Of a Temporary Nature - Black Rock City - 2017

The image links to the video

Photos are provided here.

Done.

Finally...

There will be 26 of these guys flying on the playa. 

In a steady breeze they will fill and float, 

and dance at night in glowing colors.

(click the image to see it in motion - go here for more images)

Fecundity...well, somewhat...

Although the original intent was to construct a frame that would present a full figure sans wind, the forms resisted that relative complexity, eventually shedding excess skeletal rods in favor of a looser sac.

Now the pile awaits, wondering if there will be time to add some whistles and bells (actually, eggsacs and phyllopod lobes) after the hanging armatures are complete.

Evolutionarily...

Every one of these guys has some mutation that was intended to benefit its function, but I'm still working toward some kind of productive punctuated equilibrium.

Traits appear and disappear and may reappear in a different spot but the beneficial ones will hopefully prevail.

Real fairy shrimp in motion

Simpler, still...

The more I try to impose a rigid structure, the more resistance I create. Now it seems the forms will be simpler still, and depend much more upon the flowing wind than rigid spine.

More images along the way.

This is getting real...

With this year's rain, there was a substantial hatch of real fairy shrimp on the playa!

From our friends at BLM:

Meanwhile progress in an ongoing process in creating the totem sailors.

Here lies loosely structured documentation of inherent ineptitude hopeful yielding to eventual success.  

Two phyllopods forward, one phyllopod back...

Simplicity is not Simple

As I began to make the initial form and rods it became clear that simplicity is key.

After many failed attempts to at multi-pieced modular constructions, the best method appeared to be to simply put the things on  bamboo sticks, as originally planned.

The fairy shrimps know this. They stick to their plan.

They have survival and existence down to simple science.

Ritual

The art theme of this year's Burning Man is Radical Ritual.

Although some may rave against it, I'm all for it myself.

I suspect there will be a ritual spew eventually within this blog, if I ever amble up the gumption, but so far I've found myself involved in a ritual that I didn't even realize until now.

Before I do something of personal importance, I need a sense of accomplishment that is usually found through ritualistic tidying or cleaning. The bigger the project, the more ritual involved. No smudging of sage, though I do like the smell, but simply the do of some practical chore.

This is nothing new though. Cleansing rituals are fairly common, no matter what your spiritual slant.

Since my current list of ritual chores seems to be never ending, I need to go ahead and start building these fairy shrimps, regardless.

Not very Streptocephalus ...

...but it will do just fine.

I am excited, bewildered, and grateful.

What if tiny playa denizens suddenly danced in the sky on a scale that is similar whales? 

"Of a Temporary Nature" presents a giant brood of fairy shrimp to celebrate the magic and beauty of these usually unnoticed, indigenous inhabitants and the simple celebratory lessons they may impart.

The stylized sea monkeys first appear as a ghostly dance of mysterious forms. From a distance they may entice one to wonder what lies ahead, as the school of similar shapes appear vaguely familiar and possibly yet foreign. 

As we draw near they may now appear as intriguing possibilities, and we may even recognize them for what they represent, the anostracan genus Branchinecta, the indigenous fairy shrimps of Black Rock Desert. 

This year the flooded playa gave rise to an enormous emergence of these miraculous creatures, and these enlarged residuals may remind us of our own preciously fleeting existence.

These fairy shrimp are constructed of rip-stop nylon and fiberglass rods, and float as fixed kites from bamboo poles. This installation is specifically created of creatures from the playa for creatures on the playa to be hopefully engaged through visual enjoyment and environmental interaction. During the day they sparkle in the sun shine while at night they glow with the light of a continuously changing spectrum.

The simultaneously sinuous action of the similar forms creates a sense of immediate community and cooperation. They dance in unison with the wind, similar in direction and undulation, and invite us to join in the flow. When there is no wind, there is simply limp rest, and maybe some slight shade to sit within. There is no function here other than to be, to exist in our fullest for the time being, and to appreciate.

They rise and pivot above our heads to function as unusual windsocks that transcend into anostracan clouds, placing the scale of nature in reverse, as humans now stand under the domain of the lowly fairy shrimp. 

We are all of a temporary nature and we may yearn to live like fairy shrimp – to simply eat, mate, dance, and enjoy each other’s company as much as we can before our pool dries up.  

More on this as time allows.

Supported in part by a grant from Burning Man

Introducing the 2017 Black Rock City Honoraria

2017 Art Installations

Special thanks to
Priscilla Van Tries
Parker and Ian Quinn
Jean Quinn
Jim Dattilo
Noah Count
Brody Scotland
All those at Burning Man who make this happen:
Mr. Harvey et al., Katie Hazard, The Artery, DPW,
Lamplighter Village, it goes on and on ...
The Webb School - Bell Buckle:
Administration, students and colleagues
Webb's Class of 1967 and Marion Marks
Joel Hausler
Anita Van Tries
Amy Van Tries
Zack Hyde