Category: BURN2

June 22nd-29th will mark BURN2: Conception, a time to celebrate the past, present and future. The e-mail press release announcing the event reads in part:

Sometimes it is good to look back at where we came from, so we can see how far we have come. A long, long, long, long, long time ago, where we live now looked much like our Moon. So as we look back at the start of the flame this year, let’s do it under the stars on a landscape just waiting to come to life.

The BURN2 team go on to extend an open invitation to artists and builders to apply for a place on the cratered playa, a reflection of this image of a young and new Earth, and create a vision of the past or the present or the future and help to bring the barren landscape to life.

Available craters range from 28 to 32 metres in diameter, and some overlap with one another to encourage people to develop communal builds, whether they know each other or are meeting for the first time. For those looking back, the recycling of parts of old builds seen in the playa is encouraged. Those looking to the future are encouraged to think “far out” into the future and to where we may be heading – or what may already be out there, heading our way …

Those wishing to participate in BURN2: Conception, are invited to read the Builder’s Guidelines and then, complete the application form. All applications my be submitted no later than Friday May 16th, 2014.

About BURN2

BURN2 is an extension of the Burning Man festival and community into the world of Second Life. It is an officially sanctioned Burning Man regional event, and the only virtual world event out of more than 100 real world Regional groups and the only regional event allowed to burn the man.

The BURN2 Team operates events year around, culminating in an annual major festival of community, art and fire in the fall – a virtual echo of Burning Man itself.

On the 19th February, the Burn2 team announced the names of the builders and artists selected for the 2014 Burnal Equinox, which will take place between Friday March 28th and Sunday March 30th inclusive in the playa regions.

The title of the event is Hotter Than Air, and the setting is the distant future where, to escape a toxin-ravaged Earth, the people have taken to the sky, building their homes beneath balloons filed with a mixture of the very toxins that poisoned the planet mixed with playa dust to create a lighter-than-air substance called Fairy Dust. In this multi-platform, multi-level environment, the people celebrate a renewal of life every Spring, decorating their balloons and platforms, travelling between them in fantastical lighter-than-air machines.

The builders and artists, selected by draw, who will help visualise this aerial setting and bring it to life are, together with the themes of their builds:

• Annevonlinz – Latin expressions
• Aurora Mycano – Fractal Recovery Sphere
• Chic Aeon – Silent Contemplation
• Cinnamon Ghoststar – Sky Garden #1
• Ginger Lorakeet – Inside Art
• Giovanna Cerise – Graden Glass
• Herbie Haven – Weather Balloon
• Instincta – Burning Ice
• Krummis Blessed – Post Apocalypso
• maddomxc Umino – Immortal Sculptures in the Universe
• mongoflex – idk Yes Sorry …
• polkamatic feller –  Burn The Past
• Qwark Allen – Detox
• Rogue Desmoulins – Air Brûlée
• sirhc DeSantis – Just a Bar
• Slatan Dryke – Yonder
• St3m Resident – Keys to Fly
• Veyot resident – Memories of Home
• Yman juran – Universe of Love

Hotter Than air opens to the public on Friday March 28th, at midday SLT, and continues through until 22:00 SLT on Sunday March 30th, 2014.

The BURN2 team have announced the 2014 Burnal Equinox, which will take place between Friday March 28th and Sunday March 30th inclusive in the playa regions, and are inviting people to participate.

The title of the event is Hotter Than Air, and it is accompanied by a novel backstory, which reads in part:

At a time far into our future, the earth has been devastated by a multitude of scourges: harsh climate change, pollution, famine, and war. The playa is one of the last inhabitable places on earth, but toxic fumes cover the ground and rise to 100 meters. The only safe living environment is above the toxic gas at ground levels as the playa’s winds help purify the air at this altitude. Passing through this toxic ground zone is possible, but long-term exposure can be fatal.

One redeeming factor of the toxin is that when it is captured, placed into a balloon and mixed with the correct proportion of playa dust, it takes on the form of a very powerful, lighter-than-air gas.  A single five-meter balloon can lift thousands of pounds into the air.  The gaseous concoction has been fondly named Fairy Dust.

So it is that the people in this far distant future have built a city in the sky – platforms suspended beneath great balloons filled with Fairy Dust, the empty air between them bridged by fantastical lighter-than-air machines. And in this multi-platform, multi-level environment, the people celebrate a renewal of life every spring, decorating their balloons and platforms.

In keeping with this theme, the BURN2 committee invite people to submit an application for one of their 32x32x40 platform spaces in the skies over the playa, where they can design and build their own lifting balloon and platform and be a part of the celebrations. Visitor to the event will be able to move between the platforms in transport balloons available on each platform (rezzers will be supplied to successful build applicants), adding to the flavour of the theme throughout the weekend.

Successful applicants will be asked to build a balloon and platform with a land impact no higher than 400, within a 32×32 metre area between 100 metres and 275 metres altitude, and no taller than 40 metres from base to top. Balloons can take any form, so long as they fit within the 32x32x40 area. Please refer to the Builder’s Guidelines for further information on requirements, limitation and suggestions for builds.

With the exception of the Welcome Area and Gerlach town, all builds for the celebration will be in the sky, including the Centre Camp, Lamplighters Village, and this year’s Burn Area, making this a truly individual celebration.

The closing date for applications is Monday February 17th, 2014.

The Black Rock Desert is colder than you might expect this time of year.  A lot colder.  Overnight temperatures in Nevada’s high mountain desert have hit record lows.  But now, after dumping a load of fresh snow, the clouds are gone. The moon reflects brightly off the smooth, frigid, white desert.  The sky is awash with stars.

It’s been a long, lonely drive from Reno. Up ahead, a brilliant light glows. You rub your eyes, puzzled by the anomaly. Nothing lives out here. What could it be? You stop your pickup and step out to get a better view, standing on your running boards. All of a sudden, something seems to be pulling you…teleporting you…to ICE PLANET on the playa!

So reads the opening of the Press Release for the BURN2 seasonal event, Santalarity, which this year has the theme of Ice Planet: The Turning of Time, and kicks-off at 10:00 on Saturday 14th December at 10:00 SLT, running through until 22:00.

Santalarity sees the playa transformed into an ice planet where aliens have come to “help restore peace and hope and celebrate a renewed planet”. The event will feature art, music, dancing, skating, fire and fun, and will include content contributions from:

• UltraViolet Alter
• Leroy Horten
• Barbs Kurka
• Bryn Oh (with permissions)
• TheDove Rhode
• Eifachfilm Vacirca
• Zorch Voom
• Ub Yifu
• Jedda Zenovka
• Nathan Zetkin
• “and more”.

The scheduled events will kick-off at 10:00 SLT with a procession by the Lamplighters, and the music entertainment will start at 12:00 noon with Ultraviolet Alter, with DJs changing on the hour through until 21:00, when DJ Astro-X will present the final set of the evening.

Related Links

• BURN2 website
• Santalarity SLurl (Rated: Moderate)

BURN2 opens for 2013 on Saturday October 19th and will run through until Sunday October 27th.

This year, the festival is again spread across six regions, all in the familiar desert theme, surrounded by sandy hills that add to the atmosphere and give more of a feel that the event is connected with the real life Burning Man festival.

A press preview day was held on Thursday October 17th, and I was one of those invited to attend. Circumstances meant I missed the initial meet and greet, and as the rest of the press had zoomed off to explore with their guides courtesy of the DMV (Department of Mutant Vehicles!), I opted for a more relaxed wander.

In keeping with the 2013 Burning Man event, this year’s theme is Cargo Cult, and while there was no absolute on builders having to create something in accordance with the theme, many have chosen to, and have thus offered-up many different  interpretations of the cult, some familiar and some not-so-familiar. So when you visit you’ll find a wide and intriguing variety of flying saucers, aircraft and more!

One of the more interesting aspects of the festival is that while the events of World War Two are often referred to as the start of the Cargo Cult, like many such global “movements”, there are many and varied instances of its alleged first occurrence, and this is reflected in many of the builds presented at BURN2. As such, it’s really worthwhile taking time out to read-up on the Juried Art entries, all of which offer a comprehensive description to the pieces, and which point to the wide range of inspiration for the builds.

Pelucida Lusch, Pat Perth and ZigsZags, for example, have collaborated together to create Notre Dame des Beaux Paquets, about which they note:

Cargo cults are far from being an obscure, colonial, Melanesian belief system. ‘Notre Dame des Beaux Paquets’ is, in essence, an allegory about our fragile notion of ‘beauty’, our obsessive pursuit of consumerist redemption as well as the limited imagination and  the unsustainable economic structure which supports it … both in this world and another.

It’s a compact, but impressive build, a tomb with an inscription from Shelley’s Ozymandias, from which rises a striking figure.

As well as the Cargo Cult themed builds, there are influences from across the world to be found. European, American, South American, Oriental …. they are all here, demonstrating the rich melting pot of culture BURN2 represents.

In keeping with the overall theme, The Man this year sits atop a flying saucer, with burns scheduled for Saturday October 26th. The Temple also keeps with the theme, but in a very different way, and will burn on Sunday October 27th.

The Temple has always been one of the major attractions for me at BURN2 events, and this one – which I understand underwent something of a revamp during the build process – is no exception; my images here don’t really convey its beauty, it really should be seen.

It is in some ways unfair to single-out particular builds at an event like this, where everyone has worked hard to present something everybody can enjoy during the festival, but I have to confess there were a number I was instinctively drawn to, and I am going to mention two here.

As a long-time admirer of Ultraviolet Alter, her installation was a must see for me. It’s an evocative piece, richly layered in both imagery and meaning. As ever, the fusion of visuals and audio has to be experienced to be appreciated.

Continue reading “BURNing up in the desert” →

I’d actually missed this hitting my inbox yesterday, but Ronon Carver posted an update on the BURN2 website announcing the winners of the 2013 Juried Art and Theme Camp plots, and the Plottery winners.

The ten selected winners of the Juried Art and Theme plots represent both seasoned BURN2 artists and face new to the event. Each winner receives either 2048 sq m plot or a 1024 sq m plot as detailed below.

2048 sq m plots:

• Giovanna Cerise –  The Magic of Objects
• Loki Eliot – The Sand Fairy
• Alesha Hax – Cult­Ure Queen
• Morlita Quan – Sokofa

1024 sq m plots:

• Juliana Burns – Camp Marshmallow
• Sarrah Docherty – Cargo Train
• Caro Fayray – Anomaly
• Ginger Lorakeet – Inside Art
• Marianne McCann – Inner Child Camp
• Catboy Qunhua – Catboy’s Camp of Cuisine, Culture, and Comedy

The list of Plottery winners, each of who received a 512 sq m plot on the BURN2 regions, can be found in the BURN2 blog post.

All winners are required to adhere to the Ten Principals of Burning Man and BURN2, the BURN2 Builder Guidelines, and the Second Life Terms of Service and Community Standards.

Building will commence on September 21st.

Plots Still Available

There are still plots available at BURN2. If you would still like to be a part of the event, plot sizes and prices for the week are as follows:

• 512 sq m (117 prims): L$3000
• 1024 sq m (234 prims): L$6000
• 2048 sq m (468 prims): L$12000
• 4096 sq m (936 prims): L$24000

If you are interested in participating in this year’s BURN2, which runs from October 19th through to the 27th inclusive, and would like a plot, you can purchase one via the vendor system located in-world at the Burning Man Deep Hole region. Sales will be closing soon.

The theme for this year’s event is Cargo Cult, in keeping with the theme of Burning Man itself.

About BURN2

BURN2 is an extension of the Burning Man festival and community into the world of Second Life. It is an officially sanctioned Burning Man regional event, and the only virtual world event out of more than 100 real world Regional groups and the only regional event allowed to burn the man.

The BURN2 Team operates events year around, culminating in an annual major festival of community, art and fire in the fall – a virtual echo of Burning Man itself.

Related Links

• BURN2 website
• Burning Man website
• BURN2 on:
  • Flickr
  • Twitter
  • Facebook Page
  • Facebook Group