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Perspective from the Top
In an interview with the social architect of the space, Andie Grace, we discussed the strong construct of a community oriented for these good times. Andie Grace first came to Burning Man in 1997 camping in the outer regions of walk in camp. “It never occurred to me to think there was an infrastructure,” she reminisced. Through friends, she became involved part time with the media teams and eventually became a full-time staff member by 2000. As her responsibilities grew, she has become more aware of “the philosophy and ethos” of Burning Man and spreads this knowledge to the main event and regionals.
In our conversation, I asked her if she thought the major moral principals that drive Burning Man were being met. “Well, it’s at least the intent,” she responded. She continued to explain that this year (2004) has been the first year that she has not been able to walk around and see events and themed areas for herself. Because of this, she is not able to see how her social architectural decisions, “like banning dogs or emphasizing children are welcome at the event” effect the event. In previous years, she has been able to walk around and be more of a participant where she gets “to see what people all over the world think about it and the different sides of the argument. It keeps us real.”
How did Andie become so busy?
"At the end of the week, my friend, Candice, who was then, I think the media team was five or seven people… [I told her], ‘You’ve got CNN running around here and you have no media operation…’ So, they set up a little media operation [in 1996] and in 97, it was really crazy. A Wired Magazine piece had happened a year before [and other high end press] to the point that our numbers doubled. And so, the media team must have hit “Zainsville” because Candice came home on Friday night…came home, flopped down on the couch with her voice [very dry and stressed] and she had this far away stare and she was just all worked out and I just went, “Oh…I want to do that! Sign me up!” So the next day I went down and volunteered at the media team and just became more and more involved over time."
Once Burning Man began to have mass media attention, Burning Man doubled in size in one year. This size increase directly affected the needs for the city, such as sanitation and law enforcement, which cause the ticket price to rise. Although Burning Man does not embraces corporate sponsorship, they do not shy away from publicity through corporate news entities. Organizers want the event to grow so that as many people as possible can experience the gift economy and friendly nature of the city. Regionals have been developed with the help of Andie to facilitate this for people that cannot make it to Black Rock City. With this growth, responsibility grows which makes the costs grow; yet they do not see this as a hindrance towards realizing and embracing the underlying philosophies of the event by all.
Liabilities
Liabilities are an issue for the organizers of the event. A few thought Burning Man could be held responsible for heinous acts or events in the court of law, even though the event says it is free of all liability. Last year (2003), a girl fell off an art car and was crushed by it. In the same year, a pilot forgot to put down his landing gear and crashed his airplane at the Black Rock Airport and another plane that just outright tumbled on the landing strip. Disasters like this at the event are serious concerns for the organizers and they have to be taken into account when putting everything together. Because of the general atmosphere, however, the blaming for accidents seems to be kept in check. The attitude of my interviews prevailed through out the week of saying that if you come out to the desert and you are stupid, its your own damn fault, and everyone is going to hold you responsible for what happened to you. But when accidents become disasters, “understood” rules can give way to the written documents that hold the event down and people responsible. A sad evolution of a large beast.
There are Girls Gone Wild aspects that the organizers have to contend with, too. Nudity is accepted and, for the most part, the norm of Burning Man. When you video tape girls dancing around and then broadcast it on your website, the context changes. Three years ago all video cameras (and digital still cameras that have video capability) began to have to be registered at Media Mecca. The intent is to know exactly who has the capability and if something pops up online or worse, on DVD, the organizers can search through the registrations of equipment and hold the responsible party liable.
How that exactly works, is up for speculation. The registration process basically says that you have to tell the event organizers what you do with your published work. Whatever is gained in commission for publication, 10% is to go back to Burning Man. Because the event has a year-round full-time staff, it is possible for them to check the internet for publications of Burning Man related articles, pictures and video. If you have not told them about what you have done or made from your work, they can come after you, which is not worth the trouble for the auteur. It makes much more sense to pay $100 than $1000 in fines or hassle charges from the event.
Problems with Individual Costs
Still, there are many costs that are incurred to each participant.
Myself, I had food and water costs, camping equipment and liquor expenses
that I would not have normally encountered. Those that put on elaborate theme
camps or even organized camps the costs must be huge. Other aspects, such
as the gift economy, cannot function beyond the week of the event.
It is tragic that participants of this event feel so much initial animosity
because of the initial money exchanged. Ideally, no one would be charged,
but this is an event that takes place on government land and therefore has
to abide by the measures imposed. It is also an event with a large population
that needs certain comforts, such as porta potties. And, now that the event
is a true slice of life, law enforcement needs to be in attendance because
of the small percentage of criminals that appear.
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