Burning Life Report – Lamplighters, Art Builds and University Art Class

The last few days have given me the opportunity to explore the playa at a bit more of a leisurely pace. There is a constant stream of announcements of tours and performers going out on the groups but the one announcement I jumped on was the Lamplighter’s procession. The Lamplighters are an integral part of the real life Burning Man and so too in Burning Life. At Burning Man, they process every evening with drummers and dancers to light kerosene lamps on high spires.

This procession happens every evening at 7pm SLT in Burning Life too, starting at the Lamplighter’s village …

… proceeding up to Center Camp …

… up past The Man …

… finally ending at The Temple, where a drumming and dancing party lingers for some time.

The Lamplighter’s procession is uniquely Burning Man / Burning Life. It’s worth setting aside some time to take in. Bring a drum or some torches and be ready to dance.

Art Builds

I hadn’t really had a chance to cozy up to some of the major art builds yet, so I decided to head into the inner playa. I decided to work my way West to East, South to North.

East of the Tokyo stage I encounter a collection of imaginatively conceived and expertly crafted builds springing out of the desert. Eclectic in range and style, independently devised, they still hold together as a collection.

There is nothing lacking in the pieces as individual works however, like the towering, steam punk grandeur of the Prometheus Project by Zedra Benoir.

The open, low slung simplicity of 144 by Dekka Raymaker & Penumbra Carter explores themes in junk and scrap.

The lofty thorns of Spikes, My Friend. Don’t Get Cut by ArtCrash Exonar raise interesting points.

A zoom in to a corner of Play the Music and Dance by Carolrb Roux reveals a moment in miniature. It’s worth stopping and checking on the details.

The final stop of the day was at The Roof is Gone by Miso Susanowa and Misprint Thursday (Spring Runner, also by Miso Susanowa, is the large figure adjacent in the Burner’s Garden). I’m greeted as I approach by the artists themselves, who invite me up onto the roof for a visit and an extended chat on their build, Burning Life and virtual worlds in general.

This piece is truly fascinating, featuring an original soundtrack, insightful themes, outstanding execution and a great deal of interactivity and hidden surprises. I have put this build down on my “must revisit and explore thoroughly” list.

Art Class

It isn’t every day that someone teleports in next to you at your build and asks “Is this where Class 110 is meeting?”

So it was I discovered that the art class of Lothar Leborsk (aka Professor Genn Zucman, Cal State Univ, Long Beach) had planned a field trip to Burning Life to tour and discuss some of the builds. Fascinating. I spoke with him and a couple of his students briefly to discover that this class has a standing presence in Second Life on CAVE (Community of Academic Virtual Educators) Island.

To say I was intrigued is an understatement and I resolved to follow up with the good professor to cover their endeavors in more depth at another time.

So much more to see in Burning Life and it’s half over already. I need more time!