Journalists descend on Burning Man

By Sharon McKenna

HUALAPAI PLAYA, Nev. — MSNBC has set up camp at the Burning Man festival. Get your daily desert dispatch from the “Media Scum” camp, located deep in Black Rock.

More from MSNBC on Burning Man 1997

The separate groups share an intense energy, and a sense of something to come.

DESCENDING UPON THE BURNING Man site earlier than most is like being placed squarely in the center of another planet, one that is being newly colonized: groups of immigrants arrive from all directions to a barren and seemingly inhospitable place, bearing their unique cultural imprint.

They stake out a claim, greet their new neighbors and begin to build things: shelters, artwork, towers, roads, shrines. They are focused on their individual tasks and at the same time, these separate groups share an intense energy and a sense of something to come.

One thing’s for sure, what’s coming is not the media, because they are already here in droves. An event that was all but ignored two years ago is now the sweetheart of sound bites, and the skepticism amongst the settlers grows with each passing video cam.

Representatives from the most mainstream media have come to wander among the masses and, in between eating plenty of desert dust and swigging bottled water, try to figure it all out.

Our crew of digital journalists, photographers, paramotorists, igloo builders and Burning Man veterans and virgins alike have, in an appropriate act of self-deprecation, decided to name our site Media Scum Camp. You simply can’t experience Burning Man and not indulge in a little irreverence, even if you choose to make a parody of yourself.

Still, despite the legions of press, the move to a new site, bigger crowds, a new “security force” and legions of walkie-talkied, rule-spouting Burning Man workers, this event exudes a uniquely relaxed air, one that truly invites you to do or be (just about) anything you like.

On an afternoon stroll around the still sparsely populated site I spotted a tattooed man in fishnet stockings, young women carefully molding a mud statue of a very well-endowed male fertility icon, a Burning Man ranger discussing the upcoming lecture series on the history of the Black Rock region, a field strewn with large animal bones, and an elaborate series of linked doors leading into one another, located, appropriately, at the Mystery Spot.

Further on, drumbeats pulled people like magnets toward the Man, where he stood alone on the Playa, watching us all. A swirling crowd of drummers, dancers and onlookers moved as one while a large shimmering metal circle was ceremoniously paraded from the Man to the center of the festival site. The drums beat louder and faster as a costumed man held a paper torch near the circle, actually a concave reflective dish, which captured the sun, centered it on the paper torch and set it aflame, to frenzied cheers, and perhaps, a frown or two of confusion.

But it didn’t take long to understand that the ceremony officially ignited the Burning Man festival. That same fire will be stoked and fueled until Sunday night, when it will be used to light the Man. In the meantime, the story of this celebration will continue to unfold, not as a media event, but as an exercise in instant community, albeit one that is currently in a very big spotlight.

Art, Fantasy Ignite Burning Man

How to unleash your alter ego (without getting arrested)

By Sharon McKenna

For those attending Burning Man, home is where the art is. And the art this year will include a giant Etch-A-Sketch, a walk-through womb and, as always, the art you make yourself.

Theme camps serve as both a temporary residence for those at the event as well as a medium for creative expression.

YOU HAVE YOUR CHANCE this weekend, in the barren expanse of the northern Nevada desert, to bring your wildest fantasy to life. At Burning Man, art doesn’t imitate life so much as dictate it.

The fervent community spirit of the event has spawned villages, theme camps and art salons … it literally pulses with music, various performances and plenty of other stuff that denies categorization.

Theme camps serve as both a temporary residence for those at the event as well as a medium for creative expression. While the Man itself is a prearranged constant of the event, theme camps have evolved organically. And while many of these camps have evolved into well-organized “small neighborhoods” within “cities” (Burning Man villages) some of the most inventive creations are spontaneously produced. Which brings us to you and your fantasy.

If you are heading to the festival and want to build a theme camp, consider these tips: Theme camps should feel inclusive. Create an environment where everyone feels welcome; Burning Man team members suggest you and your group become another animal, vegetable, mineral, character, period, or concept. The overall event theme this year is fertility, so many theme camps will in some way or other reflect that, but nothing is mandatory.

A sampling of this year’s theme camps include: the Lawn Games Camp, sponsored by The Harpo Marx Memorial Croquet Society; Frequency Publica, an interactive radio station where participants can “beam their poetry, spoken word or music into the receptive ears of the Burning Man masses,” Sketch City, home of the world’s largest Etch-A-Sketch; and Womb with a View, where you can discover the stages of fetal development as you walk though a 74-foot long replica of a pregnant female. In short, when it comes to theme camps, anything goes.

From the Laughing Scorpion puppet theater to a scrap-metal sculpture entitled “The Agony of Man,” Burning Man is hopping with art, music, performances and plenty of other stuff that denies categorization. This year promises more art installations than ever before, perhaps even too much to see over the weekend. Check out the Burning Man Web site for highlights of what’s in the works and learn how to register your art, performance or event with Burning Man.
Burning Man is an event that, above all else, values community. Becoming part of a village offers an opportunity for more interaction with others outside your own theme camp, with an emphasis on community and sharing. Villages may sponsor their own social events, build a communal kitchen and participate as a group in the Burning Pageant on Sunday night.