My installation was run over by an art car

[dragonflyannie]

I had an installation called "Chairs" out on the playa this year. It was only up for two days before it was run over. I'm wondering if anyone happened to take a picture of it before it's demise? It was seven platforms with different sets of chairs in varying psychological relationships.

If anyone happened to take a picture of it I would be SO very grateful to have a copy. Please contact me.

Also, three of the chairs disappeared. One of them appeared out near the Chandelier facing towards all of Burning Man with a homemade journal and a pen tied to it. To whomever placed the chair out there like this, THANK YOU! My art morphed into more art and finding one of my missing chairs like that really meant a lot to me. I read the journal and left my own entry, but when I went back to the chair to retrieve it it was gone. So thank you to whomever it was who so graciously placed it and retreived it.

[king james version]

sorry to hear. same thing happened to me last year.

the thing that sucks is that there is really no way to control the actions of selfish idiots. sure, the dmv licenses vehicles, but lots of non-art vehicles are out there. people think it's okay to do whatever the fuck they want—"hey, man, it's burning man; you can't tell me what to do." no, but a little consideration for the people that put out hundreds of their own hours and dollars might be nice.

from the evidence i found at my piece—a long, thick single skid mark—a motorcycle going at least 20mph (i'm guessing; no evidence tech am i) smacked into and tore down my piece. yes, it's probably really fun to drive a motocycle fast in the dark on the playa. i reckon that even if you subtract all of the swampy days the playa sees, there ought to be a few times of year when you can ride your bike without smacking into our creations.

[Remark]

Sorry to hear about your art being messed with, happened to my friends art also (theft).

I'll keep an eye out for a picture of it. Post the picture here if you find one.

Are you "the burning book" dragonflyannie? That book is the best "gift" I have ever received at burningman. I quickly put the book away at bm so it wouldn't get dirty. I pulled it out last night to read before bed. Ten pages in or so the tears of happiness were flowing. It was the perfect ending to my burningman, for that I thank you.

[deeohgeeman]

The Shark Bar was notorious for being out of control in their art train. They ripped the door right off my friend's cherry '57 chevy pickup truck, and one observer I spoke to commented that it looked completely intentional. What the fuck is up with that?

[Tristan]

I had an installation called "Chairs" out on the playa this year. It was only up for two days before it was run over. I'm wondering if anyone happened to take a picture of it before it's demise? It was seven platforms with different sets of chairs in varying psychological relationships.

I think I know what happen to your chairs: someone must have been more pissed-off as I was when I almost ran into one of your chairs (and cushion) on the playa, on tuesday or wednesday night. The chair as no light at all, not a single glow-stick attached to its legs, and it was totally invisible while riding at night, because it was under the illuminated horizon. I could have broken my neck on that chair, and I was very, very pissed at whoever abandonned it on the playa with no light. Since it was toppled, someone else must have run into it before.

If that's was part of your art, then you should have made sure it was visible at night. I can tell you, if I had not missed that chair by an inch, I would have certainely reduced it to pieces (out of pure rage!). And I am really not a violent person.

If you leave anything on the playa at night, attach glow sticks! I did that with the stuff I left on the playa during the night. There was no light of any sort near your chairs.

Yes, my bicycle had light, no long-range headlight, just enough for others to see me.

[dragonflyannie]

one of the things that i continue to get out of burning man are valuable lessons. this year the biggest lesson i learned was to light up my art. my sincerest apologies to you for causing you unnecessary anger. this was my first year putting art out on the playa and i learned a very valuable lesson from it being destroyed. unfortunately through all the planning that goes on for burning man sometimes some things get overlooked... this was one of those times. i am so sorry that this angered you so Tristan. please know that this will not happen in the future with my work.

and Remark, yes i am the same dragonflyannie that gifted you "the burning book" i am so very glad to hear how much you are enjoying it. my heart and soul went into that book and i'm glad it found it's way to you. let me know how you like it when you've finished it. i hope you can share it with others when they wonder what burning man is all about.

thanks to everyone for replying to me. regardless of the art's flaws it was still my art that i wanted to share with everyone... i do hope an image of it appears

[dragonflyannie]

one more thing i wanted to mention. the place where my art was originally placed was near the main walkway and the man where a lot of light was emanating. i think the chair that you are speaking of was the chair that disappeared from my installation and placed (not by me) out near the chandelier. not that this makes much of a difference, but if it was a solitary chair you almost hit i just want you to know that it was not the original installation. my chairs were up on platforms.

[Tristan]

one more thing i wanted to mention. the place where my art was originally placed was near the main walkway and the man where a lot of light was emanating. i think the chair that you are speaking of was the chair that disappeared from my installation and placed (not by me) out near the chandelier. not that this makes much of a difference, but if it was a solitary chair you almost hit i just want you to know that it was not the original installation. my chairs were up on platforms.

Yes, it appeared to be a solitary chair.

Maybe next time you should consider attaching your chairs to rebars solidely anchered to the ground. That what I do when I leave stuff at night on the playa. Everything is locked and attached. People don't steal thing, but they play with them, move them around, and they don't even know what they are doing when they are high, but it creates danger. Lock/attach/secure your art installation next time!

> i am so sorry that this angered you so Tristan

No, you did not. I was just angry at the fact that there was a dangerous object abandonned on the playa (with legs sticking up!) with no light.

[dragonflyannie]

When the chairs were on the platforms they were secured with rope down through the bottoms of the platforms. They were on there pretty securely in my opinion. When I found my installation the chairs were in a thousand pieces and the platforms had been flattened.

[Tristan]

It probably got run over by some vehicule.

Next time, I suggest you plant big rebars around your installation, like a fence to protect it from vehicules. You attach white polls with flags to the rebars (so that people see them), and add light at night.

You have to take drastic measures, especially if your installation is far away on the playa and no-one is keeping an eye on it.

And you don't use rope to attache the chairs. You screw or rivet their feet to rebars, so that it would take significant effor to get them loose. Ropes can be cut in a few seconds with a pocket knife.

Chairs are a hot commodity on the playa, if you think about it. Some people are ready to spend some effort to get them loose!

[dj big E]

hey were you're chairs the ones that were 2 side by side about 7 to 8 feet of the ground i got to see them early thursday morning then went back fri sunrise for picture op they were gone thought i was tripping or artist had taken them down to survive the weekend anyways i liked them and told others unfortunately i wasn't able to take a picture before they dissa peared .And for the upset bikerider as well as the over agressive art car drivers theyre is a 5 mile an hour speed limit on the playa.At five miles an hour you should be able to stop fine before you run into anything at that speed as well as at night u can't see the deep ruts or sand traps .So the moral is lmao slow down and please put a little light on you're art lmao.Anyways if these were the chairs you we're referring to they were cool i believe black and red. cya soon dj big "E"

[Badger]

Shark Bar was notorious for being out of control in their art train. They ripped the door right off my friend's cherry '57 chevy pickup truck, and one observer I spoke to commented that it looked completely intentional. What the fuck is up with that?

Suggest you contact Grits (grits@burningman.com) who is in charge of the BRC DMV. She needs to hear this sort of info - especially since it appears the Shark crew ended up being some of the biggest, most irresponsible pricks on the playa this year.

Seriously. Please let her know.

[dragonflyannie]

Hey dj big E,
Those weren't the chairs. My chairs were on seven wooden platforms. The chairs were regular chairs... old wood ones, each different. They were in different relationships you could say. Two were facing each other. Two were facing outwards together. One baby chair was between two larger chairs that were facing inward, protecting the baby chair. One baby chair was between two larger chairs that were facing outwards from the baby chair. One was facing another one that had it's back to it. Two were in the 69 position. And one chair was facing another chair that was on it's back with a broken leg. Each platform contained one of these sets.
And yes, I know now, by learning the hard way, to light my art. Trust me, I regret not.

.... and I'm still looking for a picture of it.

[Kinetic]

Shark Bar was notorious for being out of control in their art train. They ripped the door right off my friend's cherry '57 chevy pickup truck, and one observer I spoke to commented that it looked completely intentional. What the fuck is up with that?

Suggest you contact Grits (grits@burningman.com) who is in charge of the BRC DMV. She needs to hear this sort of info - especially since it appears the Shark crew ended up being some of the biggest, most irresponsible pricks on the playa this year.

Seriously. Please let her know.

I hate saying ban this or that, but that fucked up shark needs to be BANNED from ever rolling onto the playa again until ALL of the FUCKWITS on board who might drive it get some art car driver's ed. After almost being flattened on the playa by it, I'll admit I thought about sabotaging someone's art...namely his tires so he couldn't drive it.

Sorry to rant but he almost flattened several kids as we walked out to the man. He needs his permits yanked!

[Badger]

Seriously. Please let her know.

Kinetic, that goes for you as well.

Write her a quick line.

[supersurly]

TRUST IN ALLAH!





But tie your camel up.

[dj big E]

alot of people were saying to many cops this year i saw alot of art cars out theyre this year especially late at night or early morning going 20+ last year they pulled over alot of art cars for speeding.I never saw any art cars getting hassled this year nekt year i think they should give a couple of brc rangers some radar so they can slow these guys down .oh well thats my opinion maybe they should make mandatory foot spotter with certain art cars ie those exceeding certain lengths or widths. dj big "E"

[Badger]

i think they should give a couple of brc rangers some radar so they can slow these guys down

And there are some Black Rock Rangers who believe that you as a citizen/participant should empower yourself to step up to the plate and call people on their shit when there's speeding and wreckless operation of vehicles taking place.

[DogBoy]

Badger Sez-

empower yourself to step up to the plate and call people on their shit when there's speeding and wreckless operation of vehicles taking place.

No kidding! That's a big part of our camps theme. We spent several nights stopping people at our safety checkpoint & giving glow sticks & explanations to the un-illuminated so they would't get an art car enema.

Sunday morning I yelled at a jackass in a pickup truck 3 seperate times; he was driving backwards along 930 from the esplanade to dogma at about 15mph.

In 2001 I started carrying road flares for use in whiteouts. Never had a problem with a yahoo car with one of those in my hand.

[Kinetic]

i think they should give a couple of brc rangers some radar so they can slow these guys down

And there are some Black Rock Rangers who believe that you as a citizen/participant should empower yourself to step up to the plate and call people on their shit when there's speeding and wreckless operation of vehicles taking place.

The quote of the moment: You make your own experience.

BRC is no place to be shy, it's ok to yell at a fuckwit if their going too fast. After all you have to breathe the dust, so become empowered and do something about it. I did my share of yelling and enlightenment this year.

As for the super fuckwit in the shark, I'm sending a comment to the DMV per Badger's suggestion. I hope he doesn't get the 04 permit.

[Tiara]

>He needs his permits yanked!

On the playa, air pressure is a privilege, not a right. If you had looked closely, the shark wasn't voluntarily parked out front of Xara on Burn Night. It was stationary due to multiple flat tires.

As for expecting the Rangers to track down every speeding art car, please just think about the situation. . . When the problems really arise towards the end of the week, there are 29,980 participants on the playa, and at most 20 Rangers. Furthermore, Rangers generally patrol on foot or bicycle, not by motorized vehicle.

You, as a particpant, are fully empowered to ask someone driving at unsafe speeds to "slow the fuck down," whether you're wearing a Ranger hat or not.

[Kinetic]

>He needs his permits yanked!

On the playa, air pressure is a privilege, not a right. If you had looked closely, the shark wasn't voluntarily parked out front of Xara on Burn Night. It was stationary due to multiple flat tires.

You, as a particpant, are fully empowered to ask someone driving at unsafe speeds to "slow the fuck down," whether you're wearing a Ranger hat or not.

The shark made a lovely STATIONARY display if I do say so.

And BRC needs more Rangers, especially working the shifts I always saw Badger working.....

[spyral]

the person or persons who deflated the sharks overinflated crew.

[Badger]

And BRC needs more Rangers, especially working the shifts I always saw Badger working.....

Oh SHIT. That reminds me...

Met several eplayans during the burn who suggested I was a much, MUCH nicer guy in person than how I come across here in the electronic ether. Made a note that said persons must die before this rumor could spread but misplaced my book of notes. Can't have this shit spreading.

I'll go buy some ammo at lunch and do a little stalking later in the week.

[stuart]

I used to scream at people for driving too fast/recklessly. Honestly though, without any authority at my back this usually ended up with me getting a bullhorn lashing. I gave up on it this year as the only result of the practice I could see was me getting even more pissed off.

ideas?

[precipitate]

> suggested I was a much, MUCH nicer guy in person than how I
> come across here in the electronic ether

Hee. No one told me that. Evil mission accomplished! I am just
as abrasive in person!

[Borris]

I say all you need is some nails welded together as an inverted pyramid.
throw them under the speeding car's wheels and pronto, flat tires on the go.

Just don;'t forget to pick them up as MOOP afterwards.

[Lo5150]

On Saturday night, we saw the art car "Wild Load" running over signs and tents and stealing signs and bending rebar and yelling at people. We reported them to the Rangers. They were out of control and very rude, yet I saw them on Sunday driving around the playa. I liked your art alot, I am so sorry to hear that happened. =(
Lorie

[dragonflyannie]

Thanks Lorie.
I'm glad you liked my art. Not very many people saw it I don't think. I'm glad you did.

[Catblack]

And there are some Black Rock Rangers who believe that you as a citizen/participant should empower yourself to step up to the plate and call people on their shit when there's speeding and wreckless operation of vehicles taking place.

You know, I imagine that even if you tried, it would do no good. Honestly. It's hard enough to get RVs to drive 5mph on their way out of the city (leaving uncleaned camps) after the burn on Saturday night. How the hell am I supposed to stop an out of control Art Car?

FYI I've seen lots of responsible art cars out there. most of them, I'd say. But it's bloody impossible to complain about one you've just seen crash into someone's art out on the open playa. What could you do, gather witnesses and report it to the BRC DMV? Maybe chase them down and wrestle the keys from the driver?

Coz heaven help you if you think "well, the rangers have radios, maybe they can help."

(Disclaimer: Catblack had his best year interacting with Rangers this year -- most of the exchanges ended with "Thanks for admitting that you don't know anything about ______, Ranger!")