The art theme for Burning Man 2019 was Metamorphoses. The amount of work, creativity and dedication that it takes to make and bring the art to the playa is so impressive.
I will quote what Burning Man has to say about this year's art theme. Because I can't say it better than they do.
"Burning Man is routinely described as transformative. At the personal level, a transformative experience. At the group level, a transformative event or culture. What does that really mean?
From “It changed my life” to “it’s changing the world,” Burning Man is a million stories, and the through-line across them all is change. Mutability. A tempering or annealing, like metal in a forge or glass in a kiln. Shedding the dross, revealing the true nature within. A crucible of souls.
We look at ourselves and think: I want to change. My surroundings, my community, my company, my city, my country. Innovation, modification, diversification. Evolution and revolution. But how much of this is will, and how much destiny? Do our true selves lie within, like the form inside the sculptor’s marble, waiting to emerge? Or must we find some north star, set a course, and lash ourselves to the wheel? In a world of manufactured desire and alluring spectacle, can we trust our own instincts?
As much as the personal journey of change may consume us, it takes place in a broader context, a tapestry of interrelated transformations of which ours is but one thread. Looking beyond the horizon of the self, we are surrounded by and inseparable from a world in constant transition. The political landscape and the physical landscape, our planet, in a cascade of tipping points. Do we have the power to influence these changes rather than just lament them, to bend the arc of history? And if we don’t have that power, does anyone?
This year’s theme is a celebration of change, and an exploration of uncertainty. As such it invites a consideration of time; not its circular nature, or its attendant ritual, but in this case the relentless flight of time’s arrow, and an embrace of the elusive now. Memory is fickle, and the future is uncertain. None of us knows what he or she will become, but we can seek to understand where we are at this point in our transformative trajectory, this fleeting chord on the strings of existence.
Transformation happens whether we believe in it or not; but if we have learned anything in our Burning Man experience it is that we do have a say in our own futures, that agency is ours if we choose to pursue it. While we may never know the ultimate outcome, there is a shared belief that our dreams matter, and that together and as individuals we have the power to shape our own stories and transform ourselves in positive ways."
Source burningman.org/event/brc/2019-art-theme-metamorphoses/
How do you not just love this? ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ THAT is Burning Man to me, when people ask.....what is it like and why do you go, describe Burning Man..... THAT is one reason why I go and just the FEELING I get when being there. I am SO grateful that I went that first time (I should had gone years sooner when I first heard about Burning Man back in 2004 or so while camping at a hot spring in Nevada) and I am grateful that Burning Man and who I am fit well together.
As usual I saw far from all the art. I made a promise to myself to put away some hours the first two or three days next time (hopefully next year) to ride around and see as much as I can of the art.
But here is some of it.
Mariposita
Wings of Glory
The Folly
Temple of Direction
The Man
A mushroom art car that I liked a lot.
