burning man 2017 art installations and architecture: a preview of this year's 'radical ritual'

right now, thousands of people-packed caravans are slowly making their way to nevada’s black rock desert to participate in burning man. the temporary metropolis, erected annually, draws colossal crowds of devoted ‘burners’ who come to experience spirituality, community, and art. guided by the ten principles — first documented by co-founder larry harvey in 2004 — participants build the city, and then burn it to the ground 9 days later. while the community aspect is at the core of this global cultural movement, a yearly ‘art theme’ has become an important part of the city, where creatives from across the globe take part in building monumental works across the arid landscape. as creatives prepare their installations, sculptures, observatories and participatory experiences for the event, we preview the art and architecture highlights below. 

this year’s ‘man base’, a symbolic structure that serves as an observatory and meditative space
image courtesy of the burning man journal (also main image)

this year’s theme is ‘radical ritual’, ‘an attempt to reinvent ritual in our post post-modern world,’ the burning man team describe. ‘for this purpose, we will disregard assertions of belief and concentrate instead on the immediate experience of play. beliefs contain, define, and limit meaning. they can reduce truth to a rational commodity. but play can free us to envision truths of which we have no proof or warrant. such play, as we conceive it, breaks down the distinction that divides belief from make-believe. whole-hearted and creative play induces self-surrender to experience that is beyond the scope of reasoned thought.’

rendering of ‘the temple’, burning man’s annual ‘place of refuge, mourning, and healing’

installation underway on the 18th incarnation of ‘the temple’
image by @temple_2017

‘temple’ takes shape at black rock city (the installation will later be burned as a symbolic gesture of closure)
image by @benb_sf

each of the installations are presented under the theme ‘radical ritual’ 
image by @leahwanders

‘charon’, a 30 foot zoetrope with posed skeletons on its inner edge, by peter hudson returns to burning man
image by @frequentcyclist

phoenicopterus rex by josh zubkoff, a giant flamingo-shaped observatory

‘aqueous’ by jen lewin is an interactive landscape of meandering pathways of light

peruvian-american artist dicapria is creating a 14-foot tall gummy bear light installation
see more about the project on designboom here 

panels of dicapria’s gummy bear pyramid take shape before their installation at burning man
image by @dicapriaart

tree of ténéré by alexander green, mark slee, zachary smith, and patrick deegan

the enormous ‘tree of ténéré’ is a climbable habitat filled with 25,000 LED leaves
image by @_killerwhalen_

‘the flower tower’, a cathedral devoted to happiness by kevin clark

‘bloom’ by peter hazel is a 42-foot tall glass jellyfish with huge steel and fabric tentacles floating in the wind

Save