Burning Man 1999

My experience at Burning Man 1999 was once again enjoyable amidst more work than I would usually do if I was getting paid. The labor of the first few days is immedately worth it when you take a break from working and start to meet everyone you happen to bump into while in Black Rock City, whether you find them or they find you. Perhaps it's leftover good dinosaur/fish vibes from when the Black Rock desert was a huge lake, or the ancestor spirits from this region who were displaced many years ago by the white forefathers. Or maybe its just that this kind of concentration of twisted, modern primitive, post tribal creative, artistic, survival minded folk just won't come together under any dissimilar conditions. We weed out our own, yet we continue to grow. Perplexing, but that's a good thing. Powerful seed. Yet the question whether we will be allowed to return remains at this point, at the mercy of a government that would prefer that they didn't allow us to be in the first place. Whether the government(s) realize(s) how important we, the particpants of Burning Man, citizens of Black Rock City, of Spaceship Earth, are to the future of its continuation is yet to be seen. The WTO meeting in Seattle, Nov. 28 - Dec. 4, 1999 will be the next gathering of this proportion of socially conscious folks. Come to Seattle if you can for this one. Things remain interesting.

But back to Burning Man 1999...

Once again, I saw nothing near even 50% of what there was to see and do in Black Rock City. I found myself wishing a few times that Burning Man was two weeks long instead of one. With the event growing exponentially, the hopes of particating and at the same time seeing even a small part of what is going on in the whatever sq mileage BRC entails decreases in a reciprocal relationship. The best way to experience Burning Man is to be there of course, but maybe the photos here will give a taste of the possibilities. And remember, for many old time BMan goers, it'll always be better last year, just don't miss Burning Man 2000!

Enjoy, Brian Foley
November 5, 1999

More to come...

Back to Burning Man 98

or pay a visit to another gallery under construction featuring images taken at
Fremont's Trollaween 1999.