Oh haiiii, I'm back from Burning Man!!! Super rewarding year for me. I decided to leap out of my comfort zone and head down
early to meet a team of people I'd never met --- well, 2 of them I'd
barely met, but everyone else was brand new -- to help build a sculpture for the outer ring of the Man. That means its kinda designed for the vast open part of
the desert for exploration and play. Something told me it was the
absolute right thing to do, and I'm so glad. Not only did I manage to
meet some totally refreshing badass people who were entirely out of
my circle, I also got to see
some undercurrents of the festival from more of an inside
perspective, which was super cool. Our team was working at The
Generator, aka the giant building warehouse in Reno where most of the
large-scale Burning Man projects are built before being taken out to
playa. Technicians, sculptors, painters, mechanics, engineers and
teams of random people from all over the world were assembling and
loading out huge projects and different infrastructure for theme
camps. Paying attention to the team dynamics and particularly in
seeing the way the real-world prep goes into desert-world execution
was of immeasurable value to me as both producer, DIY enthusiast and
overall lover of magic.
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| Our interactive sculpture, called Eye Trip, featured a rotating eyeball chair. |
As far as Burning Man goes: I love it,
I believe in it. I think its an important cornerstone to ideas
I'd love to see more out in the world. Mind-blowing
artwork, conscious and kind people, fun and adventures all heavily
laced with concentrated occurrences of synchronicity and high-vibing
sass levels.
I'm a huge fan of Burning Man's Ten Principles ALL the time, like, in daily life, particularly Radical Inclusion, Radical Self Reliance and Immediacy. I find the rituals and symbolism of
the Man & Temple burns to be immeasurably cathartic. Plus, um, jumping
on trampolines in tutus is like, super duper fun. Duh. Last but not least, I'm really into the
fact that its all protected by the elemental lock and key of thick
powdery dust and a definitive willingness to get there. You can't
really be casual about the decision to go to Burning Man... you gotta brace yourself, work to make it happen, and prepare for extremes. Its a different world and the
elements boil you down to the core. Your shit will come up. I love it. Its
where things both real and fantasy come together. Here's an Emmy-award winning vid I found that features a lot of the art from 2011, the first year I went.
HOWEVS. I know there are also some pretty solid
arguments in knockin' Burning Man, the first one being that the festival is a blatant,
indulgent display of disposable income most people don't have the luxury of throwing away. Well, yah kinda. But um.. so is
most of the Western World. Spent any time on Robson lately? How much does some American retail chain spend on rent every year there ya think so they can sell cheap crap? Hmm. Yah. Vegas anyone? THEY DON'T HAVE RECYCLING THERE. For serious. And can you guess how much food gets thrown away every day after even just ONE meal at ONE buffet in ONE all-inclusive resort??? My point is, that shit is happening constantly, everywhere, all day long. You might not be able to necessarily SEE it all in one
glimpse all the time, but people spend a lot of money on things a LOT less “noble” than art projects with hippies ummkay. If anything I think that staring all that indulgence in the face is a much more effective way to become aware of our privilege and the reality / senselessness of capitalism's manipulation. In the meantime, if you want to knock mis-spending, how
about spending all that complaining energy knockin' at our government's door.
I bet the teachers would appreciate that right about now.
*BC is currently in the midst of a province-wide teacher's strike.
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| David Best's astounding 2014 Temple. |
The other objection I hear often
about Burning Man is that amazing, talented people spend too much of
their time and effort on art projects for the Burn and not for their
own community. WELL. While its true that many hours and many dollars
go into desert-destined projects designed to explode my head into a
thousand smithereens, its also true that the extent and
nature in which I carry those moments into my personal every day life are relevant a way
that I can barely verbalize. I literally see myself a a big sponge
getting all juiced up there and then promptly coming back to squeeze out all the
sass that made its way into my heart while my jaw was filling with
dust. To me it represents an epicentre of what is possible, and that is so so SO empowering to me. I'm a
witness to MANY off-shoots that propel Burner-type behaviour and
projects in the real world – they absolutely do exist. The same is
true of
Bass Coast! It may only be once a year that we all gather
together, but the idea is that those ripples cover the rest of the
year, and hopefully reach out even further through all the people who
are there to bear witness.
Speaking of Bass Coast - one of the
ways this year's “Mutiny” theme resonated in me is around the rebellion
against the limiting ideas we've been faced with about what's
involved in making art a focus in your life. Like, for example, the
myth that you either “make it” as an artist and achieve fortune
and fame... but that if that doesn't happen, you can expect a life of
poverty. Why so black and white? Maybe in a pre-internet world when
the mass-media held locks and keys to the masses... but that's not
the way the world is anymore. What about the idea that “fortune”
comes in many forms? What about the idea that “fame” is relative?
When you deconstruct “fame” or “celebrity” and remember that
its only recently in history that its been highlighted and revered
and played-up in and of itself ... in the meantime, being revered for
your work is just as useful on a smaller scale as it is on a larger
one. What about all the beautiful places in-between? I think having
opportunities like Bass Coast makes it possible to share in real time with your community. Between
the internet and small festivals or events, you no longer have
you to appeal to the mass-capitalist gatekeepers to build a momentum.
You can figure out how to make it a part of how you earn your living,
or don't.. whatever works for your life. But for the love of sass,
don't subscribe to the idea that it's all or nothing. That's just not
true anymore.
I think that a lot of the struggles
artists go through have less to do with being an artist and a lot
more to do with simply being a human going through the process of
figuring out how to manifest what they need or want in life. I think
a LOT of people struggle with that, myself and a lot of my friends
included, but, uh... so do a lot of people who DON'T self-identify as
artists. I would argue that a regular creative practice might even
actually alleviate the struggle of that somewhat as people who don't
may in fact feel even less fulfilled because they don't have
some form of creative practice as part of their lives. I believe that
events like Bass Coast are the portal for showing people
opportunities for self-expression that are plausible, accessible and
relatable. You can interact and be inspired. You can witness the
growth and shifts. Suddenly valuable pathways to opportunity and
community OUTSIDE of the festival appear. As Andrea Graham & I
once said after a New Year's party last year, the most important
parts of an event are what happens afterwards. It what's created
afterwards, the connections and the work and the ripples and
hopefully bringing more of what the events bring out in people –
joy.
One of the reasons
Deck3 came together as an alliance for dance and performance enthusiasts is because we kept noticing all these people attracted to festival dance-floors who
looked like they LOVED DANCING A LOT. Like, a lot a lot. It seemed that they had
or could have a much deeper connection to dance than a casual party
here and there could honour. Upon further investigation, we
discovered that a lot of these people had passionately loved dance or
gymnastic practice as children and teens, but then had just ...
stopped. Why? A common experience was that at early adulthood, most
were given a choice to go for a full-time career, or to leave their
practice behind all together. Whyyyyy? Why does it have to be all or
nothing? Why not incorporate that element back into your life, and
not necessarily
just on a dance floor at a party?
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bass coast mutiny mainstage, designed by liz thompson
photo: metamorphograph |
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| liz & i, post-burn |
I've always loved the burlesque movement because it gives people the opportunity to explore performance and
its associated arts without having to give up the rest of their
LIVES, for eff's sake. I mean, as in all art forms, there are obviously
people who want to take it to that level (with Sweet Soul, for example,
we strive to set a high professional standard), but that doesn't mean
there isn't room for everyone at some level, where-ever they are at. The movement is equally about inviting every day
people into new world self-exploration and expression as it is about re-programming ideas around sexuality. I really love
seeing the first school of thought there carry over. Seeing it in some of the new NON
striptease dance-crews that are popping up like Subscura & the
Light Twerkerz... I really value working with these groups who are
self-organizing and spending their energy and focus on something they
love. Their passion is very renewing and inspiring to those of us who
have been working at it for awhile.
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me as "captain hooker" - bass coast mutiny performance
photo: alliecat photography |
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final bow for sweet soul's show at bass coast w/ subscura, tawni krystal, leiah luz & rori satya
photo: glenn mclelland |
When I was onstage at Bass Coast, I
said that it was time for the entertainment industry to change,
especially when it comes to women working together.... and I
didn't mean working together in isolation or separately from men.
What I meant is that its time to see more women working together IN
GENERAL because it helps eliminate the following belief systems: 1)
that opportunities for women in our industry are scarce; 2) that we
have compete with each other in to get said opportunities because
they are so scarce; and 3) that we all have to agree 100% of the
time about everything in order to co-operate or collaborate
creatively. NOPE. Those limitations exists only so long as we believe
they do. The more we tap into the power of DIY, and the more we
empower one another to be creative, create our own opportunities,
cooperate, share our work and take advantage of our various strengths
and differences, the less we play into those unhelpful belief
systems, and the less they continue to exist.
To this effect: I will say personally
I'm not a huge fan of projects that highlight the idea that
opportunities for women in our industry are still scarce. While I do
very much appreciate the intention behind some of those projects, I
personally believe that at this point the most effective way to
affect further change is to move forward as tho things are already
the way we'd like them to be. To me, this is not denial, nor lack of
consciousness. It's action, and progress.
Regardless. Whether you identify as
male, female or anything in between, I think what a good festival
experience humbly suggests is: RECONNECT. Go back to a class. Buy
some paint; make something. Clear our your living room once and
awhile and dance to your favourite new mix. Make a costume. Try this,
try that. Get a dance-crew together, or join one, if you want. Do it
for the fest, and then incorporate it into your daily life. You don't
HAVE to be a full-time dancer, painter, sculpter --- or a teenager --
to delve in deeper and enjoy the benefits of self-expression,
physical exercise, community or just straight up fun this offers. You
can make your relationship with it your own, and delve in just as
deeply as is comfortable for you.
Here's some fun dance related links.. but I guarantee that no matter what you're looking for, dance or not, there's a crew of rad peeps doing it. Or start something up dammit.
UMMKAYYY. I'mma now go get ready to do what I do best, aka rap topless to some ish while the bestest stripteasers ever make jabs at the status quo and show off their wonderful backsides. Keefer Bar, tonight, 135 Keefer in Vancouver. It's a thing.
Still glowy from the burn.. golden rays. :)
All my love..
CP
