Burning Man may not be directly related to Oakland, but it really wouldn’t be what it is without the many contributions of Oaklanders. Here are some pictures from this year’s event to distract you on this Monday morning.
Part of an art piece by Dan Das Mann and Karen Cusolito, two of my favorite artists who create their recycled metal based work in Oakland.
Another figure in the same art piece.
There are plenty of zoning codes in Black Rock City, but one thing that's not regulated is height limits. So this year a group of artists built this 10 story building at the outskirts of the city. The view from up top was phenomenal.
Regular cars aren't allowed to drive around Black Rock City, but there are plenty of art vehicles like this one.
It's about as easy to find a taxi in Black Rock City as it is in Oakland, but unlike in Oakland, they're free. (It's much easier to hop a ride on an art bus, but unlike in Oakland, you usually have no idea where it's headed.)
This viewing tower was a block away from my home, and I'm sure they had a nice view of this smoke ring.
The weather in Black Rock City is a lot less predictable than in Oakland, and a lot more harsh. This dust storm lasted literally all day on Saturday and delayed the burning of the man.
We might have Black Rock City beat on weather, but the sunsets in BRC cannot be beat.
Amazing. Never even considered going until I moved out here…and now I’m totally making plans for 2009. Can’t wait!
So, Black Rock City has zoning but no height limits. Did the ten-story tower ruin the atmosphere for Burning Man’s character-defining one-story tents?
Shockingly, it didn’t. And nobody complained about the shade from the building blocking the sun from their yards (yes, there are yards in Black Rock City). Though to be fair, it really was pretty far away from the residential part of the city.
Hey cool.
Your sunset picture looks JUST like one I took in 2008.
I bet we were standing next to each other!