light beams making a technicolor dreamworld that is projected over a three-dimensional stage.

Like many other DJs, his first three albums use a combination of sounds from vinyl records of his personal collection. He distorts and manipulates the sounds until they are completely unrecognizable using audio software, like Cubase, a popular German-made music program. (2)

Electronic music has always been experimental, but Tobin’s production style has always been a little different. Recently Tobin has begun manipulating  unique sounds taken from people, street traffic, nature, etc. and transforming them into something new and unrecognizable. (3)

Tobin’s style of music recreation isn’t just a recycling of used wears fashion into a new outfit, similar to way people thrifting, no, his music is down to a science. In his early years, Tobin sampled most of his music from jazz and blues soles that were erratic and moderately paced. While Tobin still uses jazz in his newer records, he opts for music with a quicker, more erratic and complex pattern.

For these reasons, Tobin is more than a dj; he is a sound designer creating sound art. By using his keen ear from special arrangements, Tobin has created a career of technically meticulous music that only the true sound artist could have produced. His experimental style and peculiar attention to detail makes him stand out in a genre that is filled with carbon copies.

If Tobin’s music credentials and his new media approach to sound design don’t make him interesting enough, his live performances and use of video mapping do. Video mapping is the combined use of projections and display-shaping to create a multidimensional object/display. This technique allows custom imagery that allows the artist to interact with the spatial environment with projections. It can create optical illusions and movement in formally stagnant objects. These shows where most DJs would just find themselves hunched over a laptop have turned into an actual theatrical performance complete was stunning light shows and costumes. (4)

While planning his most recent tour, Tobin became fixated on how to translate the complexity and imagination of his audio recordings with a live stage show.”In translating his studio-based music to live performance, Tobin ended up with a complex stage and light setup that he compares to an art installation. “How can I make a genuine attempt at visualizing music and making something that made sense, to me at least, and be part of it?” he asked himself while brainstorming the show.”(4)

As all of his music is produces inside a studio, using only electronic equipment (with the exception of an occasional guitar), he feels it’s only appropriate to perform his music in the same way. During his performances he uses turntables and his own custom made Dolby Digital 7.1. speakers. Tobin has been vocal about his commitment to keep his performances purely electronic, and it’s evident in his performances. (5)

By: Erin White
Word Count: 502
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1. The Creators Project/Vice, “The Creators Project.” Last modified 2012. Accessed October 29, 2012. http://thecreatorsproject.com/creators/amon-tobin.

2. Wired Magazine, “Amon Tobin bugs out.” Last modified 2007. Accessed Novemeber 13, 2o12. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/15.04/play.html?pg=9

3. MusicRadar, “What are the weirdest instruments used in modern music?” Last modified 2008. Accessed November 13, 2012.  http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/blog-what-are-the-weirdest-instruments-used-in-modern-music-168757

4. Hermann, Andy. LA Weekly, “The Man Behind Amon Tobin’s Jaw-Dropping Live Show.” Last modified 2012. Accessed October 29, 2012. http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/2012/10/amon_tobin_isam_v_squared_labs.php.

5. Rolling Stone, ” Premiere: Behind the Scenes of Amon Tobin’s ‘ISAM’ Live 2.0 Tour Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/premiere-amon-tobins-isam-live-2-0-tour-20120831

Scott Sona Snibbe: Interactive Art

Scott Sona Snibbe: Interactive Art

Artists often create their art for a particular purpose. For Scott Snibbe, he creates interactive new media installations that consume the viewer, mind, body and soul. In some of his most known works, Make Like A Tree and Shadow Bag, the viewer’s shadow is displayed to the public in which they are able to participate both mentally and physically. Snibbe creates a form of new media, which allows the viewer to experience a “new” type of medium, dealing with digital and interactive art.

Make Like A Tree is interactive installation in which viewers catch a glimpse of their shadow on a projected wall.  Their shadows are recorded and replayed on the projected wall. Viewers see their shadow, in an eerie forest, disappearing behind trees and fading into the mist. In most of Snibbe’s creations he incorporates the art of cinema, using animation and surrealist film to express himself. His design principles include visceral and responsive media to reward the viewer’s participation in his artwork [1]. Unlike other installation artists, Snibbe really concentrates on interacting with the viewer with computer-based media. Snibbe’s work could be compared to that of Marcel Duchamp’s. Duchamp is considered one of the fathers of conceptual art, using dynamic and static expression in his artwork. He used everyday items and turned them into a work of art. [2]Snibbe does the same, but uses the everyday person, and their shadow and turns it into an interactive experience.

Another piece of Snibbe’s that deals with the viewer’s shadow is Shadow Bag.  This particular piece is very similar to Make Like A Tree, in which they both use a projection wall to record the viewer’s shadow. What is different about this particular piece is that the shadow could show up dismembered on the projector, or may follow the viewer around or suddenly appear on the other side.  If the viewer were to touch one of the dismembered shadows, one would see the shadow slowly collapse like a corpse. One is really able to see how the audience is the most essential thing about Snibbe’s installations. The body is captured through the shadows in a way that is the most realistic, and easily educates the viewer on how their body moves through space. A quote said by Margaret Artwood in the Blind Assassin,“She was with me all the time, but I couldn’t look at her. Icould only feel the shape of her presence: a hollow shape, filled with my own imaginings. [3]

         Through Scott Snibbe’s installations, the viewer is able to see how the shadow of the viewer’s body is open to explanation and offers a wide range of imaginings. It allows the viewer to be more involved in the work and state their own inferences and form their own perspectives. His type of work is considered a form of New Media, which is a type of experience that uses digital and interactive forms of media to capture the likes of the viewer. In both, Make Like A Tree and Shadow Bag, Snibbe uses interactive media to capture the viewer’s shadow, and take them on a unique experience that captures their physical and emotional states.

By: Ryan Hammerle

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[1] Snibbe, Scott, and Hayes Raffle. Proceedings of Association of Computer Machinery Computer-Human Interface , “Social Immersive Center:Pursuing Best Practices for Multi-user Interactive Camera/projector Exhibits.” Last modified 2009. Accessed October 29, 2012. http://www.snibbe.com/download/publications/academic/2009SocialImmersive_CHI.pdf

[2] Snibbe, Scott. “Computation and Improvisation.” ICC Journal, Tokyo, Japan. (2002): page 1. http://www.snibbe.com/download/publications/catalogs/2002ICC.pdf (accessed October 29, 2012).

[3] Molly, Polk. “Shadow Play: April 23-July 3, 2005.” Art Interactive, APRIL 22, 2005. http://www.snibbe.com/download/publications/catalogs/2005ArtInteractive.pdf (accessed October 29, 2012).

Balam Soto

Balam Soto uses new media as a means to combine art and technology to create interactive works of art in sound and movement that explores the relationship between individuals, society and technology. Evan though there is no to barely any mention in Art History books, technological change and new tools have always affected art. Photography however, has been chosen by prominent mainstream artists including Ansel Adams, Richard Avedon, and Robert Mapplethorpe as their primary means of expression. The quality and scale of this technological work is directly challenging painting which until a couple decades ago has been the dominant fine art medium.¹ Twenty years ago only a few artists were using digital technology and they belonged to a minority group producing “Outsider Art” that seemed more driven by technology than art. They had to conceive and build their own solutions, and tackle with engineering. Today, digital technology is permeating the entire culture, mass produced, and readily available to all including artist.² Balam’s work however, is so cutting edge he must conceive, build and engineer his own solutions. A perfect example of this is the processes he went through to come up with a solution for his multi-media performance, “The Body Sound Suit Project.” The suit is a nonverbal capture and trigger system inspired by the “Arduino drum project”. The suit captures human gestures/body movements and transforms it into data which in turns triggers sound and graphics. The body of the dancer becomes a generator of sound and visual data who then creates his/her own audio and visual environment simply by moving the body via dance. This expands the current known relationship between the dancer and music into an extremely intimate relationship between the dancer, music, technology, and graphics. This is accomplished by challenging the evolving relationship between the dancer, the music and the visual environment thus synchronizing control of all aesthetics into the body of dancer. You can view this art work at the following URL: http://muzej-pokreta.org/mup/?p=1004. ³

“The Cube v.2.5” is another interactive installation that links tangible and digital reality, utilizing customized hardware and physical computing. A digital cube, which incorporates visual images of Balam’s artwork or other creations, is projected on the wall. A physical cube sits in front of the projected display. When patrons move the physical cube, the digital cube will move in sync. As patrons interact with the installation, they realize they have truly become part of its digital world when they spy a real-time likeness of themselves on one side of the digital cube. You can view this art work at the following URL: http://balam.us/projects/the-cube.html.Experiencing many challenges creating the cube did not stop Balam Soto’s progression. Prior to the Cube’s completion, Soto had to overcome several obstacles such as working intimately with a software he’s never used before, synchronizing his un-cooperating computer with Bluetooth, attempting to switch from a regular battery to a lithium battery (unsuccessfully), and finally, finding a solution for replacing a broken controller every time a patron dropped the Cube.⁴ All in all, new media artists today should be part-time engineers as well.

1. Margot Lovejoy Reviewed work, “ArtJournal, Vol. 49, No. 3, Computers and Art: Issues of Content” (College Art Association Stable: 1990): 257. Art, Technology, and Postmodernism: Paradigms, Parallels, and Paradoxes Author(s).

2. Benjamin Weil Leonardo, “Art in Digital Times: From Technology it Instrument”, Vol. 35, No. 5 (The MIT Press: 2002): Tent Anniversary New York Digital Salon.

3. Balam Soto, “Body Sound Instrument: Movement Network Open Calls Kontakt”, (15/05/2012): video. Accessed on 4 Oct 12, Http://balam.us/new-media-art -and-digital-technology-artist-biography.html

4. Balam Soto, “The Cube 3.5”, New York (2005-2012): video.  Accessed on 4 Oct 12,  http://www.balam.us/projects/the-cube.html

Edited citations 12 Nov 2012

By Alex N.

Blow Up

This installation by Scott Snibbe is made up of two devices. One is a miniature rectangle with 12 impellers on one side of the room, and the other is a large wall of 12 electric fans. The tabletop impellers are connected to the wall of electric fans. You blow into the small impellers to control what the big fans do. The breathing pattern plays in a loop until someone else decides to blow into it.

 

By: Ryan Hammerle

Burning Man – Revised

Once a year, deep within the desert of Nevada, thousands of people vow to spend seven days living off the grind. They live without money, McDonalds or iPhone chargers in what I can only describe as an installation community art project. That being said, I think Burning Man is the next evolution of the interactive installation. It is the ultimate installation where the audience is not just temporarily immersed but an installation where they live.

A. Leo Nash, author and photographer of Burning Man: Art of the Desert writes, “The search for authenticity and a place to operate dangerous mechanical devices, has led a group of artists out into the Nevada Desert. There, in the harsh white and blank expanse of a dry lake bed, they are able to operate machines that define a new direction in art. Some are robotic, most are built from salvaged industrial cast-offs and blatantly cobbled together parts, and almost all somehow use fire, or should I say FIRE, as their primary means of expression.” (2)

During the seven days in Black Rock Desert, 50,000 campers, or “Burners”, are exposed and invited to follow the ten principles established by Larry Harvey in 2004. These principles include: gifting, community, radical self-expression, self-reliance, participation, civic responsibility, and inclusion. “Burners” learn these principles mostly through art and communication interactive installations. There are many art projects that go on during the week, most are made as a group. These pieces are used to barter, they are also considered to be gifts to the community. (3)

Lake Lahontan serves as a museum/swamp meet for various types of artwork made for the throughout the week. Many of these pieces being digital or electronic. This is curious for a festival that prides itself on being somewhere “off the grid”. At first I couldn’t make a connection for why this might be. I looked over the ten principles; I had over looked one. Immediacy. Immediacy is everything that new media represents. We define new media in a few ways, but most generally as access that is on demand. Content that is readily available. Media that is immediate. I brought this idea back to the Man himself. He is wrapped in media and then set ablaze. The festival is all about being free-spirited and free of the modern world and perhaps this represents that freedom. (2)

I wish I could draw my definite conclusions to what Burning Man means and what the Man means to the burners. Burning Man is a particular, and fascinating event that is very hard to explain. It’s essence is nearly intangible for those who don’t get to experience it first hand. If you’re an art, Burning Man seems like an experiment of a lifetime.

By: Erin White

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Word Count: 504
1. Steven T. Jones, The Tribes of Burning Man: How an Experimental City in the Desert is Shaping the New American Counterculture, (San Francisco: CCC Publishing, 2011), 312.

2. A. Leo Nash, Burning Man: Art in the Desert, (New York City: Abrams Books, 2007), 160.

3. Brian Doherty, This is Burning Man, (New York City: Little Brown and Company, 2004), 320.