Photographer NK Guy has posted his annual “Burning Cam” set of photos from Burning Man. This was my first year attending the festival in Black Rock City (my wife and I went as a mutual fortieth birthday present), and so it’s the first time I can say with any authority whether Guy’s photos capture the spirit of the thing. I really think they do. Burning Man surprised me — I expected something very good, but marred by ideological chiding over the “ten principles” the event lives by, and I expected something somewhat spartan, thanks to the logistical challenges associated with bringing everything you need into and out of a remote desert. But Burning Man was decadent, lavish, laid back, and friendly without being creepy. Guy’s photos bring out that lavishness, that sense of an end-of-the world party with fantastic people who’ve gone all out for a final hurrah (that repeats every year). We’re planning to return next year, because having gone once, I feel like I must try it again.
Name: Charon
Caption: Peter Hudson has been building three dimensional zoetrope sculptures at Burning Man for years.His works have involved rotating mechanisms with a series of sculptures mounted on them. When viewed with a pulsing stroboscopic light the statues come to life, flickering and juddering eerily.