Burnable Light Fixtures?

[bearpaws]

So, I'm working out the final details to my art installation. I want to keep it a surprise for the most part but I want it to be burned in the end, whenever that might be. Any know of any burnable light and / or sound emitting sources? Would need them to last the entire week and through each night without issues. What has been used on the man in past years? Florescent of some sort? Could always remove it before it burns but would like to just let it all go up in flames.

[trilobyte]

Giving this a nudge over to the Q&A board since it's more of an issue of solving preparation-related logistics and not an Art & Performance project announcement.

As far as the question goes, make sure you're working with the ARTery with regards to any art you plan on burning. They need to be involved in coordinating this, and can answer specific questions about what can and can not be burned.

I don't know of any sound or lighting gear that's designed to be burned or is considered okay to burn (that equipment is removed from the man pavilion and the temple prior to burning, by the way). As far as I know, the man itself is about the only structure that's allowed to get burned with the lighting intact. Again, the ARTery can advise you on what's allowable.

[bearpaws]

Hey moderator, thanks for moving this to Q&A... move it to the lighting section for me?

[bearpaws]

Thanks for the insight. I will begin a conversation with them. I know I had seen the man burn with lights, was unaware that was the only thing allowed to do so.

[Elorrum]

off the bat, I just thought candles. um, guess it's a matter of scale. look forward to reading more about this project.

[bearpaws]

Not to give anything away but I plan on it being kinda big. Current dimensions are 30' high x 16' x 20'. It will all be open to the air. I thought of candles but its going to be made of wood so I almost immediately ruled this out but thinking more about this it may be the only thing that is really feasible. Getting candles that would last the night wouldn't be a problem. Just the amount of candles to have it lit every night of the week all night is an interesting problem. I'm thinking it would need something in the ball park of 32 candles I think. Also finding out that I need to coordinate with the ARTery with burning of my object is going to another interesting factor.

[Ugly Dougly]

You can remove your electrics B4 U burn.

[bearpaws]

I had considered this but wanted my wood construction to be seamless for aesthetic reasons. Also utilizing no metal construction process so it could be burned with zero cleanup. Wanted any elements that I remove to be on the outside if possible. Sort of wanted lighting to somehow be internal and burnable so I could have pinholes of light leaking from the structure. There are going to be three elements that will be removed as is but they are inherently

Submitting in about a week so still waiting on what will be the thoughts of the ARTery on burning my structure.

[mudpuppy000]

I would think neon lights would be ok to burn/melt other than the insulation on the wiring, but pretty expensive. You could do fiber optic stuff too, just have a lamp in a central location and run fibers all over it to create the pinholes.

[theCryptofishist]

Also utilizing no metal construction process so it could be burned with zero cleanup.

There's going to be clean up, I"m almost certain.

[Token]

Paint it with UV reactive paint and hit it with UV spot lights from a distance.

[maladroit]

You could have LED lighting for most of the event, and then the day of the burn you could remove the lighting and replace it with some sort of long-burning flares. Just something bright enough to keep it glowing as it catches fire. Maybe even design the lighting such that you could remove it in under a minute, switch to flares right before lighting the structure.

[trilobyte]

The structure will have to be cordoned off and cleared/prepped before they'll give you the green light for the burn to proceed anyways, you may want to reconsider using an efficient LED system (giving you brightness when/where you need it plus keeping power drain low)and a small sound system for your aural effects, which you then remove prior to burning it. It could be such that it's recessed to viewers/participants, yet still easily accessible to you (so you don't have to spend hours taking things apart to get at the electronics).

[Rice]

You might want to look at the Art Guidelines website: http://www.burningman.com/installations/index_fire_art.html

There are solid guidelines in place for what you need to do in order to burn your art... Depending on the size of the piece, you may need 20+ people for your fire safety perimeter! None of this is exactly complicated, but it helps to be informed prior to hitting the playa. It would suck to not be allowed to burn your art and have to take it apart and haul it away!!

http://www.burningman.com/installations/safety_perimeters.html
http://www.burningman.com/installations/burn_scar_prevention.html
etc...

[bearpaws]

I've read up on the art guidelines. I'll be needing 25 people and a 75 foot radius. Through emailing with ARTery, they don't like the idea of neon or plastic being burned. There will obviously be some cleanup, as I am going to have to use a lot of decomposed granite and removal of all the ash remainder of all that is burned. I like the idea of UV paint / UV lights but they also don't like the idea of burning paint (nor do I like the idea of burning neon, plastic or paint). It looks as though I'll be compromising from my original idea and going to something simple and cheap such as light ribbon on, coupled my one of my gaffer tricks (flicker box) with a trap door to a power source to provide an interesting aesthetic at night, remove it before it burns and do something like the long burning flares you suggested to keep it lit up before it burns.

Thanks for all the input all, much appreciated.

Will be finalizing quotes from vendors for the more expensive pieces of my project in the coming week and then submitting my project! Wish me luck!

[Savannah]

It's pretty neat hearing some of the details that go into making an installation safe and reasonably green. Thanks for giving us a window into that.

. . . And good luck!