Word, I feel you. One of the greatest things I took away was the inspiration to put in the hard work to make creative endeavors come true. Can you imagine how much work went into this Medusa sculpture?
Definately... But where did the means to undertake such an endeavour come from? I've seen and experienced enough art personally to have my fill. There are much more real matters that are bringing about an end to this type of lifestyle. These will only get more flamboyant until the dsfunctional motives are exposed, or the reality distortion field pops and the nu-free lovers see what openness exposes. Openness is fantastic - but there's a difference between being open...and projecting an image
^^ this sounds quite dour But I am jaded with artistic expression in today's age. More of it is propped up with the tech bubble than people realize. Radical openness is running it's course in black rock city. But you can now get likes for it too so it's all cool.
Ah, I see what you're saying. One night I was out and about and noticed an art car that was absolutely incredible in terms of the craftsmanship involved. As I was looking at the details, I had this conversation with a woman who came up to look at it as well. You're right, there is a lot of extravagance in art and BM is no exception. The money that was spent to build the car could easily have fed hundreds, probably thousands, of people in underdeveloped nations. So where does the balance lay? Art is a wonderful thing. Sure, it doesn't require a shit load of money to create beautiful art, but do we demonize those with the money to create for creating? Probably, I don't know.
Well, playing the role of a developer - I'd smile, wave, and say that, "finding the ones to demonize is political jockeying; a waste of time." Burning Man is not a self-sustaining endeavour. Sure, there are most likely a higher percentage of eco-friendly individuals in play.... But, moving well into the 21st century now - the universal question will only grow - until it dominates all perception - is the action sustainable? The political advocate may be vested in posing the question: is the system sustainable? I see a tech bubble built on a fledgling social architecture, caught in limbo between the next era of social interaction and economic feasibility. With a profitable image - that finds a middle ground with contentment; an accepted norm: openness, you see the development of a real event in Burning Man. Now, is everyone currently attending Burning Man aware of its roots? Or in touch with the premise behind the flamboyant art? Again, who cares. Answering this question doesn't change the logistics behind 70,000 people needing to poop in the middle of a desert with zero permanent infastructure. an engineering feat, no doubt. The same species also tackled how to engineer a hunk of elements to safely bring a breathing organism to the surface of the moon and back. I'm a developing realist. What I can guarantee you is that the rate of consumption since the introduction of mobile social-technology (and the bubble) has (in theory) expanded the premise of burning man... But has the message scaled? How would you know, when you're just looking to send a snapchat of what you're experiencing? There's a bubble, that's all I'm saying. Burning man chose to join the bubble (willingly or not) years ago. But, those radically open board members are living in the pinnacle of an era of easy money. They don't understand the other side of life well enough to bring their message to a larger audience, imo. There's a difference between conveying a message, and projecting an image. Their message of radiclal openness has undoubdetly grown to all corners of the globe. Thanks to a tech bubble. Sorry, the social media feeding frenzy is not sustainable, and will be seen as a bubble 40 years from now. I will bet you.