Serendipity

Burning Man - Painting on Location with Roger Bansemer from Roger Bansemer on Vimeo.

Check out this video my stepmom sent me that her friends made about painting Center Camp at burning man! Joel walks through at 11:45 from the right. Here is my stoked correspondance to my fam about it:

I'm really enjoying this video. I can not get enough of Bman memorobilia. I can't tell you how important this event, this culture, is to me in my life. And do you believe it, the camera man caught Joel walking by at the end of dude's painting! at about 11:45 in the movie, right after the guy says he's done with his painting of center camp! Joel comes in from the right. He's a bit chubby with kaki shorts a dark t-shirt, kaki bandana on his head, his back pack. This sort of magical serendipity is sooo common at Bman, I can't tell you. I mean there are over 50,000 people in Black Rock City. It is the largest city in Nevada, bigger than Reno or Carson, while it exists for that week. So for Joel to walk by in this little video that my step mom sends me, that their friends made in NC, is kinda crazy. It just shows the incredible serendipitous connection we all have with one another, or something weird like that.

There are only 2 items you can purchase with real world money at Bman, coffee and ice. Everything else you need to bring with you, or your neighbors share it with you. Center camp is where you get the coffee. Its open 24/7. Its also a major place to meet up with friends because its easy to find, centrally located, and easy to hang out waiting for a long time; its impossible to be prompt at burning man. There are couches, events, little art projects to get involved with, its shady and protected some what from the wind and dust storms. Its a place you can feel very safe any hour of the day or night. There are performances on a stage 24/7, open mike, poetry, lectures, rock bands, etc.

In the very center of the center camp tent, which you can see in the background of his art demo, is a space for yoga, contact yoga, dance, any kind of movement really. There is a "ball of poo," (not shown) a bunch of winney the poo stuffed animals sewn into a big ball a bit bigger than a pilates ball, which is fun to tackle and roll around with, there are cushions and pillows against a short wall all surrounding the yoga/dance pit where I and everyone, like to enjoy my coffee watching people play in the yoga pit, or cat nap in the heat of the day (its hard to sleep or do anything at your own camp in the middle of the day, so hot;) its so constantly busy that the hub bub makes a soothing white noise and maybe all the pillows and couches absorb sound, so its really pleasant to nap here when you haven't been able to sleep anywhere else for awhile. Its really hard to sleep at bman, because there is just so much exciting stuff going on 24/7, especially at night while the weather is cold and all the lights go up. There is such an electric vibe everywhere like NYC.

I had to share this with you even before finishing the movie because it was so cool to see joel walking by. I'll finish watching and probably add more commentary.

happy b-day Mark, by the way.
You're welcome to join us at B-man anytime. I got your water, food, bike, and shelter covered, you just gotta get your ticket and fly to Reno. I think its the best way to get a job at Google, because I heard the event is as important to the guy who runs google as it is to me. They have a big camp and trapeze teaching set up.

Date: Sun, 11 Jul 2010 19:43:50 -0700
From: XXXXXX
Subject: Fw: (you guys've got to see this)
To: XXXXXX

All I've got to say is, "hey, this is crazy, man!"

Roger and Sarah Bansemer are artists who live near H'ville part of the year. They went to Burning Man and made this video. If you need to skip the "art part," do so, but YA GOTTA SEE THE "CARS"!! (including the very last one!)

I will add here; not without emense enthusiasm, a choked up sentimental tear in my eye, no hint of stuck up "been there done that" feeling whatsoever; I have in fact seen all of these art cars already, in person, some of them spitting fire, I've jumped on a lot of them including your friends' "never been" train car. All art cars at Bman are required to let people on and take them along to where ever they are headed within the limits of their carrying capacity. This is a major part of the whole thing. This is a major activity you do daily at bman. You check out the cool art cars, you jump on them while parked and look around, praise the artist, chat with them about their vision and inspiration, you can wait till they leave or you can try to flag one down that is already moving across the playa, like a taxi, or just appreciate them as sculpture while they are parked. They are a cooling reprieve from riding your bike or walking in the hot sun. You give up your own agenda or plan, lock up your bike to something stationary, not knowing when you will see it again or how you will get back to it. You go wherever the driver feels like driving. They drive very slowly so as not to kick up excess dust, or run over bikers, walkers, dancers, stilters, or hoopers, 5-10 mph? At sundown every eve, most of the art cars gather along the esplanade or surround major meeting points, like the Temple or the Man, to pick up riders, and to show off their finery, like a parade. Many are associated with a major camp that has its own huge community and humongous art piece out on the playa, so its main objective is to drive its camp mates and you to and from places towards their own art piece, their party, their djs. There is often a dj spinning and a party on the actual art car while it is driving. Most of the cars may look cool during the day, or maybe not that cool, but then you "get it" when it lights up at night. This movie showed the jelly fish car, which was one of these that you can't really "get" in day light, but is so amazing at night.

Every aspect of bman is so cool you could just spend the whole week on the one thing alone and it would be a rad experience. I mean like painter dude that the movie is about, could just go daily to center camp and paint all day everyday and create so many different cool paintings, even just portraits. Or some one could just ride art cars all the time and never really bike around or walk around, like maybe a parapalegic or blind person. One of my favorite neighbors that lives out on the last perimiter street, Chuck, he spends the whole event at his own tent giving massage and holistic medicine treatments to the denizens who line up, from the time he awakes early to the time he drops at night. He only leaves occasionally for a major music concert event, or to take a short break, walk. He probably gets out like once to see some art on the playa, but really not much. He's happy with the experience that comes to him at his own shelter, providing his much needed services of physical and spiritual healing he gives to the community. He also makes awesome home made pesto from basil he grows at home, that he shares with his closest neighbors. I look forward to that pesto every year. Yeah, I think I'm camping back there, where I started in '07, perimeter street (Kuala Lumpur this year?) and 3:45* if any one wants to visit.

* The city is built circularly around the Man at the center of the Playa, which is tall so it helps you with orientation (until its burned down at the end.) The huge expanse of playa surrounds the Man; this is where a lot of the main art is, especially the BRAF funded stuff, what your tickets price helps fund. Then there is Esplanade, the main drag, where art cars parade, major camps associated with big art and interactive activities are posted. Then all the other named streets from A-K or so line up parallel. You can camp where ever you like. You park your car for the duration of the event. Put up your shelter, eat something, meet your neighbors then get on your bike and explore the city. The named streets change every year having to do with the theme of that year. Last year was "Evolve" or "Evolution" or something, so the streets were named Darwin, no not Darwin, he's already prominent on the gorgeous keepsake ticket stub, he is made out of clouds, the branches of a leafless tree form his brain super imposed in front of his cloud self. DNA was D street last year, Extinct was E, Hominid H, Jurassic J, etc. I had to ask Joel who called just now. I couldn't remember. We just agreed to go this year together again and camp together, even though we're pretty much broke up. This year the theme is "Metropolis," so the names are mostly humongoid cities around the world like Jakarta and some chinese city I never heard of. I bet there is an ancient extinct Mayan city name.

Anywhoo, I did see this year's map and K is the last street this year and that is where I'm parking. Oh, and the radial streets that cross the name streets are like a clock. They don't go all the way around the playa; they start only at 2:00 and go to 9:00 and radiate out, intersecting the name streets. That way "deep Playa" remains to be discovered, where you can find almost silence and a bit of solitude and desolation way out beyond the furthest art, no people camping out there. Art cars do go there, but not so frequently. The trash fence marks the playa end and border of burning man. Your deepest spiritual memories and connections with friends new or old often involve the sun rising after wandering all night and you've wound up at the trash fence. The trash fence catches a lot of the trash blowing, (Joel got his pink afro puff wig there.) PG&E (Perimeter, Gate and Exodus, whom I volunteer with annually) have a radar tower to watch over the land and catch people trying to sneak into or out of this fence. They want you to have a ticket but most of all they want to make sure you are O.K. People who are wandering out beyond this fence are most probably out of their mind dangerously more so than we all are at Bman. This is extremely desolate desert where humans have no business wandering or biking without the near shelter and supplies of the city. I think you are free to, but expect a Perimeter jeep to drive up to check on you and make sure you have enough water and food for your nutso mission.

I mean to share a description and antidote about my favorite art car ever, the butterfly. But its nearly 3p and I should get on with my day. It deserves its own entry anyway I s'pose. I'll add a little research about the lepidoptera camp and their mission that I don't know about yet. yeah...