What Constitutes An ART CAR?

[Red Woman]

Was it just me, or were there way too many motorized vehicles on the Playa this year? Can we compromise a bit and have those wonderful and creative art cars and lose the two-wheeled scooters and motocycles that are trying to pass as art cars? My husband and I were almost creamed several times by scooters and a Harley Davidson that had a tree attached to it (the art escaped me on that one). Smelly, noisy, dangerous - 'nuf said.

[liebling]

well, i have to agree...kinda...as there DID seem to be a lot of scooters and motorcycles out there this year.

but in my own defense, i was on a scooter myself because i have a serious leg injury that is still healing. last years burn i saw from a wheelchair with a full leg cast. a bummer, i assure you. i pretty much stayed in camp almost the entire week.

this year, thanks to my scooter, i was able to cruise around wherever i wanted to go. i HAD stopped in at dmv for a handicapped sticker. we arrived on tuesday, and getting my scooter running was a low priority (not in MY eyes) so it wasnt till thursday night that i was able to even leave the camp.

i have to admit i almost ran into a man and woman on bikes beacuse i was completely shocked to see a man with a HUGE erection strapped to a board saying 'caught jerking off'. i'm sorry to whomever that was. i WAS more careful after that, and tried to not be too noisy in my travels.

i thought my scooter was funny...art? maybe not, but it made people laugh. i stuck a broom out the back end and dressed like a witch every day.

altho i found that i couldnt have seen the sights at burning man without my scooter, i truely missed the sounds because of my scooter engine.

just my $0.02
gael

[8ball]

One year a friend of mine was told that the motorcycle that she was riding was not art by the DMV. The motorcycle she was riding had been hand fabricated from scratch. Other than the wheels, not a single working part on the bike was stock. From a gear head perspective, this was certainly art, but to those unfamiliar with the creativity and effort involved, it probably just looked like a non-standard dirt bike.

Personally, I don't think art can or should be regulated. If someone says what they're riding, building or doing is art, then it is.

[TruffulaTuft]

I agree. There seemed to be more (too many) vehicles of all kinds this year and many of them were poor excuses for art, even with a very generous definition of what that may be. Duct taping a doll head to your hood does not make an art car.
And what about the brazen folks who didn't even bother? Did you see the people riding around in unaltered cars or SUVs with their windows rolled up and the AC on, being looky loos? They were not DPW or late-comers looking for a campsite, they were just consumers of spectacle or simply lazy. Yuck. I yelled at a few of them. I guess more enforcement of art car criteria needs to happen but that opens a can of worms.
The added exhaust and dust was a bummer, and the spectator factor also.
A friend of mine suggested having an art car lottery and only allowing a finite number of vehicles each year. That would encourage better art and create less vehicle related problems.

[III]

Did you see the people riding around in unaltered cars or SUVs with their windows rolled up and the AC on, being looky loos?

This coming christmas, go to big lots and stock up on a couple cases of the spray on christmas window snow. come next labor day, use the spray cans to decorate unsuitable vehicles driving around on the playa. for bonus points, print out kryolon looking labels and wrap them around the cans.

[mo_corleone]

i'm pleased to see this topic being discussed.

in my opinion, much of what makes the art at burning man unique is the fact that it's interactive. it's difficult for me to see anything interactive about a vehicle that only carries one person. this is the primary reason i would like to see scooters discouraged on the playa.

the larger art cars can carry quite a few people and tend to facilitate conversations between random strangers. that kind of interaction is one of the things that makes burning man so special. i don't see anything social or especially "artistic" about a single motorist buzzing past everyone on the playa.

i saw a lot of undecorated scooters on the playa this year. i sincerely doubt these plain vehicles were approved by the DMV. maybe some of those motorists didn't realize those types of vehicles weren't allowed, or maybe they were just lazy and didn't care. i don't have enough information to make that kind of judgment. either way, i'd love to see the scooters eliminated.

i don't envy anyone in the position of determining what is and is not art on the playa. i saw one VW bus that had apparantly been denied a DMV permit, and the owner had attached a sign that raised some of these same issues. i'm sure it's a tough call to make.

regardless of how cool your vehicle looks, if you either can't give people rides or WON'T give people rides (different sore subject entirely), i think you should keep your art car parked.

[III]

>maybe some of those motorists didn't realize those types of vehicles weren't allowed

maybe you didn't realize that scooters are allowed.

[precipitate]

> maybe you didn't realize that scooters are allowed.

Only if they're the stand-up kind. From DMV regs for this year:

Q. I've got one of them nifty scooters -- do I need a license for that?
A. No, so long as it is designed for the transportation of a single standing passenger. Vespas and similarly styled vehicles are considered mopeds/motorcycles, and they do need a license. Make sure that you observe the speed limit and the NO DUST rules!

I saw quite a few Vespa-like vehicles zipping around. I found them mildly annoying, mostly from a noise perspective.

The golf carts adorned with a single strand of rope light, however, really pissed me off. Lazy motherfuckers.

[Lydia Love]

couple cases of the spray on christmas window snow

You know, I bet that colored hair spray stuff would work in a similar fashion

[III]

> I saw quite a few Vespa-like vehicles zipping around

my bad. mea culpa.

> The golf carts adorned with a single strand of rope light, however, really pissed me off.

those tend to be senior staff. it's the only way they can see the event.

>Lazy motherfuckers.

not only that, they're bad role models as well.

[Deb Harris]

I agree with the concerns of the art cars - for two years in a row I needed a golf cart to get around because I have a serious medical condition - each time I tried decorating my golf cart - the only way DMV approved my cart was with a doctor's excuse. This year I decided I didn't want to worry about the cart so I decided to ride a bike. Needless to say - I was exhausted and unable to enjoy the playa as much as I wanted to. When I did go out on my bike I was amazed at some of the art cars - at night there were many without any lights and the people on the cars did not have any type of lights. I think there needs to be more tickets given for the cars that don't meet the DMV requirements. I agree that motorcycles and scooters should not be allowed other than for medical reasons only and then they should have to pass a noise test.

thanks,
DH

[III]

lessee - i can get a medical excuse for my medical marijuana, and a medical excuse for my undecorated golf cart, smoke some pot, and drive, drive over 55...

[Rigged]

> The golf carts adorned with a single strand of rope light, however, really pissed me off.

those tend to be senior staff. it's the only way they can see the event.

>Lazy motherfuckers.

You mean the lazy motherfuckers who are already spending their free time planning next year's event? The lazy motherfuckers who can't decorate the rented golf carts because the company that rents them to Burning Man doesn't like to have their vehicles permanently altered?

Perhaps they could ride bikes to deliver supplies to the medical and ranger outposts, or to give rides to people whos bodies crapped out from fatigue, drugs or injuries, but it would tend to slow things down quite a bit.

Most staffers wear watches, have meetings to attend, staff to support and don't get to see much of the event. If they can manage to string up some lights to make their official vehicles more festive, more power to 'em.

[III]

>Most staffers wear watches, have meetings to attend, staff to support and don't get to see much of the event.

sounds like what it's like to run a theme camp.

maybe we should give them all golf carts as well.

>doesn't like to have their vehicles permanently altered?

hey, *we're* not the ones who made up the art car rules. seems odd that the people who did can't live by them.

[Borris]

And what about the brazen folks who didn't even bother? Did you see the people riding around in unaltered cars or SUVs with their windows rolled up and the AC on, being looky loos? They were not DPW or late-comers looking for a campsite, they were just consumers of spectacle or simply lazy. Yuck. I yelled at a few of them. I guess more enforcement of art car criteria needs to happen but that opens a can of worms.

You'll find out most of them were LEO's.

as to art cars, I agree about a limited No. of vehicles, this will force people into more creativity concerning their art car.

as to staff and golf carts, yeah theme camp organisers work hard, but they do not carry responsibility that can come close to matching BMorg staff. I do agree that maybee BMorg should buy some golf carts and transfigure them permanently. I think that budgetwise they shouldn't have a problem with it.

and as to motorcycles. some are real cool, like 2-3 cycles that Death guild had as part of their Mad Max pack. some are plain and shouldn't be allowed.
about a custom scooter being art, that isn't art, it's one hell of a technological-engineering achievement but an Engineer isn't an Artist.

[bradDaDad]

There are creative solutions to the organizers problem of having to be boring and pragamtic. Wear those bronze colored suits like in the Planet of the Apes to show your status. Or, you could dress up in dust free suits and badges. I think that costume should be mandatory, esp. for the chaperones.

[Mark Hinkley]

Boris sez, "...as to staff and golf carts, yeah theme camp organisers work hard, but they do not carry responsibility that can come close to matching BMorg staff."

I think this is too broad a generalization, amigo. There are staffers and there are staffers and there are theme camps and there are theme camps. I imagine there are about a dozen staffers whose onsite responsibilities exceed mine, and my hat is off to them. But a camp run responsibly really is as demanding - on its scale - as running the festival itself. You're all on your own, with no support or assistance from anyone else, and no cover if something goes wrong. I have a great admiration for the dedication and effectiveness of BM staff, but with few exceptions, I feel I carry quite a bit more personal responsibility and liability in BRC than they do.

But I still don't need a golf cart.

[TheJudge]

A lay-z-boy bolted to a dune buggy does not an art car make.
Niether is is beyond belief.

Staff and their golf carts - A necessary evil? I still think a lot of things could be done to decorate them. It definitely develops that "us vs them" mentality in a lot of people. Some official vehicles should be allowed without anything (Emergency Services, Rangers, etc.) but everything else should be decorated or not driven.

Heard about the guy speeding along on his motorcycle. Heard he was saying screw you to the rules and crashed into a light spire. Karma, perhaps?

[Mark Hinkley]

At the same time that unlighted and undecorated vehicles pose a public menace, there are many stories of people who tried to play by the registration rules, poured time, money and effort into their art cars, but were denied registration because some DMV functionary deemed the art not good enough. Not that the vehicles weren't radically altered, just that the projects didn't fit the subjective standards of the person with the clipboard. And since disappointment wasn't enough, the clipboard wielding arbiters of what-is-art couple those rejections with derision and ridicule. Let the record reflect that this is the only arena in which the artistic content of Burning Man projects are prejudged - and if we're going to descend down that slippery slope, a little love and courtesy would go a long way.

[TruffulaTuft]

"You'll find out most of them were LEO's. "

What's an LEO?

[Lydia Love]

Law Enforcement Officer

[Gothalot]

Hell, I saw 2 guys and two gals (driver with a beer can-drunk) driving around in a BRC glofcart the day of the burn swerving and knocking a girl off her bike. I think it was supposed to be an art car that said , "Im a stupid twat that works for BRC and all they gave me was this stupid Golfcart for me to run innocent people over with".

[PurpleKoosh]

about a custom scooter being art, that isn't art, it's one hell of a technological-engineering achievement but an Engineer isn't an Artist.

And there are other venues for custom bikes/restored hotrods/etc. to be appreciated. This was a topic of considerable discussion amongst certain DMV employees this year.

My husband and I amused ourselves before I left by trying to determine which of the Monster Garage vehicles would be issued a DMV permit. Yes, they're all radically altered, but Monster rules state that the vehicle must appear stock, whereas DMV regs say that it should not represent the base vehicle. We decided that the only two Monsters that would pass would be the pontoon boatbus (which would have been a wild hit in '02) and the mobile church (fitting, as the owner of Satan's Calliope was on the build team for that one).

[8ball]

A lay-z-boy bolted to a dune buggy does not an art car make.
Niether is is beyond belief.

I'm glad to see the people of BRC are ready to join the conservative right in regulating art. In the future the only art allowed at Burning Man will be that which conforms to strict guidelines as dictated by the moral majority. After all, if we don't all agree something is art then it MUST not be art.

So that's my sarcastic rant. Here's my straightforward take (a burner of 6 years):

It may not be art to you, it may not be art to me, but it may be art to the person who made it. That dork driving dune buggy with a barcalounger might've poored blood, sweat and tears into his project. Not all art is created equal, but at Burning Man all art should have equal rights. When you start down the path of regulation, you turn away from the ideals upon which BM. Now, perhaps large scale, unchecked inclusion is the problem... but that's another subject.

- h8ball

[PJ]

...It may not be art to you, it may not be art to me, but it may be art to the person who made it...When you start down the path of regulation, you turn away from the ideals...

All true, but more people than not have complained in recent years about there being too much art car traffic amongst the bicyclists and pedestrians. The only ways to reduce the concentration would be to make the whole event's square acreage dramatically greater--or ration the quantity of art car licenses. Undesirable, but inevitable.

[TestesInSac]

A lay-z-boy bolted to a dune buggy does not an art car make.
Niether is is beyond belief.

I'm glad to see the people of BRC are ready to join the conservative right in regulating art. In the future the only art allowed at Burning Man will be that which conforms to strict guidelines as dictated by the moral majority. After all, if we don't all agree something is art then it MUST not be art.
- h8ball

Sarcasm or not, you're still a fuckwit. Nothing about Judge's post places him in the political demographic you mention. I know, because I happen to be a business conservative.

[stuart]

maybe wednesday morning. Saw a guy on a motorcycle go tooling out to the man. Easily doing 30-40 mph. LE puts on the flashers and gives chase. Moto dude evades with abandon. LE gets along side and tries to ring moto guy in. Moto guy hard rights it into a brewing white out. LE follows. Due to the white out I did not see the conclusion this, my first witnessed BRC cops style high speed pursuit.

[8ball]

Sarcasm or not, you're still a fuckwit. ... I know, because I happen to be a business conservative.

thanks for setting me straight there. for a moment, i thought i was extrapolating on thejudges (and others) comments, and putting them in a different context for purposes of discussion. wow, do i feel dumb.

[TestesInSac]

Sarcasm or not, you're still a fuckwit. ... I know, because I happen to be a business conservative.

thanks for setting me straight there. for a moment, i thought i was extrapolating on thejudges (and others) comments, and putting them in a different context for purposes of discussion. wow, do i feel dumb.

So do I, but even more than that, I'm feeling done.

[pyro gyro]

I saw trucks that looked like trucks with platforms and big sound systems that were passed for art. Kinda pissed me off because my MINI man was AWESOME and IT WAS ART and it was rejected. My experiences with the freeaking DMV was worse that my experience of getting busted for marijuana by the BLM rangers. There appears to be. something fishy, And the NASTY attitude from THE head HOTTIES was unexcusable she was DOWN RIGHT RUDE. First she claimed it wasnt illuminated enough then after we found more lights ( which isnt easy to do on the playa) She said it wasnt altered enough... NO ALL AMC's come with a pyramid and 8 ft tall man on top covered with flames. then she insulted us by saying it wasnt artistic enough. Everyone who saw him loved him. i dont care what whoever things shes a hottie thinks .. MY car WAS ART.. SO THERE