Burning Man 2003

Photos and text ©2003 John W. Hoopes

	This year's photos were more thematic than documentary.  I didn't bring my 35mm Nikon but shot all of my images with a Sony digital camcorder.  I got some nice video, but I shot far fewer still images than last year. This is a view of the Man atop his Mesoamerican-style pyramid on Thursday night.
	The spectacular success of 2002's Temple of Honor burn, which in many ways upstaged the Man, led the designers to put the Man atop his own temple this year.  The base was copied from the styles of Mesoamerican pyramids, especially the Temple of the Feathered Serpent at Teotihuacan and the Temple of Inscriptions at Palenque (both in Mexico).
	The Man stood 70' tall, atop a base of the same height.  There were complaints that he was too distant from the Playa and that it was more difficult for people to climb up to where he stood.  I don't know.  I never got up there!
	Lauren rests in front of a large Labyrinth that that was on one side of the pyramid.
	This is one of the volunteer "avatars" who sat in niches that ran around the bottom of the pyramid.  This is my only photo of naked breasts this year, but I hope you'll agree it's special!
	A view of the Promenade that ran between Center Camp and the Man, late in the afternoon on Friday.
	This year, David Best designed a Temple of Honor to succeed his successful Temple of Tears (2001) and Temple of Joy (2002).
	The Temple of Honor was constructed out of paper decorated with intricate black & white designs.  It was a wonder to behold, rising like a vision from the Playa.
	A view of the Temple of Honor on Friday afternoon.
	The Temple of Honor just before sundown on Friday.
	A group of Lamplighters prepares to distribute kerosene lamps to the lampposts along the Promenade.
	The lamplighters en marche towards sundown on Friday.
	A view of David Best's Temple of Honor at dusk on Friday.
	The Man atop his pyramid at sunset on Friday.
	The setting sun breaks across the hills with the Man and his pyramid below.
	A fiery cross was one of the spectacular displays on the night of the burn.  I shot mostly video of the Saturday event and so have hardly any still pictures of the burn itself.
	A view of the sky above the Playa on the morning after the burn.
	Big sky over the Playa.
	One of my favorite installations this year was the Temple of Gravity, by Zachary Coffin, which featured four monstrous slabs of granite suspended upon chains from a steel frame.  The idea was brilliant, but we heard that someone stole a few of the cotter pins on the night of the burn.
	I didn't think it was such a good idea to swing the stones, but some people did!
	A view of one of the megalithic slabs (with someone underneath).
	A group of burners take their chances with gravity.  This really was a spectacular installation!
	We camped with the crew that built Johnny-on-the-Spot, by Saul Melman and Ani Weinberg, a walk-in tribute to Marcel Duchamp's iconoclastic "Fountain".  It was popularly known as "The Urinal", though I'm pretty sure nobody used it as one!
	A view of the Man and Johnny-on-the-Spot.
	A crowd gathers at Johnny-on-the-Spot for its opening on Thursday night.
	The Portal, a view into the bowels of "The Urinal".  Visitors were inspired to use a water fountain inside Johnny-on-the-Spot to mix playa dust into a muddy paint.  The result was a Paleolithic decoration of the sculpture's interior.
	Handprints on the walls of the artificial cave.
	Designs in mud from the deep subconscious.
	Some inspired "spaghetti" art and a slogan that undoubtedly derived from the mistaken identification of the intended bathroom fixture as a toilet.
	A view of the Temple of Honor from the sculpture's Portal.  The placement of  Johnny-on-the-Spot was intended as a commentary on David Best's installation.
	The beautiful Cleavage in Space, by Rosanna Scimica, which looked like a chandelier that had crashed to the Playa from the vault of the sky.
	Panels on the Carousel Numinous by Jenny Bird and Mosbaugh.
	Hello Shiva, a tribute to that enigmatic feline.
	(I'm still trying to figure out the name of this piece!)
	My modest contribution to the fuel of the Temple of Honor, a family genealogy "Honoring My Ancestors" with detailed information going back for twelve generations.  Perhaps in another 400 years someone will remember my name in a flaming temple!
	The flames of the Temple of Honor, which was burned to the ground on Sunday night.
	Fire worship in the flames of the Temple of Honor.
	There is something magical about big fires.
	Dancing in the heat of the embers as the Temple of Honor goes up in smoke.
	The torching of the Temple of Chance--A House of Cards by Lewis Zaumeyer, was a special treat on Sunday evening.  It made a huge fire that spawned a smoky tornado.
	Johnny-on-the-Spot was one of the last big sculptures to burn on the Playa this year.  The white Tyvek skin disappeared with the first explosions but the wooden skeleton of the giant urinal burned for a long time before it finally collapsed.  Duchamp would have enjoyed the flames!
	For more information about Burning Man, please visit the official website at http://www.burningman.com.
	Follow this link for my Burning Man 2002 page.