Burning Down The House

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So, many of you will have heard the news surrounding one of the years most ironic fiascos, whereby the peak event at Burning Man, the annual 8-day fiesta bizarro in the middle of the Black Rock Desert of northern Nevada, was nearly snuffed out when an attendee decided not to wait for the ceremonial burning of "The Man," scheduled for the last night of the week long event and torched the 40-foot-tall wooden icon early Tuesday morning. The real irony here is that the person responsible for the premature pyrotechnics has been booked on felony arson charges. Badum bum.

For those unfamiliar with Burning Man, and I am not speaking from first hand experience, it seems every year in the middle of the summer roughly 40,000 hardcore individuals gather to create a makeshift city of art inspired structures trailers and tents in the middle of a dusty valley where temperatures can soar to more than 100º by day and drop below 40º at night. Non-stop parties and raves ensue for the duration of the event where an all but no-holds-barred attitude reigns in the form of free expression that appears to border on anarchy - but in a good way.

As mentioned art and architecture seem to be at he center of the event as creatives design and build unique temporary structures in "theme camps" that serve as giant functional art installations. The governing art theme of Burning Man 2007 is "The Green Man" or "humanities relationship to nature."

I think I tell myself every year, "maybe I'll check it out next year …," and while part of me would love to witness and experience the art and freedom of expression, I can't help but think, if I am going to spend a week of debauchery in a fake city in the middle of the scorching hot Nevada desert, I might as well go to Vegas. At least there is air conditioning. ;)