Hombre Ardiente

Burning Man es un evento a gran escala que se lleva a cabo en el desierto durante una semana y se centra en la "comunidad, el arte, la autoexpresión y la autosuficiencia" que se celebra anualmente en el oeste de los Estados Unidos . ^{[1] [2]} El nombre del evento proviene de su ceremonia culminante: la quema simbólica de una gran efigie de madera , conocida como el Hombre, que ocurre en la penúltima noche, el sábado por la noche antes del Día del Trabajo . ^[3] Desde 1991, el evento se lleva a cabo en Black Rock City en el noroeste de Nevada , una ciudad temporal erigida en el desierto de Black Rock a unas 100 millas (160 km) al noreste de Reno . Según el cofundador de Burning Man, Larry Harvey , en 2004, el evento está guiado por diez principios establecidos: inclusión radical, obsequio, desmercantilización , autosuficiencia radical, autoexpresión radical, esfuerzo comunitario, responsabilidad cívica , no dejar rastro , participación e inmediatez. ^[4]

Burning Man no cuenta con cabezas de cartel ni artistas programados; en cambio, los participantes crean todo el arte, las actividades y los eventos. ^[5] Las obras de arte incluyen esculturas experimentales e interactivas, edificios, actuaciones y autos artísticos , entre otros medios. Estas contribuciones están inspiradas en un tema elegido anualmente por el Proyecto Burning Man . ^[6] El evento ha sido llamado "juerga contracultural" y descrito por sus organizadores como una "excusa para festejar en el desierto". ^[7] Sin embargo, NPR dijo sobre Burning Man en 2019: "Una vez considerado una reunión clandestina para bohemios y espíritus libres de todo tipo, Burning Man se ha convertido desde entonces en un destino para personas influyentes en las redes sociales, celebridades y la élite de Silicon Valley". ^[8]

Burning Man se originó el 22 de junio de 1986 en Baker Beach, San Francisco, como una pequeña función organizada por Larry Harvey y Jerry James, los constructores del primer Man. Desde entonces, se ha celebrado anualmente, abarcando los nueve días previos al Día del Trabajo . A lo largo de la historia del evento, la asistencia en general ha aumentado. En 2019, participaron 78.850 personas. ^[9]

Burning Man está organizado por el Proyecto Burning Man , una organización sin fines de lucro que, en 2013, sucedió a Black Rock City LLC, una sociedad de responsabilidad limitada con fines de lucro . Black Rock City LLC se formó en 1999 para representar a los organizadores del evento y ahora se considera una subsidiaria de la organización sin fines de lucro. El Proyecto Burning Man respalda varios eventos regionales más pequeños guiados por los principios de Burning Man, en los Estados Unidos y a nivel internacional.

La película Stalker de Tarkovski influyó mucho en la Cacophony Society , que comenzó en 1986 en el área de la Bahía de San Francisco y que organizaba "Viajes por zonas" para los participantes. ^[10]

La primera quema de un hombre simbólico de madera en el desierto de Black Rock , Nevada , ocurrió en el "Viaje a la zona número 4" en 1990. Esta ocasión se convirtió en un enorme festival anual de arte, música y cultura llamado Burning Man. ^{[10] [11]}

Burning Man comenzó como un ritual de hogueras en el solsticio de verano . La escultora Mary Grauberger, amiga de la novia de Larry Harvey, Janet Lohr, celebró reuniones de hogueras de solsticio en Baker Beach durante varios años antes de 1986, a algunas de las cuales Harvey asistió. Cuando Grauberger dejó de organizarlas, Harvey "tomó la antorcha", con el permiso de Grauberger, y se puso a ello. ^[12] Él y Jerry James construyeron la primera efigie de madera el 21 de junio de 1986, improvisada con madera de desecho, para ser quemada esa noche. El 22 de junio, Harvey, James y algunos amigos se reunieron en Baker Beach en San Francisco ^{[13] [14]} y quemaron un hombre de madera de 8 pies de alto (2,4 m) y un perro de madera más pequeño. Harvey luego describió su inspiración para quemar estas efigies como un acto espontáneo de "autoexpresión radical". ^[12] En 1987, el Hombre creció hasta 15 pies (5 m) de altura, y en 1988, había crecido hasta 30 pies (9 m). ^{[15] [16]}

En 1988, Harvey nombró formalmente al ritual del solsticio de verano "Burning Man" (Hombre Ardiente ) titulando así los folletos que anunciaban el acontecimiento. Al parecer, esto se hizo para evitar las referencias al " hombre de mimbre ", la supuesta práctica pagana celta de quemar sacrificios vivos en jaulas de mimbre con forma humana. Harvey ha dicho que no había visto la película de culto de 1973 The Wicker Man hasta muchos años después y que no inspiró la acción. ^{[15] [17]}

En 1990, Kevin Evans y John Law planearon un evento independiente en la remota y en gran parte desconocida playa , conocida como Black Rock Desert , a unas 110 millas (180 km) al norte de Reno , Nevada. ^[18] Evans lo concibió como una zona autónoma temporal dadaísta con esculturas para quemar y arte escénico situacionista . Le pidió a John Law, quien también tenía experiencia en el lago seco y fue un fundador definitorio de la Cacophony Society , que asumiera las funciones centrales de organización de los eventos. En el boletín de la Cacophony Society, se anunció como Zone Trip No. 4, A Bad Day at Black Rock (inspirado en la película de 1955 del mismo nombre ).

Mientras tanto, la quema del solsticio en Baker Beach fue interrumpida por la policía del parque por no tener permiso. Después de llegar a un acuerdo para levantar al Hombre pero no para quemarlo, los organizadores del evento lo desmontaron y lo devolvieron al terreno baldío donde había sido construido. Poco después, las piernas y el torso del Hombre fueron cortados con una motosierra y las piezas removidas cuando el espacio fue alquilado inesperadamente como estacionamiento. El Hombre fue reconstruido, dirigido por Dan Miller, el entonces compañero de casa de Harvey durante muchos años, justo a tiempo para llevarlo al Viaje de Zona No. 4. ^[19]

Michael Mikel, otro cacofonista activo, se dio cuenta de que los participantes que no estuvieran familiarizados con el entorno del lago seco se beneficiarían de la ayuda de personas conocedoras que les ayudaran a asegurarse de que no se perdieran en el profundo lago seco y se arriesgaran a la deshidratación y la muerte. Tomó el nombre de Danger Ranger y creó los Black Rock Rangers para ayudarlos. Así, Black Rock City comenzó como una confraternidad, organizada por Law y Mikel, basada en las ideas de Evans y Grauberger, junto con el hombre simbólico de Harvey y James. Basándose en su experiencia en el negocio de los carteles y en la escultura de luz, Law preparó tubos de neón personalizados para el Hombre a partir de 1991 para que pudiera verse como un faro que ayudara a la navegación nocturna mucho antes de que se planificaran carreteras.

En sus primeros años, la comunidad creció gracias al boca a boca, todos eran considerados participantes (y generalmente no se los invitaba hasta que se esperaba que lo fueran) por su contribución al ambiente cacofónico situacionista. No había artistas ni intérpretes pagados ni programados, no había separación entre el arte y la vida ni entre el espacio artístico y el espacio vital, no había reglas más allá de "no interferir en la experiencia inmediata de nadie" y "no se permiten armas en el campamento central".

1991 marcó el primer año en que el evento tuvo un permiso legal a través de la BLM (la Oficina de Administración de Tierras ). ^[20] También fue el año en que la modelo de arte y bailarina de fuego (y más tarde la primera directora de arte de Burning Man) Crimson Rose asistió al evento. ^[21] 1992 vio el nacimiento de un evento cercano más pequeño e intensivo llamado "Desert Siteworks", concebido y dirigido por William Binzen y coproducido (en 1993 y '94) con Judy West. ^[22] Hubo alrededor de 20 participantes el primer año, y aproximadamente 100 en el segundo y tercer año. El evento anual, de varias semanas de duración, se llevó a cabo durante el solsticio de verano en varias fuentes termales fértiles que rodeaban el desierto. Los participantes construyeron arte y participaron en actuaciones autodirigidas. ^[23]

Algunos organizadores clave de Burning Man también formaban parte de Desert Siteworks (Law, Mikel) y Binzen era amigo de Harvey. Por lo tanto, los dos eventos vieron mucha polinización cruzada de ideas y participantes. ^[23] El proyecto Desert Siteworks duró tres años (1992-1994). 1996 fue el primer año en que se creó una asociación formal para poseer el nombre "Burning Man" y también fue el último año en que el evento se llevó a cabo en medio del desierto de Black Rock sin una valla alrededor.

Antes de que el evento se abriera al público en 1996, un trabajador llamado Michael Furey murió en un accidente de motocicleta ^[24] mientras viajaba desde Gerlach, Nevada , al campamento de Burning Man en el desierto de Black Rock. Harvey insistió en que la muerte no había ocurrido en Burning Man, ya que las puertas aún no estaban abiertas. Otra pareja fue atropellada en su tienda de campaña por un coche de arte que se dirigía al "campamento rave", que en ese momento estaba lejos del campamento principal. Después del evento de 1996, Law rompió con Burning Man y dijo públicamente que el evento no debería continuar.

1997 marcó otro año decisivo para el evento. Tuvo que ser trasladado porque se le negó el permiso a Black Rock para el evento de 1997. Un equipo que realizaba pruebas de velocidad en tierra tenía un permiso conflictivo que prevaleció. Fly Ranch, con el lecho seco del lago Hualapai adyacente más pequeño, justo al oeste del desierto de Black Rock, fue elegido como la ubicación alternativa. Esto trasladó a Burning Man del condado de Pershing/tierra federal BLM a la jurisdicción del condado de Washoe , lo que trajo consigo una larga lista de requisitos de permiso. ^[25]

Para cumplir con los nuevos requisitos y gestionar la mayor carga de responsabilidad, los organizadores formaron Black Rock City LLC con la ayuda de "Biz Babe" Dana Harrison . Will Roger Peterson y Flynn Mauthe crearon el Departamento de Obras Públicas (DPW) para construir el diseño de la cuadrícula de la "ciudad", un requisito para que los vehículos de emergencia pudieran ser dirigidos a una "dirección", diseñada por Rod Garrett, un arquitecto. Garrett continuó como diseñador de la ciudad hasta su muerte, en 2011, a los 76 años. También se le atribuye el diseño de todas las bases de Man desde 2001 hasta 2012, la cafetería del campamento central y el primer campamento. ^[26] En 1998 se regresó al desierto de Black Rock, aunque no a la playa profunda, junto con una valla perimetral temporal. El evento ha permanecido allí desde entonces.

A medida que la población de Black Rock City fue creciendo, la BLM añadió más restricciones y se hicieron cambios en la forma de invitar a la gente al evento, en particular la incorporación de la venta de entradas en línea para todos los asistentes, y se establecieron más normas relativas a su supervivencia. Algunos críticos de la fase posterior del evento afirman que estas normas afectan a las libertades y principios originales, y reducen el alcance de la experiencia de forma inaceptable, mientras que muchos asistentes más nuevos consideran que el aumento del nivel de actividad compensa con creces los cambios:

• Una estructura de calle en cuadrícula. ^[27]
• Un límite de velocidad de 5 mph (8 km/h). ^[28]
• Prohibición de circulación, salvo para los "vehículos mutantes" y los vehículos de servicio homologados. ^[29]
• Normas de seguridad en vehículos mutantes. ^[28]
• La quema de cualquier obra de arte debe realizarse en una plataforma de quema aprobada. ^[30]
• Prohibición de los fuegos artificiales. ^[31]
• Prohibición de animales. ^[32]

Otra restricción notable para los asistentes es la valla de plástico temporal de 14,8 km de largo ^{[33] que rodea el evento y define el pentágono de tierra utilizado por el evento en el borde sur del lago seco Black Rock. [34]} Esta barrera de 1,2 metros de alto se conoce como la "valla de basura" porque su uso inicial era atrapar los escombros arrastrados por el viento que pudieran escaparse de los campamentos durante el evento. Desde 2002, el área más allá de esta valla no ha sido accesible para los participantes de Burning Man durante el evento. ^[35]

Un visitante que sufrió quemaduras accidentales en el evento de 2005 demandó sin éxito a Black Rock City LLC en el Tribunal Superior del Condado de San Francisco . El 30 de junio de 2009, el Tribunal de Apelaciones de California para el Primer Distrito confirmó la concesión de sentencia sumaria del tribunal de primera instancia a Black Rock City LLC sobre la base de que las personas que caminan deliberadamente hacia The Man después de que se enciende asumen el riesgo de quemarse con un objeto tan peligroso. ^[36]

En diciembre de 2013, ^[37] Black Rock City LLC se convirtió en una subsidiaria de una nueva entidad sin fines de lucro conocida como Burning Man Project , aunque este fue un movimiento controvertido entre los fundadores. ^[38]

El 3 de septiembre de 2017, ^[39] un hombre de 41 años, Aaron Joel Mitchell, se abrió paso a través de un cordón de seguridad de voluntarios y bomberos y se arrojó a las llamas del Hombre. Mitchell murió al día siguiente debido a un paro cardíaco, shock corporal y quemaduras de tercer grado en el 97% de su cuerpo. Su muerte fue declarada suicidio. ^{[40] [41] [42]}

El 10 de abril de 2020, el Proyecto Burning Man anunció que Burning Man se canceló para 2020 ^[43] debido a la pandemia de COVID-19 , lo que convirtió a 2020 en el primer año en que Burning Man no se llevó a cabo desde su inicio. Luego decidieron ofrecer reembolsos de entradas a pesar de que las entradas se vendieron explícitamente como no reembolsables. ^[44]

El 7 de septiembre de 2020, aproximadamente 1000 Burners celebraron en la Ocean Beach de San Francisco . La alcaldesa de San Francisco, London Breed, tuiteó sobre el evento: "Esto fue imprudente y egoísta. No están celebrando, sino poniendo en riesgo la vida de las personas y nuestro progreso. Nadie es inmune a la propagación del virus". ^[45] Varios miles también se presentaron en el desierto de Black Rock para un evento no oficial y algunos lo describieron como un regreso a los "viejos tiempos". ^{[46] [47]}

El evento de 2021 se canceló el 27 de abril de 2021 debido a la continuación de la pandemia de COVID-19. A pesar de los avances en la vacunación, los organizadores dijeron que "las incertidumbres que deben resolverse son imposibles de resolver en el tiempo que tenemos". ^[48] El 14 de mayo de 2021, Burning Man Project lanzó entradas en su sitio web para eventos en línea programados entre el 22 de agosto y el 7 de septiembre de 2021. ^[49]

El evento no oficial fue más grande que el de 2020, con una asistencia estimada de 20.000 personas. Fue coordinado de manera informal por una variedad de grupos, incluidos Black Rock Plan B y Rogue Burn. La Oficina de Gestión de Tierras implementó restricciones que incluían la prohibición de estructuras que no fueran estructuras de sombra y la prohibición de hacer fuegos que no fueran fogatas. Hubo una exhibición masiva de drones iluminados que delineaban al Hombre en lugar de la quema de una efigie del Hombre. ^[50]

El fin de semana del Día del Trabajo, en el evento Burning Man 2023 hubo lluvias e inundaciones posteriores, y se impidió el movimiento de vehículos por todo el lugar. ^{[51] [52]} Los organizadores organizaron algún servicio celular y compartieron una Guía de supervivencia para playas mojadas de 2023: "no se permite conducir hasta que se seque la superficie de la playa, con la excepción de los servicios de emergencia... Se anima a los participantes a conservar alimentos, agua y combustible, y a refugiarse en un espacio cálido y seguro" y les contaron a los asistentes sobre Burning Man Information Radio (BMIR) 94.5 FM y Gate Information Radio Station (GARS) 95.1. ^[53] Una persona murió después de la inundación y miles más quedaron varadas. ^[54]

El 25 de agosto de 2024, el primer día del festival Burning Man 2024, una participante femenina murió. ^{[55] [56]} El 26 de agosto, se informó que las entradas para el festival permanecieron sin venderse por primera vez desde 2011. ^[57]

Se informó de una tormenta de polvo épica el último día del evento, lo que paralizó el tráfico de salida con filas que duraron más de cuatro horas.

Las estadísticas a continuación ilustran el crecimiento tanto en la escala como en el alcance de Burning Man en términos de ubicación, altura de la escultura central del Hombre, población, precio de la entrada y varios campamentos y arte registrados.

Después de comenzar con 8 pies (2,4 m) y crecer más alto cada uno de los siguientes tres años, la altura del Hombre titular se mantuvo en 40 pies (12 m) entre 1989 y 2013. Durante esos años, los cambios en el tamaño y la forma de la base sobre la que se encontraba el Hombre de madera explicaron las diferentes alturas de las estructuras generales. ^[58] En 2014, la construcción del Hombre cambió a una figura de 105 pies (32 m) de altura parada directamente en el suelo sin base. De 2015 a 2019, el Hombre volvió a medir 40 pies (12 m) de altura.

El recuento de la población es una estipulación del Permiso Especial de Recreación (SRP, por sus siglas en inglés) otorgado al Proyecto Burning Man, anteriormente Black Rock City, LLC (BRC), por la BLM, para el evento cada año. Originalmente se utilizaba para calcular las tarifas, pero ahora se utiliza para garantizar que el evento no supere la población máxima autorizada, tal como se especifica en el SRP. No todos los asistentes al evento están incluidos en el recuento de la población. Están exentos del recuento el personal y los contratistas del gobierno; sin embargo, esto ha cambiado con el tiempo.

El recuento de la población se utilizó originalmente para calcular las tasas que se debían pagar a la BLM. No pasó mucho tiempo hasta que la BLM comenzó a considerar la posibilidad de poner un límite al número de personas que podrían asistir al evento. Esto se convirtió en un punto de discordia ya en 1998, cuando la BLM propuso una fórmula de uso complicada, que limitaba efectivamente el tamaño del evento al del año anterior. ^{[140] [141]}

A partir de 2006, el SRP estipuló que BRC gestionara "las ventas de entradas de manera que la población máxima del evento no aumentara más del 6% por encima de la población más alta registrada en un año anterior". ^{[70] : 1} Las tarifas se basaron en los recuentos diarios de población de Black Rock City al mediodía. ^{[70] : 12} Este fue el primer año en el que se eximieron explícitamente las tarifas para el personal de BRC. ^{[70] :  12} .

En 2011, la estructura de tarifas cambió para basarse en el ingreso bruto ajustado y ya no estaba vinculada a los recuentos diarios de población. ^{[142] : 5}

The 2012 SRP further defined who was to be counted in population counts. The term "participant" was introduced, as defined in that year's Environmental Assessment (EA), to include "all attendees of the event, including paid participants and volunteers. The population does not include government personnel, Humboldt General Hospital emergency service providers, vendors and contractors."^{[143]: 2–1} The maximum authorized population now applied to "participants".^[85]: 1

In 2014, volunteers were explicitly exempted from the population count and the population cap was further refined to now apply to "paid participants".^[93]: 1

In 2019, the definition of "population" changed again, this time to include BRC staff and volunteers, now collectively referred to as "attendees".^[117]: 1 This coincided with the necessity of a new Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the 2019-2028 SRP application which introduced this change in definition.^{[144]: ES-1} The Burning Man Project reported a population of 78,850 for that year, an increase of about 8,600 people from the previous year, noting that "everyone" was now being counted in the maximum population count.^[145] This roughly correlates with the Burning Man Project's 2019 Form 990 disclosure which states it employs 986 people and has 10,000 volunteers.^[146]: 1

In 2022, an additional restriction on the total number of attendees for the entirety of the event was introduced. "The cumulative maximum authorized population for the 2022 event is 87,000 total attendees." The maximum number of attendees on the playa at any one time remained as it was in 2019 at 80,000.^[130]: 1

Because of the variety of goals fostered by participatory attendees, known as "Burners," Burning Man does not have a single focus. Features of the event are subject to the participants and include community, artwork, absurdity, decommodification and revelry. Participation is encouraged.^[147][148]

The Burning Man event and its affiliated communities are guided by 10 principles meant to evoke the cultural ethos that has emerged from the event. They were originally written by Larry Harvey in 2004^[149] as guidelines for regional organizing, then later became universal criteria of the general culture of the multifaceted movement. The 10 Principles are:^[150]

• radical inclusion
• gifting
• decommodification
• radical self-reliance
• radical self-expression
• communal effort
• civic responsibility
• leaving no trace
• participation
• immediacy

The descriptions in quotes are the actual text:

"Anyone may be a part of Burning Man. We welcome and respect the stranger. No prerequisites exist for participation in our community." This was written with a broad stroke for general organizing, meaning anyone is welcome to the Burning Man culture. Prerequisites for the Burning Man^[150] event are: participants are expected to provide for their own basic needs, follow the guidelines in the annually updated event "survival guide", and purchase a $475 ticket to get in.^[151]

"Burning Man is devoted to acts of gift-giving. The value of a gift is unconditional. Gifting does not contemplate a return or an exchange for something of equal value." Instead of cash, burners are encouraged to rely on a gift economy, a sort of potlatch. In the earliest days of the event, an underground barter economy also existed, in which burners exchanged "favors" with each other. While this was originally supported by the Burning Man organization, it is now largely discouraged. Instead, burners are encouraged to give one another gifts unconditionally.

"To preserve the spirit of gifting, our community seeks to create social environments that are unmediated by commercial sponsorships, transactions, or advertising. We stand ready to protect our culture from such exploitation. We resist the substitution of consumption for participatory experience." No cash transactions are permitted between burners. Cash can be used for a select few charity, fuel, and sanitation vendors as follows:^[152]

• Café beverages such as coffee, chai, lemonade, etc., which are sold at Center Camp Café, operated by the organizers of the event.^[153] Citing cost, decreased need, environmental impact, and decommodification, beverage sales were halted in 2022.^[154]
• Ice sales benefit the local Gerlach-Empire school system.^[155]
• Tickets for the shuttle bus to the nearest Nevada communities of Gerlach and Empire which is operated by a contractor not participating in the event: Green Tortoise.^[156]
• A reentry wristband, which allows a person to leave and reenter the event and may be purchased at the gate upon exit.^[157]
• An airport use fee, payable at the airport upon first entry.^[158]
• Diesel and biodiesel sold by third-party contractors.
• RV dump service and camp graywater disposal service.^[159]
• Private portable toilets and servicing, which can be arranged with the official contractor.

"Burning Man encourages the individual to discover, exercise, and rely on his or her inner resources." The event's harsh environment and remote location require participants to be responsible for their subsistence. Since the LLC forbids most commerce, participants must be prepared and bring all their own supplies with the exception of the items stated in Decommodification.^[160] Public portable toilets are also available throughout the city; some of these are, like art cars, decorated in imaginative ways by volunteers.^[161]

"Radical self-expression arises from the unique gifts of the individual. No one other than the individual or a collaborating group can determine its content. It is offered as a gift to others. In this spirit, the giver should respect the rights and liberties of the recipient." Burners are encouraged to express themselves in a number of ways through various art forms and projects. The event is clothing-optional and public nudity is common, though not practiced by the majority.^{[162][163][164]}

"Our community values creative cooperation and collaboration. We strive to produce, promote and protect social networks, public spaces, works of art, and methods of communication that support such interaction." Burners are encouraged to work with and help one another.^[165]

"We value civil society. Community members who organize events should assume responsibility for public welfare and endeavor to communicate civic responsibilities to participants. They must also assume responsibility for conducting events in accordance with local, state and federal laws."

"Our community respects the environment. We are committed to leaving no physical trace of our activities wherever we gather. We clean up after ourselves and endeavor, whenever possible, to leave such places in a better state than when we found them."

"Our community is committed to a radically participatory ethic. We believe that transformative change, whether in the individual or in society, can occur only through the medium of deeply personal participation. We achieve being through doing. Everyone is invited to work. Everyone is invited to play. We make the world real through actions that open the heart." People are encouraged to participate, rather than observe.

"Immediate experience is, in many ways, the most important touchstone of value in our culture. We seek to overcome barriers that stand between us and a recognition of our inner selves, the reality of those around us, participation in society, and contact with a natural world exceeding human powers. No idea can substitute for this experience."

The Temple is the secondary major recurring art installation at Burning Man after the Man, and is considered just as important to the event culture. According to the Burning Man Project, "The Temple is a community shared space that is an important part of Black Rock City. It is not a temple in recognition of any religion; it's a neutral, non-denominational spiritual space where everyone can gather to share in the experience of remembering the past, honoring or cursing the present, and pondering the future to come."^[166]

The prime function of the Temple is to be a canvas upon which people can leave words and objects behind to be burned, and to serve as "a place of contemplation, a place to rest, a place of reflection, a place of rituals, weddings, reunions, etc".^[167] During the event, 400 volunteer Temple Guardians monitor the Temple 24 hours a day.^[168] The Temple is burned on the eighth and final night of the festival, following the "Man burn" on the previous night.^[166]

Source:^[169]

A hallmark of Burning Man is large-scale interactive installation art inspired by the intersection of maker culture, technology, and nature. Many works invite participation through climbing, touch, technological interfaces, or motion. At night much of the artwork is illuminated by fire or LEDs. Creative expression through art is encouraged at Burning Man in many forms. Music, performance art, and guerrilla theatre are art forms commonly presented within the camps and developed areas of the city. Artwork is placed in the open playa beyond the streets of the city. Each year hundreds of works of art, ranging from small to very large-scale, are brought to Black Rock City.

Art on the playa is assisted by a department of the Burning Man Project called the Artery, which helps artists place their art in the desert and ensures lighting to prevent collisions, burn platform to protect the integrity of the dry lake bed and that fire safety requirements are met.^[190] Art grants are available to participants via a system of curation and oversight, with application deadlines early in the year. Grants are intended to help artists produce work beyond the scope of their own means, and are generally intended to cover only a portion of the costs associated with creation of the pieces, usually requiring considerable reliance on an artist's community resources. Aggregate funding for all grants varies depending on the number and quality of the submissions (usually well over 100) but amounts to several percent (in the order of $500,000 in recent years) of the gross receipts from ticket sales. In 2006, 29 pieces were funded.

Various standards regarding the nature of the artworks eligible for grants are set by the Art Department, but compliance with the theme and interactivity are important considerations. This funding has fostered artistic communities, most notably in the Bay Area of California, the region that has historically provided a majority of the event's participants. There are active and successful outreach efforts to enlarge the regional scope of the event and the grant program.

In 2018, the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., brought art from Burning Man to the nation's capital.^[191] The exhibition took over the entire Renwick Gallery building and surrounding neighborhood. The exhibit featured room-sized installations, costumes, and jewelry, while photographs and archival materials from the Nevada Museum of Art trace Burning Man's growth and its bohemian roots.^[191]

Large-scale installations form the core of the exhibition. Individual artists and collectives featured in the exhibit include David Best, Candy Chang, Marco Cochrane, Duane Flatmo, Michael Garlington and Natalia Bertotti, Five Ton Crane Arts Collective, FoldHaus Art Collective, Scott Froschauer, HYBYCOZO, (Yelena Filipchuk and Serge Beaulieu), Android Jones, Aaron Taylor Kuffner, Christopher Schardt, Richard Wilks, and Leo Villareal.

In addition, multiple large-scale public Burning Man art installations were exhibited throughout the neighborhood surrounding the museum, for an extension of the show No Spectators: Beyond the Renwick, which included works by Jack Champion, Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson, HYBYCOZO, Laura Kimpton, Kate Raudenbush, and Mischell Riley. All outdoor works had been installed as honorarium artwork at Burning Man in years past, except for the artwork by Hybycozo. This outdoor exhibition was co-produced by a first ever collaboration with the Golden Triangle BID (Business Improvement District in Washington DC), curated by Karyn Miller.

Mutant Vehicles are purpose-built or creatively altered motorized vehicles. The term "Mutant Vehicle" was coined by organizers of the Burning Man event to delineate a type of "Art Car" that was more dramatically modified than simply decorating an existing vehicle.

Burning Man participants who wish to bring motorized mutant vehicles must submit their designs in advance to the event's own DMV or "Department of Mutant Vehicles"^[192] for consideration. If a vehicle design meets the "Mutant Vehicle Criteria,"^[193] the vehicle is invited to the event for a final physical inspection and licensing at the event. Not all designs and proposals are accepted.

The event organizers, and the DMV, have set the bar high for what it deems an acceptable MV each year, in effect capping the number of Mutant Vehicles. This is in response to constraints imposed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which grants permits to hold the event on federal property, and to participants who want to maintain a pedestrian-friendly environment. Vehicles that are minimally altered, and/or whose primary function is to transport participants, are discouraged and not invited.

One of the criteria the DMV employs to determine whether an application for a proposed Mutant Vehicle is approved is "can you recognize the base vehicle". For example, if a 1967 VW van covered with glitter, dolls' heads, and old cooking utensils can still be recognized as a VW van, the DMV would consider it an "Art Car," but it would not be sufficiently altered to meet the Mutant Vehicle Criteria.

There were over six hundred approved Mutant Vehicles at the event in 2010.

Bicycles and tricycles are popular for getting around on the dry lake. Mountain bikes are generally preferred over road bikes for riding on the dried silt, which is normally hard but becomes loose with traffic. Participants often decorate their bikes to make them unique. Since lighting on the bikes is critically important for safety at night, many participants incorporate the lighting into their decorations, using electroluminescent wire (a thin, flexible tube that glows with a neon-like effect when energized with electricity, also known as el wire) to create intricate patterns over the frame of the bike. Every night during Burning Man, thousands of people on their bikes and art cars, illuminated sculptures and stages create a unique visual effect.^[194]

Camps focusing on electronic music, often played by live DJs, began to appear in 1992, an influence of the rave culture of the San Francisco area. Terbo Ted was identified as the first ever DJ in Burning Man history, opening with a Jean Michel Jarre song played off a vinyl record.^{[citation needed]} DJs typically occupied an area on the outskirts of the Playa nicknamed the "Techno Ghetto". In later years, certain spokes of the main camp were designated for "sound camps", with limits on volume and speaker positioning, angled away from the center of Black Rock City.

To work around the rules, mutant vehicles with live DJs and large sound systems began to appear as well. A number of major electronic music camps have been well-known returnees at Burning Man, including Opulent Temple and Robot Heart. Major producers and DJs representing various eras and genres have performed at Burning Man, however DJ events or "lineups" are discouraged from being publicized in the spirit of decommdification and immediacy.

In recent years, concerns began to surface among attendees that a growing number of "mainstream" electronic dance music acts had begun to appear. In 2015, organizers established a new area known as the "Deep Playa Music Zone" (or DMZ), to serve as a new host for art cars featuring live DJs.^[195]

Black Rock City, often abbreviated to BRC, is the temporary city created by Burning Man participants. Much of the layout and general city infrastructure is constructed by Department of Public Works (DPW) volunteers who often reside in Black Rock City for several weeks before and after the event.^[196][197] The remainder of the city including theme camps, villages, art installations and individual camping are all created by participants.

The developed part of the city is arranged as a series of concentric streets in an arc composing, since 1999, two-thirds of a 1.5-mile (2.4-km) diameter circle with the Man at the center. Radial streets, sometimes called Avenues, extend from the Man to the outermost circle. The outlines of these streets are visible on aerial photographs. The "missing" third of the circle, along with the open interior, is used for art installations.

The innermost street is named the Esplanade. The remaining streets are given names to coincide with the overall theme of the burn, and ordered in ways such as alphabetical order or stem to stern, to make them easier to recall. For example, in 1999, for the "Wheel of Time" theme, and again in 2004 for "The Vault of Heaven" theme, the streets were named after the planets of the solar system. The radial streets are usually given a clock designation, for example, 6:00 or 6:15, in which the Man is at the center of the clock face. 12:00 is in the middle of the third of the arc lacking streets, usually at a bearing of 60° true from the Man.

These avenues have been identified in other ways, notably in 2002, in accordance with "The Floating World" theme, as the degrees of a compass. For example 175 degrees, and in 2003 as part of the Beyond Belief theme as adjectives ("Rational, Absurd") that caused every intersection with a concentric street, named after concepts of belief such as "Authority, Creed", to form a phrase such as "Absurd Authority" or "Rational Creed." These proved unpopular with participants due to difficulty in navigating the city without the familiar clock layout.

The Black Rock City Airport is constructed adjacent to the city, typically on its southern side (see below: § Transportation).^[198]

Center Camp is along the midline of Black Rock City, facing the Man at the 6:00 position on the Esplanade. This area serves as a central meeting place for the city and contains the Center Camp Cafe, and a number of other city operations such as camps supporting public radio (BMIR 94.5 FM), Earth Guardians, Recycling Camp, Ranger Outposts, BLM and ESD (Emergency Response), and Arctica (ice).

Villages and theme camps are along the innermost streets of Black Rock City, often offering entertainment or gifts to participants.^[199]

Theme camps are a collective of anywhere between several, to several hundred participants, representing theirselves under a unique value offering. To qualify as a "theme camp", and therefore be granted placement in BRC, you must apply through official Burning Man placement channels, and remain in good standing to be placed for future years.

Furthermore, "Villages" exist in Black Rock City and are collections of theme camps which share common values, and coordinate resources between their "village" of individual theme camps.

Theme camps and villages, as well as "open campers" who are free to camp outside of Placement boundaries, form to create an atmosphere in Black Rock City that they have collectively envisioned. As Burning Man grows it attracts an ever more diverse crowd. Subcultures form around theme camps at Black Rock City similar to what can be found in other cities.

The Burning Man event is heavily dependent on a large number of volunteers.^[200]

Black Rock City is patrolled by various local and state law enforcement agencies as well as the Bureau of Land Management Rangers. The local police issue $1,500 fines for drug use and serving alcohol to minors. Burning Man also has its own in-house group of volunteers, the Black Rock Rangers,^[201] who act as informal mediators when disputes arise.

Firefighting, emergency medical services (EMS), mental health, and communications support is provided by the volunteer Black Rock City Emergency Services Department (ESD). Three "MASH"-like stations are set up in the city: station 3, 6, and 9. Station 6 is staffed by physicians and nurses working with a contracted state licensed ALS Medical provider. Stations 3 and 9 are staffed by Black Rock City ESD personnel. While Station 3 and 9 provide emergency services and basic life support, the volunteers are generally doctors, nurses, EMTs/paramedics, and firefighters. Both station 3 and 9 have a small fire engine available in addition to a Hazardous material/Rescue truck and quick response vehicle for medical emergencies.

In documents from February 2013 first made public in August 2015, it was revealed that in August 2010, the Federal Bureau of Investigation had sent a memo to its field offices in Nevada stating that it would patrol Burning Man to "aid in the prevention of terrorist activities and intelligence collection". Although a threat assessment performed by the FBI determined that drug usage and crowd control were the only major threats to Burning Man, the Bureau still sent an unspecified number of undercover agents to the event, with "no adverse threats or reactions".^{[citation needed]}

From the very beginning on Baker Beach, to 1991 when Burning Man was set into its desert home, there was no real organizational structure to the city. According to Rod Garrett, designer of Black Rock City, "The original form of the camp was a circle. This was not particularly planned, but formed instinctively from the traditional campfire circle and the urge to 'circle the wagons' against the nearly boundless space." This didn't work much longer, as attendance was reaching into the hundreds, and such a large gathering required some planning.^[16][202]

The Bureau of Land Management took notice of the event, and required that plans be drawn up to maintain safety. They required the Burn to be registered as an official event. In response, four cardinal roads were added emanating from center camp. The Man was located 100 yd (91 m) west of Center camp, due to the camp being oriented with the path of the sun across the sky, as opposed to north-to-south. The center circle from the birth of the event was maintained.

In 1993, the first sound camp was opened. It was known as the Techno Ghetto, and it was located two miles north of Center Camp. It was not a usual theme camp, but was instead a mini hub on its own. There was a small "center camp" with a message board and Port-a-potties. The center was surrounded by a circle of camping area 1,200 ft (370 m) across. Six massive sound systems faced out from the circle.^[203] The Techno Ghetto was placed separately to keep the 'rave' out of the main event. As time has progressed, music has become more and more closely tied into the core culture of Burning Man, even spawning a unique genre known as Playa Tech.^[204]

With the population growing to 8,000 in 1996, more structure was essential to both appease the Bureau of Land Management and to maintain safety. A ring around Center Camp, named Ring Road, was added to provide for a second circle of theme camps. The eastern section of the circle around Center Camp, in a cone shape, was declared a "No Man's Land", devoid of all art installations and campsites. The goal was to provide a picturesque view from Center Camp of the Man in the distance. In addition to the camps circling the center, there were camps lining the outside of the No Man's Land cone.

The techno ghetto had its last year in 1996. Regardless, the spark of music had ignited, and other sound camps followed.

In 1997 Burning Man was relocated off of the Playa to the Hualapai Flat, due to political problems with Washoe County. Black Rock City truly became a city in 1997, with formal, labeled streets, zoning, and registration for vehicles and theme camps. Rod Garret was brought on board as the lead designer of Black Rock City from then on.^[205] In his design, Center Camp remained the starting point, with two angular arms reaching out on either side to form a shallow "V" shape around the Man. These main arms consisted of six annular roads, and two outlying plazas. 1997 was the first year of a Ranger-patrolled perimeter, and the first year of one entry gate.

Burning Man returned to the playa in 1998, and the basis of the modern layout was implemented. The idea was to "recreate some of the intimacy of our original camping circle, but on a much larger civic scale". Rod Garret's design smoothed out the angular "V" from 1997 and implemented the arc. In 1998, it stretched less than half-way around the circle. The radial streets were numbered North 1–20 and South 1–20, instead of the modern clock face system of names such as 11:30 or 5:15. There were four large plazas, each occupied by a major theme camp.

In 1999, for the Wheel of Time theme, the great arc of the city was expanded to the full 240° (2⁄3 of a circle) that it is today. The streets were renumbered to correspond to a clock face. The Man was in the center, Center Camp at 6:00, and streets every 30 minutes (15°) 2:00 through 10:00.

2000 saw the introduction of the Temple as a fixture on the playa, and it has grown to be easily as important as the Man. It was placed at 12:00 out in the deep playa in the open third of the circle. 2000 introduced the concept of a loud side. A quiet side was replaced by the rule that large scale sound camps would be placed at the 10:00 and 2:00 edges, facing out into the deep playa.^[206]

Extra annular streets have been added, as need has increased.

In 2011, extra radial streets were added, from G street out, to make outer-city navigation easier. These streets were added at intervals of fifteen minutes.

Highway 34 provides access to the main entrance to Black Rock City. The highway connects to Highway 447 north of Gerlach, which then runs south to Highway 427 in Wadsworth near Interstate 80.^[207]

Vehicles then proceed from the Highway 34 entrance north to the main gate via Gate Road, a desert dirt road with a speed limit of 10 mph. All vehicles driving into the city must have the appropriate vehicle pass. All occupants are required to have valid tickets in order to get in. Vehicles are searched for any items that are prohibited in the city. For those who have their tickets held at Will Call, the booths are located between the Highway 34 entrance and the main gate.^[208]

All tickets and vehicle passes must be bought in advance. They are not directly sold outside the gate or at the Will Call booths.^[208][209] Unless they have a valid early arrival pass for the pre-event set up, any vehicle who arrives before the gate opens is turned away and told to go back to Reno, and not to wait along the side of the road on either Highways 34 or 447, which would be a safety hazard, nor stay in Gerlach, and overcrowd the small town.^[208]

When the Burning Man ends, and the mass exodus from Black Rock City begins, a road traffic control procedure called "Pulsing" is used to direct vehicles out of the city. At regular intervals, usually an hour during the peak periods, all vehicles are "pulsed" forward all at once for about a mile along Gate Road. This allows vehicles to stop and turn off their engines, while those at the southernmost mile of the multi-lane Gate Road slowly merge and then turn onto the two-lane Highway 34.^[210]

The airport with regular commercial service closest to the event is the Reno–Tahoe International Airport in Reno, Nevada, over two hours' drive away. In 2018 an estimated 18,000 burners arrived and departed through Reno's airport for the event, giving the airport an $11 million boost. Inside the airport that year, a Burning Man-specific information table was created and placed near the baggage claim area.^[211]

San Francisco International Airport, nearly six hours away by car, is the nearest airport with a high volume of international service. Other prominent airports, albeit with less international passenger traffic and more domestic services, are Sacramento International Airport, a 4.5 hour drive from Black Rock City, as well as other Bay Area airports such as Oakland International Airport and San Jose International Airport.

Salt Lake City International Airport, serving Salt Lake City, Utah, and Harry Reid International Airport, serving Las Vegas, Nevada, are both an 8.5 hour drive to Black Rock City.

A section of the Playa is used for a temporary airport, which is set up before each event and completely erased afterward.^[212] It serves both general aviation and charter flights. Pilots began camping there about 1995. Once compelled to add structure, in 1999, it was established in a form acceptable to the BLM through the efforts of Tiger Tiger (Lissa Shoun) and LLC board member Mr. Klean (Will Roger). In 2009, it was recognized by the FAA as a private airport and designated 88NV. It is found on the Klamath Falls Sectional, using a CTAF of 122.9 MHz.^[213]

Black Rock UNICOM and the airport are operational on that frequency from 6:00 am to 7:30 pm PDT each day during the event. The runway is simply a compacted strip of playa, and is not lighted.^[213] Because of the unique air traffic and safety issues associated with the airport, pilots are strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves with published information and procedures provided by, for example, AOPA. Because of the changes in the surface of the playa each year, information about the airport is subject to change.^[214]

There are prepaid shuttles originating in Reno and San Francisco that move participants to and from the event. During the event there was also a paid shuttle between the event and the nearby towns of Gerlach and Empire, but this has been discontinued. Exiting and reentering the event requires an additional fee, and is highly discouraged.

Participants share rides^[215] and hitchhike, although walking or bicycling into the event is not allowed.

Burning Man takes place in the middle of a large playa. While not inhabited by humans itself, the area around the playa is home to many animals and plants.^[216] Supporters of Burning Man point out that participants are encouraged to leave no trace (LNT) of their visit to Black Rock City (BRC) and to not contaminate the area with litter, commonly known as MOOP (Matter Out of Place). Despite the BLM and LLC's insistence on the practice of LNT, the amount of residual trash at the site has increased over the years.^[217]

While fire is a primary component of many art exhibits and events, materials must be burned on a burn platform.^[30] From 1990 through 1999, burning was allowed to take place directly on the surface of the playa, but this left burn scars (fired pinkish clay-like playa surface). When it was determined in 2000 that the burn scars do not dissipate with the annual winter rains and flooding, the organization declared that fires had to be elevated from the playa surface for its protection.

When it was discovered by two of the founders of the Friends of Black Rock / High Rock (Garth Elliott and Sue Weeks) and BLM Winnemucca district director Terry Reid that burn scars from prior sites (numbering 250) still remained, they were eradicated in 2000 by the DPW clean up crew headed by Dan Miller.

On the last day of the event, public shared burn areas are prepared for participants to use. It is an ongoing educational process each year to encourage participants to protect the environment and other participants by not burning toxic materials.^[218][219]

Even gray water is not to be dumped on the playa. Used shower water must be captured and either evaporated off or collected and carried home with participants or disposed of by roving septic-pumping trucks, which also service RVs. Methods used for evaporating water often include a plastic sheet with a wood frame.

The Bureau of Land Management, which maintains the desert, has very strict requirements for the event. These stipulations include trash cleanup, removal of burn scars, dust abatement, and capture of fluid drippings from participant vehicles. For four weeks after the event has ended, the Black Rock City Department of Public Works (BRC – DPW) Playa Restoration Crew remains in the desert, cleaning up after the temporary city in an effort to make sure that no evidence of the event remains.^[220]

In spite of the festival's clean up policies, Pershing County Sheriff Jerry Allen has stated that each festival "typically leaves a fair amount of detritus littered across the desert". He said that the leftover trash, including abandoned vehicles, was particularly heavy after the 2023 event.^[221]

In 2023, Burning Man filed a lawsuit against exploration of geothermal energy, a renewable green energy source, in the Nevada desert.^[222][223] Subsequently, county commissioners rescinded a permit for the geothermal energy exploration, putting the project indefinitely on halt and potentially scuttling it all together.^[224] The Burning Man organization celebrated the move.^[224]

Burning Man's carbon footprint is primarily from transportation to the remote area. The CoolingMan organization^{[clarification needed]} has estimated that the 2006 Burning Man was responsible for the generation of 27,000 tons of carbon dioxide, with 87% being from transportation to and from the location.^[225] In 2010, The Sierra Club criticized Burning Man for the "hundreds of thousands" of plastic water bottles that end up in landfills, as well as ostentatious displays of flames and explosions.^[226]

Burning Man's 2007 theme, "Green Man," received criticism for the artwork Crude Awakening, a 99-foot (30 m) oil derrick that consumed 900 U.S. gallons (3,400 L) of jet fuel and 2,000 U.S. gallons (7,600 L) of liquid propane to blast a mushroom cloud 300 feet (91 m) high into the sky.^{[227][228][229]}

In an attempt to offset some of the event's carbon footprint, 30- and 50-kilowatt solar arrays were constructed in 2007 as permanent artifacts, providing an estimated annual carbon offset of 559 tons.^[230] The Burn Clean Project is a volunteer organization that has helped replace the use of fossil fuel with biodiesel. In 2023 a group of climate activists blockaded the road into Black Rock city.^[231]

Scientists have noted "scars" on the playa, the dry lake bed the festival takes place upon, especially during rainy years. The playa hosts fairy shrimp, water fleas and tadpole shrimp eggs which hatch only after rain and which may be harmed by mechanical damage to the playa during the event. Burning Man also increases wind erosion, which changes the way that the playa absorbs rain in the future.^[232]

Burning Man has attracted a number of billionaires and celebrities, many of them from Silicon Valley and Hollywood.^[233] It has become a networking event for them,^[234] with Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk once stating that Burning Man "is Silicon Valley."^[233]

These billionaires have paid for more luxurious camps to be set up in recent years. Derisively nicknamed "plug-n-play" or "turnkey" camps, they in general consist of lavish RVs and luxury restroom trailers that are driven into the city and connected together to form de facto gated areas. These billionaires then fly in to the airport on private planes, are driven to their camps, served by hired help, nicknamed "sherpas", and sleep in air-conditioned beds.^[233] One venture capitalist billionaire threw a $16,500-per-head party at his camp.^[235] In 2017, Google employees shipped in a box of lobsters for a meal.^[236]

Despite allowing the rich to participate in Burning Man per the "radical inclusion" principle, many traditional attendees have spoken out against their exclusive practices.^[237] Larry Harvey wrote that they also conflict with the "radical self-reliance" and other principles,^[238] but has also said that permitting the wealthy to attend is beneficial to Burning Man.^[239] Vandalism that occurred at the White Ocean sound camp in 2016 was said to have been a "revolution" against these attendees, describing them as a "parasite class" or "rich parasites".^{[237][240][241][242]}

Meanwhile, the regular admission price has increased over the years. In addition, Nevada lawmakers have modified the state's entertainment and sales tax code to include nonprofit organizations like Burning Man that sell more than 15,000 tickets. As a result, an individual ticket, including taxes, cost $424 in 2016. Even tickets sold under Burning Man's low-income program are subject to these taxes.^[243] Including transportation, food, camp fees, clothing and costumes, and gifts, CNBC estimated in 2016 that the total cost of attending could range from $1,300 up to $20,000.^[244] In 2017, Money magazine estimated an average total cost of $2,348 to attend.^[245]

According to the racial makeup of Burning Man attendees in 2014, 87% of them identified themselves as White, 6% as Hispanic / Latino, 6% as Asian, 2% as Native American, and 1% as Black (figures rounded). (Nevada's population, per the 2022 census, is 51% White, 29% Hispanic, 11% Asian, 2% Native, 11% Black).^[246] When interviewed by The Guardian about these figures, Harvey replied, "I don't think Black folks like to camp as much as White folks... . We're not going to set racial quotas.... This has never been, imagined by us, as a utopian society."^[247]

While there has been criticism that Burning Man has "jumped the shark," this proposition was criticized by cultural anthropologist Graham St John in 2020, who said that Burning Man was never a utopia in the first place.^[248]

Some conservative commentators have criticized Burning Man as sinful and hedonistic. For example, Ben Shapiro writes that Burning Man's ten principles are a "paganistic morality" which cover for hedonistic acts of sex and drug use. He holds the event as an example of "countercultural garbage that eats at the roots of fundamental societal institutions" in America.^[249] Similarly, James Goll and Lou Engle write that Burning Man "exalts Satan, mocks God, and demeans Christianity" because of its nudity, open sexuality, and neo-paganism.^[250]

The terms of the Burning Man ticket require that participants wishing to use photo and video-recording equipment share a joint copyright of their images of Black Rock City with Burning Man and forbid them from using their images for commercial purposes. This has been criticized by many,^[who?] including the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).^[251][252] The amount of casual nudity at the event has significantly decreased over the years, due to the rise of ubiquitous cell phone cameras and the ability to easily upload photos to the Internet.

A Burning Man spokeswoman replied that the policies are not new, were written by a former head of the EFF, were used when suing to block pornographic videos, and ultimately arose from participant concerns: "We're proud that Black Rock City (a private event held on public land) is widely acknowledged as a bastion of creative freedom. [B]ut that protection [of participants' freedoms] does necessitate the acceptance of some general terms of engagement when it comes to cameras.... EFF seems to think that anyone attending any event somehow has an absolute right to take photographs, and then to do whatever they want with those images without any effective restriction or manner of enforcement. While we believe that such rights do make sense for any of us taking pictures in purely public spaces, this is not true in the private space of Burning Man – if it were, it would mean that Burning Man couldn't protect participant privacy or prevent commercialization of imagery."^[253]

The Burning Man organization has since worked with the EFF and with Creative Commons and other parties and has revised and clarified the photography policies.^[254]

Burning Man's popularity has encouraged other groups and organizations to hold similar events, some of which serve as an epilogue for participants.

Burners have created smaller regional events modeled on Burning Man, such as Burning Flipside in Texas; Apogaea in Colorado; Playa del Fuego in Delaware; Firefly in New England; Kiwiburn in New Zealand; Blazing Swan in Australia; Transformus in West Virginia; AfrikaBurn in South Africa; NoWhere near Zaragoza in Spain; Midburn in Israel; and many others.^[255]

Some of the events are officially affiliated with the Burning Man organization via the Burning Man Regional Network.^[256] This official affiliation usually requires the event to conform to the 10 principles and certain standards outlined by the Burning Man organization and to be accompanied by a "Burning Man Regional Contact," a volunteer with an official relationship to the Burning Man Project via a legal Letter of Agreement. The Netherlands was the first country outside the United States to have an event officially associated with Burning Man named Where the Sheep Sleep since 2016.^[257]

In exchange for conforming to these standards, the event is granted permission to officially communicate itself as a Burning Man Regional Event. The regional event organizers are enabled to exchange best practices with each other on a global level via online platforms and in-person conferences, which are partly sponsored by the Burning Man Project.

• In an episode of The Office [S06E16] Jim comments that he and his wife, Pam, conceived their child at Burning Man.^[258]
• The Man Burns Tonight: A Black Rock City Mystery, a 2005 novel by Donn Cortez [Don DeBrandt], is set at Burning Man 2003.
• The 2010 South Park episode "Coon vs. Coon and Friends" features Cartman manipulating the Dark Lord Cthulhu to do his bidding, which includes destroying Burning Man.^[259]
• Cory Doctorow's 2013 novel Homeland opens at a near-future Burning Man.^[260]
• The 2016 video game Watch Dogs 2 features the characters visiting a Burning Man-themed event.^[261]
• The Simpsons 2014 episode "Blazed and Confused" features "Blazing Guy", an event based on Burning Man, with one character even referencing "Burning Man" before correcting herself to "Blazing Guy".^[262]
• The first Google Doodle, a playful adaptation of the Google logo, announced the founders' attendance at Burning Man in 1998.^[263][264]
• The plot of the 2005 Malcolm in the Middle episode "Burning Man" takes place during the event.^[265]
• The 2007 Xavier: Renegade Angel episode "Escape from Squatopian Freedom" features protagonist Xavier going to an event known as "Burning Person".^[266]
• The 2020 song "Burningman" by Jeff Wittek, Simon Rex and Jonah.
• The festival is one of the major settings of the 2011 French-language novel Tuer le père (literally: Killing the Father) by Belgian writer Amélie Nothomb.
• The ninth and final novel of Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City series ends with many of the characters from the saga assembling at Burning Man.
• The festival was parodied in a literal sense in the third episode of the Amazon Prime Video series Sausage Party: Foodtopia, where the foods opted to sacrifice a human captive by burning him alive, complete with a music festival leading up to the main event.

• Dust & Illusions, a 2009 documentary about 30 years of Burning Man history from the perspective of 20 interviewees.
• Taking My Parents to Burning Man, a 2014 film documenting the adventures and misadventures as Bryant Boesen takes his parents on their first Burn.
• Spark: A Burning Man Story, a 2013 documentary about Burning Man, which includes behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with the founders.

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• Roberts, Adrian, ed. "Burning Man Live: 13 years of Piss Clear, Black Rock City's alternative newspaper" San Francisco: RE/Search Publications.
• St John, Graham. 2017. Blazing Grace: The Gifted Culture of Burning ManNANO: New American Notes Online, 11.
• St John, Graham. 2018. The Big Empty Aeon, 10 September.
• White, Carolyn L. 2020. The Archaeology of Burning Man: The Rise and Fall of Black Rock City. University of New Mexico Press. online review

• Official website
• Burning Man page Annual coverage from SFGate.com and the San Francisco Chronicle
• Burning Man at Curlie
• FBI file on Burning Man