Wednesday, August 29th

Another hot day is cooking itself up on the playa. There's a threat of rain in the air.



I get up late, hang out, shoot the breeze with my neighbors, but am in general not terribly motivated to do anything or go anywhere. It just seems to be kind of a calm, relaxed day. Also, Renee is moving into her friend's RV today, about a block away, as was the plan all along - so I'm a bit bummed.

Bone Tree, by Dana Albany

After a while, I decide that time's a wastin' and head out to go see some art before the heat of the day really descends.

Guardian of Eden, by Kate Raudenbush

Overall, there seems to be a disappointing number of art installations on the playa this year. And what's out there isn't particularly interesting. At least not in comparison to the last two years. Sure, there are a few cool ones. There is the Big Rig Jig, for one.

Big Rig Jib, by Mike Ross

They are still tinkering around with it (and it's *Wednesday*) - but when it's done, it will be quite an astonishing feat of metal sculpturing and engineering. Mostly also, because people can actually crawl around inside of it.

Homouroboros, by Peter Hudson

Then there is the Monkey Zoetrope. This one's cool, because the art installation only activates when a bunch of participants do exactly the right things, together - yet nobody knows what they have to be. There are bikes to tread on however, and drums to beat, and after some experimenting, the installation suddenly comes to life. If you grab one of the masks and look through them, you get an optical illusion of a monkey, slinging himself from branch to branch, while a green snake comes out of its mouth.... cool.



Also - the Tree House is neat:

Steampunk Treehouse, by Sean Orlando

Overall though, it seems like the Black Rock Arts Foundation has poured a major part of its grant money into one single, gargantuan project - Crude Awakening by artist Dan Das Mann who has contributed his signature metal sculptures to the playa in years past. This installation however consists of six (!) huge metal lace sculptures, worshipping a true-to-life-sized oil derrick. A poignant statement about man's slavish dependence on oil, for sure ...



As the day heats up, I find myself seeking cooling in the shade of the Temple. David Best's effort this year is stunning - a Japanese-style structure, made of delicate and intricate wooden cut-outs.

Temple of Forgiveness, by David Best and Tim Dawson

After gathering my thoughts, I follow my fellow citizens example and leave messages in the Temple for a few people from my past and present.





Random note in the Temple ...

Biking back to my camp, I think about the public perception that Burning Man is just all about art, drugs, sex, raves, faux-fur and glow sticks. If only they could spend some time at the Temple - I'm pretty sure they would change their opinion ... [And dammit, Halcyon - you made me cry again...]

The remainder of the day and night I spend between the Chill Dome, Spike's, and biking around on the playa. There is still no new Man.

Lovin' the monkeys! The treehouse is pretty cool too.