Andrew Smith's Reviews > Burning Man: Art on Fire: Revised and Updated Edition

I’d heard of Burning Man, my only real take being that it’s a wild gathering where anything goes, and then they burn a large effigy of a man. Well, after working my way through this book I can confirm that I was on the right lines, but selling the whole thing short. Way short.

The week-long event takes place every year in the desert at Black Rock, north of Nevada. Attendees are asked to abide by the festival’s principals, which include a call to get involved, be self-reliant and, when it’s all over, to leave no trace that you were ever there. This book explores the background and the aims of Burning Man but the key element here is the art that’s been on display over the years. Much of it is huge, wildly imaginative and sometimes absurd. And more often than not the photographs show people climbing all over the pieces, as attendees are invited to ‘come and play’ with the exhibits.

For me this book achieved two things:

1. I was prompted to undertake further research into the festival as a result of what I saw and read here: in combination it exploded my perception that this is just a wild, uncontrolled party. Yes, shirts are optional, but at its heart it is highly organised and the ethos here is to explore, to discover, to experience and then to clean up and go home, leaving the desert as you found it.

2. I found sight of the art on display (the photographs are superb) mind boggling. The scale of much of it defies logic – how did they ever transport it out to this wildly remote place? I gained a new appreciation of how art can fire the imagination and stimulate creativity in those who see it and experience it.

My thanks to Quarto Publishing Group for supplying a e-copy of this book via NetGalley in return for an honest review.