Burning Man 2002

Photos and text ©2002 John W. Hoopes

	We arrived in Reno on Thursday and rented a van for the drive north, past Nixon and Gerlach, to Black Rock City.  This took us through the spectacular scenery of northern Nevada.  The closer we got to Black Rock, the more traffic we saw from burners arriving in motorcycles, cars, and RVs.
	As we drew nearer to the playa, a long line snaked out from the entrance.  Our longest wait anywhere was the line to get in late Thursday afternoon.  However, anticipation kept everyone in good spirits.  We opened the car windows and got our first whiffs of playa dust.
	Black Rock City occupies a chunk of dry lake bed known as the Playa.  This view, from outsite of the gates of the city on Thursday afternoon, shows BRC as a line of tents and RVs stretching across the desert.  With a total population of 29,083, BRC was the seventh largest city in Nevada while it lasted.
	The surface of the Playa is a dried hardpan of alkaline lakebed.  It forms a perfectly flat surface that stretches for miles between hills on either side.  Burners are understandably worshipful of the playa and all of its qualities, especially its dustiness.  It is impossible to spend much time at Burning Man without feeling somehow a part of the playa.
	Our modest camp had only one theme, that of Hailing the Jewel of the Lotus.  I adorned our tent with Tibetan prayer flags that I had brought back from Nepal.  As they fluttered in the breeze, they released prayers across the playa.  Note the arrangement of colors from top to bottom: blue (sky), white (clouds), red (sun), green (plants), and yellow (earth).
	Friday morning was cool and overcast, with dark clouds to the west providing a harbinger of the towering thunderheads that were to appear that afternoon.  The theme of Burning Man 2002 was "The Floating World".  The Man atop his lighthouse glistened in the morning sun as he surveyed the playa and his inland maritime domain.  My favorite part of this photo is the guy who's listening to someone play the guitar.  (See him now?)
	Lauren arrived at Black Rock City with a bad headcold, but the dry desert air had it clearing up by Friday morning.  In the distance, you can see Dave Best's masterful Temple of Joy and the northern end of the Promenade that led to it from the Man and Central Camp in the south.
	Dave Best's reputation comes partly from his wonderful art cars, with his signature wooden decoration.  This is his art bus, a double-decker masterpiece that sat on the Playa to the west of the man for most of the time we were there.
	Lauren took this photo of me standing on the Man in the cool breezes of Friday morning.  The sky was perfectly clear and sapphire blue to the south.  The Man stood in the center of an open circle of playa about a mile in diameter, ringed to the east, south, and west with camps.  In this photo, I am facing north, looking directly towards the Temple of Joy.  What a spectacular place to be!
	This is the view of the Temple of Joy, at the end of the Promenade looking north from the upper platform of the Man. Off in the distance to the right you can see the Duck, a jazz bar that sat near the edge of No Man's Land.
	This beautiful Buddhist-style temple, built of unpainted wood, sat at the corner of 285° and the Esplanade, so we walked past it frequently.  It provided a unique contrast to the Disturbia camp, a short ways to the north, and surrounding camps pulsating with techno and trance music.
	This art piece on 285° was called the Island of the Remote.  It was one of dozens of bits of eye candy throughout Black Rock City.
	The first theme camp we visited was the Action Figure Camp. This section of a large table of action figures caught my eye as a microcosm of the attendees of Burning Man, who were not lying on a table, but walking around the playa!  For some photos of those guys, visit PlayaChicken.com.
	A lovely landscape of the mountains to the east of Black Rock City.  Between the frame and the mountains was an oasis of green grass and metal figures, where tired burners could cool their hot feet.
	Central Camp on Friday morning was abuzz with people having a great time.   There were drum circles all around and many places to sit, chat, and catch up with friends, both old and new.
	A group of acrobatic dancers practiced yoga and performed in the center of the camp, using their bodies to create wonderful sculptures.  The synergy and grace was impressive.
	A couple performed feats of strength and balance.  Note that the man below is supporting the weight of both of them on his two hands.  They held this pose for what seemed an eternity.
	Drum circles in Central Camp on Friday morning provided inspiration and syncopated beats for jugglers and dancers.
	We slept through most of the midday heat on Friday, lying still and trying to catch every bit of breeze that we could.  The wind gradually rose in mid-afternoon as towering thunderheads rolled in from the northwest.  The breeze encouraged us to move, but it also brought with it a thick whiteout, as playa dust swept across Black Rock City.  Visibility was reduced at times to just a few feet.  Lauren covered her whole face with a bandanna as I led her, completely blind, halfway across the playa to Central Camp.  Although we were standing right outside the main structure, were were lost in the dust.
	Many people sought refuge from Friday afternoon's whiteout in Central Camp, where a huge drum circle provided entertainment under the blowing clouds of playa dust.  Among them was a gorgeous mermaid (on stilts), who swayed and danced to the music.
	Another view of the mermaid as she danced upon the waves.
	The crowd in Central Camp, dancing to the drums during the Friday afternoon whiteout.
	Bandannas and face masks filtered out the playa dust as a sea of humanity moved to the rhythm of the drums.  About  this time, rain began to fall from the thunderclouds passing to the west, cooling the dancers and settling the dust.
	Drummers and dancers.
	More of the happy crowd, dancing to drums in Center Camp as the worst of Friday's weather rolled by.
	The storm clouds brought a spectacular sunset over Central Camp, with strong westerly breezes blowing flags and banners.
	The light rain that had fallen on Friday afternoon increased the moisture in the air, holding heat and making for the warmest night we enjoyed in Black Rock City.   On the playa, fire dancers spun flames to the beat of drums.
	Fire dancing on the playa, Friday at twilight.
	The calligraphy of the flames.
	After dark, fires blazed in the burn platforms around Black Rock City.  By Friday night, the population had swelled.  Most fires had drummers nearby, and drummers always had dancers.
	The burning platform at 270° Plaza, with the May and his green laser beams in the distance.  The beams were set to blink at intervals to indicate the cardinal directions.  This one blinked in intervals of three.
	The Man on Friday night.  Note the green laser beam that points to Center Camp.
	Fire dancers on Friday, the warmest night on the playa.
	The Man at daybreak on Saturday, his last day on earth.  The neon tubing was still glowing blue as the sun rose over the horizon.  Photographers at the Man positioned themselves for early morning pictures of the sun rising just east of the Temple of Joy.
	The Temple of Joy at daybreak on Saturday.
	Sunrise at the Temple of Joy, the morning of the burn.
	The Temple of Joy, designed by artist Dave Best, was a remarkable edifice constructed of panels of punched plywood from a toy factory.
	The Temple of Joy was dedicated to the memory of individuals who had died.  Dave Best was thinking of suicides in its initial conception, but the Temple came to represent losses of any kind.  People came there in the quiet of the morning to contemplate loved ones who had died, or incidents in their lives that they wanted to put to rest.
	The panels of the Temple of Joy were like lace, filled with holes from pieces punched out of the wood to make toys.  It was the most impressive piece of artwork at Burning Man this year, brilliant in its conception and execution.  Completed on Thursday morning, it stood for three whole days before it was sacrificed in a tower of flame on Sunday evening.
	Within the Temple of Joy were niches, and one could write messages to loved ones who had died, to oneself, or to the cosmos on the unpainted wood surfaces.  Boxes of pencils were provided, along with scraps of wood upon which messages could be written.  I wrote a message to a friend in Costa Rica who died of cancer before I was able to see her again.  She was ill when last I saw her, but I didn't know it then.  It was comforting to use the Temple of Joy as a way to remember how important she was.
	To the southwest of the Temple of Joy was this artwork called "Playa Pearls", by Fritz Leibhardt.  Messages written on them, such as "The best way to do is to be", made them pearls of wisdom.  We first encountered these pearls in a magic moment on the playa Friday night.
	This is one of several music domes near the realm of Disturbia that provided pulsating trance music 24 hours a day.  I took this photo at about 6:30 am on Saturday morning, while the speakers were still booming.
	Unlike Friday, which began cool and overcast and finished up in a whiteout and light rain, Saturday was brilliant, clear, and hot.  Ray Cimino's "Water Woman" on the Esplanade provided a cool shower, badly needed by all to wash the dust from Friday's whiteout out of one's hair and to drive off the heat.  (The water streamed from her breasts and crotch.)
	A hooked narwhale art car on the Esplanade, with the group shower in the background.  Note the bandstand atop Pepe Ozan's "Ark of the Nereids", where performers entertained us after the burn on Saturday.
	Lauren on the playa in the heat of midday on Saturday.  We had taken showers in camp that morning, and felt clean and refreshed.  It did help to carry one's own shade!
	This photo of Black Rock City was taken just before noon on Saturday from atop a cherry-picker next to our camp near the corner of 285° and Mainmast.  It shows the view looking east towards the playa, with Dave Best's art bus and the Man beyond that.
	This is a view looking southwest from near the corner of 285° and Mainmast.  The broad avenue is Forecastle, with the Irrational Geographic Society camp to the left.
	This view shows Black Rock City along Mainmast looking south.  The gateways to Burning Man are in the distance at the edge of the city.  For some even more spectacular photos, check out Brad Templeton's Panoramic Photography for  full 360° views of Black Rock City at various times of the day and night.
	Lauren and I, high above our camp near the corner of 285° and Mainmast.  The Man is on the playa to the far left.  We weren't nearly as high as the Burning Sky skydivers, but it was still cool to be up above the City.
	A shark car cruises the playa as people position themselves for the burn on Saturday night.
	The Man at twilight, his last day on Earth.  The sun has sunk below the mountains to the west and preparations for the burn are underway.
	A view down 285° towards the playa at about 8:00 pm on Saturday, as people head towards the Man for the burn. This was my favorite time at Burning Man, as the air crackled in anticipation of the central event.
	A group of costumed dancers make their way to the Man as darkness approaches on the night of the burn.
	A tree of fire, playing rhythms with jets of burning gas, slowly circles the Man as crowds shout alternatively, "Burn the Man!" and "Save the Man!".
	Five hundred fire dancers ring the Man with acrobatic, swirling flames.  The sound of drumming is all around.
	The dance performance as the Man gazes on.
	Fire performers shoot huge jets of flame inthe air as the Man gazes on.
	The man raises his arms as green fire spills from a fire chariot to the left and fire dancers jump a flaming rope. (The lights on the Man's right arm went out shortly after this shot was taken, but I haven't yet determined the meaning of that gesture.)
	Fireworks as Man is set aflame!
	The Man burns!
	The flames roar higher!
	The Man is consumed! Unfortunately, I ran out of film just as huge, swirling tornadoes of smoke formed in the intense heat of the flames and slowly moved westward away from the Man.  There were about four or five of these vortices, each as tall as the Man, that danced across the playa in the light of the flames.
	A new day, but without the Man.   This photo was taken at dawn on Sunday at the north end of the playa, just inside the orange fence that marked the edge of No Man's Land.
	A lost galleon, La Contessa, encounters Aaron Muszalski's "Anas Vulanas" (a.k.a. The Duck) at daybreak on Sunday.
	Land Ho!  The ship spots land, and moves across the dry sea, leaving the Duck behind to float and bob.
	The light of dawn breaks through the walls of the Temple of Joy, the morning of its last day on Earth.
	A hippocampus rears from the playa in the golden light on Sunday morning.
	The stalks of steel lotuses rise from the surface of the playa on the morning after the burn.  Dave Best's art bus and the Temple of Joy can be seen in the distance to the left, but the Man is gone.
	Draka the Dragon (by Lisa Nigro) flaps its heavy wings across the playa in the morning after the burn.  The Temple of Joy towers in the distance.
	Sunday at dawn I found myself shuffling through the ashes of the Man, which were filled with canisters from spent fireworks and twisted masses of wire.  People were picking through the ashes for bits and scraps, mementos to be incorporated into jewelry or future art projects, or perhaps stashed away in a stupa.
	We were not able to stay for the Sunday night burn of the Temple of Joy, which everyone agreed was a significant spiritual event.  This amazing photograph was taken by Marc Merlin, whose collection of images from Burning Man 2002 is among the best I've seen.  His Temple of Joy series is especially wonderful.  You can find out more about Marc's take on the event at his page:  My Burning Man Experience.
	If you enjoyed these photos and would like to see more, please drop me a line and let me know.  I have many more that I have not yet put online, but hope to be adding to this collection as I find the time.  Words of thanks are always the best incentive to do more.  If you would like copies of these photos, just ask.  I would be happy to send files or make custom prints upon request.
	For more information about Burning Man, please visit the official website at http://www.burningman.com.
	News stories: The Burning Man: Popular Pagan Festival Growing (from Raiders "Where Believers Get Their News", 7/17/02). Burning Man Shows Its Conscience: Temple of Joy tribute to 9/11 victims highlights arts festival (story by Robert Colllier, San Francisco Chronicle, 9/2/02). Naked Dancing Fire Whales Burning Man: Big dumb druggie rave in the desert, or intense spiritualized communal art adventure? Yes (story by Mike Mofford, SF Gate, 9/4/02). Lessons of Burning Man: Can Reno learn anything from Black Rock City? (story by D. Brian Burghart in Reno News & Review, 9/12/02). Burning Man attendance in Black Rock Desert sets record (AP, 9/13/02).
	Some Links: PlayaChicken.com Brad Templeton's Panoramic Photography Burning Man 2002: The Floating World (Panoramas) The Civilized Explorer: Burning Man Pages Burning Man burning man 2002
	Follow this link for my pictures from Burning Man 2003