"The Work Office"

One of our 2009 Grantees, "The Work Office", a participatory performance inspired by the Work Projects Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression caught the attention of Boing Boing this week. Check it out!

Our Prior Post

Installing the "Tree Spire" in Reno

The TREE SPIRE

Tabasco, T-Bone, Dave Moore, Maria Partridge, Richard Johnson, Crimson Rose and Stacey Spain

Sunday, finishing the details photos: Crimson Rose

And then the sunset came signalling the end of this day of installation

Saturday installation photos: Crimson Rose

Installation of the Tree Spire in Whitaker Park, Reno, NV photos: Maria Partridge

RENO, NV – Previously exhibited at Burning Man in 2007, and then in Reno last fall as part of "The Mangrove", the 15-foot steel tree called "Tree Spire" is now a permanent sculpture in Whitaker Park in old northwest Reno.

"Tree Spire" was designed by David "Tabasco" Mills and the Iron Monkeys out of Seattle.

The Black Rock Arts Foundation received a $5,000 public art challenge grant, which they had to double, to pay for the artwork and installation. City Councilman Dave Aiazzi gave $1,000 and his ward's 5 neighborhood advisory boards gave $4,000.

They have installed the Tree Spire, and we have a few photos so you can see the process. First the concrete was poured, the tree base was leveled and then Erika a Controlled Burn stilt walker balanced on a 2x4 that was laid across and above the concrete. Councilman Dave Aiazzi was there...his wife, daughter in law and grandkids came by to play in the park during one morning!

Richard says that an art installation is like a "building marathon".

Saturday dawned and more welding was done, fitting the bench and securing the bench around the tree, then the branches were secured and the electricity went into place. The final day was spent finishing attaching the final branches and lanterns. As the sun set on the beautiful fall day the Tree Spire stood tall and complete in the Reno sun.

Crew:

Tabasco

T-Bone aka Anthony Moulton

Dave Moore

Maria Partridge

Crimson Rose

Stacey Spain

Richard Johnson

Bill Schultz

Dave Kaul

Dave Aiazzi

Erika Wesnousky

RGJ.Com article about the Tree Spire

See Celtic Forest Soon!

If you have not been by to experience the Celtic Forest in Reno lately, now is the time. Watch the video clip above to get a better feel for how fabulous it is. Maria Partridge, Black Rock Arts Foundation Advisory Board Member, who keeps Celtic Forest running, sent us the following:

Celtic Forest in downtown Reno is still going strong with the art walk on fire Tuesday and Friday nights. Controlled Burn spins fire to world music from 7-9:30 pm on Tuesday nights. There is live music on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons. Be sure to check out the Zombie Crawl on Friday Oct. 30 starting at 7 pm ...Music and "Thriller" dance is scheduled at 9pm. Celtic Forest is due to be removed late Novmber so see it while you can.

Prior Posts

photo: Mark Hammon http://www.truckeerivergallery.com/

We are excited to tell you that our very own Josie Schimke, Program and Development Assistant at the Black Rock Arts Foundation is a panelist tomorrow at Meet the Grantmakers: Funding Opportunities for Individual Artists at the Foundation Center.

photo: http://theblight.net/

The Culture Labs Invite You To Participate at SF's Decompression

The Culture Labs at Burning Man 2009

This year at Burning Man, the various outreach groups of Burning Man (Black Rock Arts Foundation, Burners Without Borders, The Regional Network and Black Rock Solar) teamed up to create a unified presence on the playa-The Culture Labs.

This year at San Francisco's Decompression, The Culture Labs will once again host an interactive gathering space where together, we'll create and propagate our culture to be carried into the default world the other 51 weeks of the year. How are you nurturing the seeds in your own community that we all collectively plant in Black Rock City every year?

You are invited to stop by, sit a spell and share your story of personal evolution with other folks looking for inspiration and ideas about how we can all bring the Burner ethos to our communities year-round.

To read more about The Culture Labs at Burning Man 2009

photo: Jewel

Culture Labs at Burning Man 2009

Playing Exquisite Corpse at the Culture Labs on the Playa.

The microscope and petri dish were great fun, and there is Freddy Hahne, the President of our Board hanging out with some visitor!

And there we all were!

There was information everywhere!

A poster of the "American Dream Temple" in Detroit

The campers who made the "Culture Lab" run this year.

And our own Executive Director, Tomas McCabe, early one day, waiting for you to stop by and say hello.

Haven't you always wanted to know more about the outreach groups of Burning Man? You hear they are placing art in China, and solar in Nevada, are creating community activists everywhere, and have events hosted locally as far away as Spain and as close as Silicon Valley.

Well, if you do, I hope you got a chance to stop by the Culture Labs and play Exquisite Corpse, or check out our Microscope, or put your feet up and experience the symbiosis of the Black Rock Arts Foundation, Burners Without Borders, The Regional Network and Black Rock Solar.

I have a special place in my heart for these outreach groups, I love the idea of creating our culture and making a difference the other 51 weeks of the year. So here was a chance, just like 2008, to meet them all in one place as they teamed up once more to create a unified presence on the playa, known as… The Culture Labs!

The Culture Labs, housed under one large pavilion (which might have looked familiar… it’s one of the pavilions that surrounded the Man in 2007 and 2008!) hosted interactive activities, art projects, events and gatherings (which were listed in the What Where When guide). The goal was to breed and propagate our culture to be carried into the default world. Friendly 'lab assistants' were available to talk about their various programs and projects.

The center of the Culture Labs held a giant petri dish and microscope (containing a video camera)! You were invited (but not required) to lie underneath the microscope and tell the story of YOUR personal evolution. At night, hopefully, those recordings were projected on a 50 foot rear-projected screen. Of course there were some technical issues, that is how you know it's Burning Man.

photos: Jewel, affinity, Extramatic