4 ms·

Honestly I see Burning Man as a sorta weird expression of the same elitism, except in this norcal style. Rather then these tech/artists/trustafarians/whatever i

Honestly I see Burning Man as a sorta weird expression of the same elitism, except in this norcal style. Rather then these tech/artists/trustafarians/whatever investing their energy into arts and music in public spaces in the Bay Area they work year round to build a completely inaccessible community hundreds of miles away and light it on fire. Nothing more indulgent than that in my opinion. I have mixed feelings about it...my burner friends (most are techies) do some incredibly weird and impressive things as part of Burning Man but why can't some of that happen right here in the Bay for everyone.

pyre 11y ago
> why can't some of that happen right here in the Bay for everyone. Because then all of the people that protest things like high-rise apartments, and Google shuttle buses will show up to protest that too.
- sbilstein 11y ago
  I'm not advocating a protest...I'm advocating that us techies should focus our extra energy for creative activities locally and share the, rather than keep them exclusive with this desert party. All these well known famous tech founders such as the FB guys or Larry and Sergey are big burners and certainly participate in arts there but are nowhere to be found right here in SF/Oakland. Same can be said about my peers sadly.
  - akiselev 11y ago
    The grandparent is saying that the other residents of San Francisco who have no interest in going to Burning Man and protest stuff like Google buses would protest the art as well, whether it is in the form of an actual public protest or by opposing permits/funding at the local politics level. Especially when it comes to Burning Man art, one man's master piece is another's unnecessary traffic jam. Many, if not the majority of the most interesting, art pieces can't even be safely installed or operated (yes, operated in the case of art cars) anywhere near a suburban or urban environment. Where else can you build several climbable three to five story buildings with labels like "Bank of Unamerica" and "Goldman Suchs" [1] just to destroy them in a blaze of glory more symbolic than the art itself? Where else can you drive around a giant party boat [2], explore a sunken pirate ship buried in the playa [3], or watch action movie style explosions light a giant effigy on fire [3]? If you've ever seen the LED lights lining the Bay Bridge a few years ago, that was an art project costing in the same ballpark as some of the most impressive Burning Man art (i.e., like the dancing lady now found on Treasure Island) and took several years to get properly off the ground with all of the local politics involved in installing something on a major landmark. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KPrLgWHMF0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KPrLgWHMF0 [2] http://static01.nyt.com/images/2014/08/21/fashion/21DISRUPT1/21zDISRUPT-master675.jpg http://static01.nyt.com/images/2014/08/21/fashion/21DISRUPT1... [3] http://blog.burningman.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/pier2_shay.jpg http://blog.burningman.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/pier2_... [4] https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7414/10302625835_f9a0f51bef_b.jpg https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7414/10302625835_f9a0f51bef_b....
ryanobjc 11y ago
Wow, how about: http://abc7news.com/technology/naked-sculpture-in-san-leandro-stirs-mixed-emotions/868145/ http://abc7news.com/technology/naked-sculpture-in-san-leandr... http://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g60713-d103850-i49582159-The_Embarcadero-San_Francisco_California.html http://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g60713-d1... https://thebaylights.org/ https://thebaylights.org/ Not to mention countless parties, maker spaces, artist spaces, (eg: american steel), and many other space which are all very open to newcomers and hold a lot of parties and host and support all sorts of arts. As for the indulgence of burning man, put in a certain way, anything but work seems like an indulgence. So you're going on a cruise? Putting all that fuel oil into a remote inaccessible place and slowly lighting it on fire? Or a road trip - really, burning all that petrol? As for _my_ burner friends, most of them are NOT "techies".

pyre 11y ago

> why can't some of that happen right here in the Bay for everyone. Because then all of the people that protest things like high-rise apartments, and Google shuttle buses will show up to protest that too.

sbilstein 11y ago
I'm not advocating a protest...I'm advocating that us techies should focus our extra energy for creative activities locally and share the, rather than keep them exclusive with this desert party. All these well known famous tech founders such as the FB guys or Larry and Sergey are big burners and certainly participate in arts there but are nowhere to be found right here in SF/Oakland. Same can be said about my peers sadly.
- akiselev 11y ago
  The grandparent is saying that the other residents of San Francisco who have no interest in going to Burning Man and protest stuff like Google buses would protest the art as well, whether it is in the form of an actual public protest or by opposing permits/funding at the local politics level. Especially when it comes to Burning Man art, one man's master piece is another's unnecessary traffic jam. Many, if not the majority of the most interesting, art pieces can't even be safely installed or operated (yes, operated in the case of art cars) anywhere near a suburban or urban environment. Where else can you build several climbable three to five story buildings with labels like "Bank of Unamerica" and "Goldman Suchs" [1] just to destroy them in a blaze of glory more symbolic than the art itself? Where else can you drive around a giant party boat [2], explore a sunken pirate ship buried in the playa [3], or watch action movie style explosions light a giant effigy on fire [3]? If you've ever seen the LED lights lining the Bay Bridge a few years ago, that was an art project costing in the same ballpark as some of the most impressive Burning Man art (i.e., like the dancing lady now found on Treasure Island) and took several years to get properly off the ground with all of the local politics involved in installing something on a major landmark. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KPrLgWHMF0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KPrLgWHMF0 [2] http://static01.nyt.com/images/2014/08/21/fashion/21DISRUPT1/21zDISRUPT-master675.jpg http://static01.nyt.com/images/2014/08/21/fashion/21DISRUPT1... [3] http://blog.burningman.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/pier2_shay.jpg http://blog.burningman.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/pier2_... [4] https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7414/10302625835_f9a0f51bef_b.jpg https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7414/10302625835_f9a0f51bef_b....

ryanobjc 11y ago

Wow, how about: http://abc7news.com/technology/naked-sculpture-in-san-leandro-stirs-mixed-emotions/868145/ http://abc7news.com/technology/naked-sculpture-in-san-leandr... http://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g60713-d103850-i49582159-The_Embarcadero-San_Francisco_California.html http://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g60713-d1... https://thebaylights.org/ https://thebaylights.org/ Not to mention countless parties, maker spaces, artist spaces, (eg: american steel), and many other space which are all very open to newcomers and hold a lot of parties and host and support all sorts of arts. As for the indulgence of burning man, put in a certain way, anything but work seems like an indulgence. So you're going on a cruise? Putting all that fuel oil into a remote inaccessible place and slowly lighting it on fire? Or a road trip - really, burning all that petrol? As for _my_ burner friends, most of them are NOT "techies".