[meteorite-list] ANSMET + Burning Man

From: geoking_at_notkin.net <geoking_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:55:47 2004
Message-ID: <v04220806b86a0d6c2f28_at_[209.244.238.25]>

Dear Listees:

Perhaps a bit off-topic, but I found this to be an enjoyable "meeting
of the minds" story about two of my main interests.

As many of you well know, the first stop for those arriving on the
continent of Antarctica is usually McMurdo station. It's a temporary
home to a large number of scientists from lots of different
countries, and many of those involved in Antarctic meteorite hunts
have spent time there.

I am (and have been since 1997) very involved with the Burning Man
project -- an experimental arts and performance group that holds a
massive and very unique annual event in the Nevada desert north of
Reno. It takes place on a dry lake bed in the Black Rock Desert, and
I always manage to fit in a bit of meteorite hunting during the
festival.

This morning I received a copy of the regular Burning Man newsletter
and was surprised and delighted to learn that a recent documentary
film about Burning Man was screened last week for "an overflow crowd"
at McMurdo station. I guess the Burning Man crowd and the ANSMET team
probably don't cross paths too often, but it was evidently a happy
meeting.

See below:


POST-ANTARTICA-SCREENING REPORT:

"The video of the 2001 Burning Man was shown to an overflow crowd of more
than one hundred scientists and support staff at the McMurdo Antarctic
Station on Friday, January 4th. McMurdo hosts up to 1100 people at any one
given time during the Austral summer, making it the largest town on the
continent. The video was shown as the station's weekly Friday Night Movie in
the Coffee House Bar, and was scheduled as a precursor to the annual McMurdo
Alternative Art Gallery (MAAG) exhibition held the next evening.

If ever there was a crowd that could be moved en masse to Black Rock City,
it's the crew here. Antarctica is the coldest, windiest, and highest
continent, but also the driest, making it the largest desert on the planet,
and working on the Ice is sometimes very much like living on the playa. Just
substitute ice for alkali. The aesthetic here is also akin to that of
Burning Man: numerous assemblage works made from leftover industrial
materials inhabit the station, and performance pieces are prized. The MAAG
show the next evening could easily have been a theme camp in the inner city.

Four videos from the most recent Burning Man events are now housed in the
station video library, available for free check-out. They join an assortment
of sci-fi, Clint Eastwood, and subtitled foreign film titles, and provide
the germination for future Antarctic Burning Man celebrations."


More info for those who are interested:

ANSMET online journal 2001: http://www.webexpeditions.net/ansmet/

Official Burning Man site: http://www.burningman.com

My photos from Burning Man 1998: http://www.notkin.net/burn.htm


Regards,

Geoff N.
Received on Tue 15 Jan 2002 12:27:17 PM PST