from Espressobuzz

The $hrine
Originally uploaded by Espressobuzz

Thanks so much - wonderful pic!

from the playa

Hey hey folks, I'm on the playa and the $hrine has placement at 5:45 and 1900, to the left of promenade as you're looking at the Man from Center Camp.

We're deploying it today - and this internet connection goes away tonight - pictures and other media when I return.

Jellycamp this year is at 2:35 between B and C. I'm so happy to be out here!

fire

Any living being can act. A dog has eyes, muscles, teeth, a brain - all the components necessary to sustain himself. He gets hungry, and he seeks food - whether a bowl of kibble or a living rabbit. A dog doesn't reflect upon the fact that he's hungry - he just goes and remedies the situation, and puts his hunger away until his stomach reminds him next time.

A human has all of the same necessary components as the dog, but for better or worse we think about our actions, what they mean, and what they might bring about in the far future. The energy of the dog's action is like a spear: it only travels in one direction, and then it stops. The energy of a human's action is like a boomerang: we watch ourselves act, and our depthless capacity to mull things over brings that energy right back to us. So, our thoughts say to us, you've killed a rabbit for food. Is this a good thing, or is this a bad thing?

It is, in fact, a debatable point.

A hungry dog feels anxiety until he finds food. A hungry human feels anxiety until he finds food, but then feels worry about the future possibility of famine.

We worry about food and other necessities because we understand that we are alive, and we therefore understand death as the end of our living.

We are caught in the mesh of time, and we worry. We create gods, and we tell stories about them. We try to build a world in which we appear to have at least a little power to influence the great and frightening transformations that are part of our existence: birth, sex, aging, death. Of these, the most frightening is death.

Can we postpone death? Western culture now says we can, and that we therefore should. Humanity has always tried to control death, either by evading it or by embracing it too soon in martyrdom. See? - we're trying to say - I meant to do that.

It's bullshit. And on some level, we know it.

Struggling against the inevitable transitions tires us out and makes us grouchy. We seek catharsis, and we do it in all sorts of ways. Overeating, drinking too much, taking drugs, hang gliding, skydiving, driving too fast, joining Polar Bear clubs...but the oldest cathartic available to our species is fire.

We build fire for warmth, but it's far more than that to us. Wood burning and falling to ash is a metaphor for life, and it mesmerizes us. The flame is us - it is the force of our living - and we can watch it cycle from birth to death in a few hours. We have ultimate control of the flame - we create it, feed it, starve it. When it dies we can make a new one. But we understand that the wood we feed it is gone forever. We are gods of flame.

warehouse space

Alas, the days when I had hours to hone my online presence are gone, and I don't lament their passing. At least every post moves the story forward fairly quickly now!

The Crooked Arrow did not, in the end, work very well for us. The ceilings were about a foot too low to accommodate the outer dome on the Jellymobile - a shortcoming we were willing to overlook - until another warehouse space featuring 25' ceilings and a freight door large enough to drive the Jelly straight in, outer dome and all, became available. Jared and I are now renting half the main floor space, and splitting that between the Jelly (in front) and the $hrine (in the rear). It's become our camp home, and it's been wonderful to watch the various art projects come together.

Discovery Channel Canada came out and did a shoot last Sunday. The Jelly is being featured on a show called the Daily Planet as part of an episode on the intersection between art and technology. Fun!

The $hrine is now freestanding, thanks to Alma's efforts last weekend. I will be at the warehouse this afternoon and will remember (this time) to take more pictures. It's coming time to start attaching the el wire, and I'm a little hesitant, afraid I'll mess it up. I'll get to it soon, though - it will be really good to see the $hrine all lit up in its night-time blinky-light regalia. I'm also in the market for two deep-cycle marine batteries and a set of three garden floodlights. Home Depot again today, I think.

In other news, we now have a second, non-burnable art piece that will be featured at our camp. The Suffusion of Yellow - it's a little difficult to explain in text, but I will post pictures of it here along with everything else when I have them.

our jellyfish friend

The $hrine is a friend of the Amazing Jellyfish from the Year 12000, which landed on the salt pan at the Utah regional burn last weekend:

Here's a shot from early on Friday evening



You can view the rest of the set (9 images) here.

I learned a lot out at that burn. I'm very glad I went. I think the $hrine will be a far better burn for it, too.

let it go

I needed some reminding about what's important, and why I love being a part of Burning Man. The Element 11 regional burn (Eclectica) did that for me last weekend.

Thank you, guys.

In other news, the $$$ are very nearly finished, and I'm renting some space at the Crooked Arrow to house the $hrine (and all the other shiny/blinky project stuff that's cluttering up our small small house). I'm excited. This is going to be a lot of fun, and I'm really looking forward to other people being able to help influence the direction of this project.

placement

A lot has gone down since last January. I now have a name for the project (the $hrine), acceptance from the Burning Man org, playa placement (promenade near center camp and esplanade) and a working plan for pulling this thing together, transporting it, setting it up, lighting it at night, and burning it (Friday at sunset, 139 days from now).

The night-lighting will be an interesting challenge. 200 feet of electroluminescent wire, anyone? I'll also be setting up kicklights in front of each $, so that the light reflects Vincent Price style from the bottom of the $ and gives it a really eldritch look. This is going to be a lot of fun.

I'm going out with a great crew again - the guys with the Jellyfish 12,000 mobile art experience - and they'll be acting as my installation and burn support. If you'll be out on the playa this year, check out the $hrine burn on Friday - the Jellyfish will be bringing the party!