The Burning of the Man, 2004

    At the beginning of the night of the Burn, the man's arms are raised. Neon lights line his body and he stands atop a large wooden latticework dome. During the week the dome was filled with exhibits themed around the central art theme of Burning Man '04, which is "The Vault of Heaven"; in the dome you could pack messages into searchlights, see cool digital images and light effects, look at star charts, etcetera. Now all that hardware's been removed and the dome remains, a wooden mesh of triangles supporting its inflammable victim.

    The Man doesn't burn until ten, but by dark the Playa is packed with bodies. There's fire-poi, fire-juglging, fire-spitting, flamethrowers and incendiaries, lots of dancing, lots of music, everything's motion light and sound. One guy bikes around with a flaming mannequin on the back of his tandem bike--from a distance it looks exactly like a biker on fire. There's something very primal about such a gathering of bodies around fires; it definitely harkens back to caves and campfires, Promethean myths... you know, all that old stuff.

    The Man is lined with fireworks, packed into his wooden body. As the flames crawl up from the dome and up his arms and legs, the fireworks begin to go off; each new stage is heralded by a shower of stars and lights. It's a beautiful effect. It also serves to add volume to the conflagration, extending the fire above the billowing smoke and into space around it. But in the end, he topples down into the dome's remains, crashing into the debris.

    Once the Man is down, everybody pours in towards the flaming ruins. A packed crowd builds around the remains, with unhappy firefighters in full protective gear trying to keep people at a safe distance from the murderous heat. Some folks try to break through the safety ring to run around inside it, trying to loop the inside of the ring right next to the fire; the heat is chokingly thick, a solid hammer on the side of your head, and hot ashes and debris are wafting up all around you as you run. Extremely hazardous--don't try this at home!


    We left that night, pausing to tour the playa a little longer and then hitting the road for home. I have to say, I had a blast. It was a great week, building to a terrific finale with great company, and I'm absolutely looking forward to next year.