BurningSky

Burning Sky Origins

In 1999, I was able to talk several skydiving friends of mine into attending Burning Man for the first time. I had heard about the event for several years and was excited by the prospect of jumping into it. Not only did the idea of seeing Black Rock City from the air intrigue me, but the possibility of taking art into the sky had a tremendous appeal.

That first year about fifteen skydivers jumped, using things like air show smoke and fabric tubes to color the sky a little, but several of us agreed that we needed to come back bigger and better. In 2000, we were unable to organize the group or secure an aircraft, but in 2001 about twenty skydivers attended and camped together in an unofficial camp. This was the critical mass; enthusiasm was high for a fully developed theme camp in 2002.

We have been working on this Sky People theme camp since December of 2001. The theme is twofold: bringing a third dimension to the art of Black Rock City, and living out the ancient awe of beings in the sky that finds expression in virtually every human culture. To achieve this vision we are developing objects that will bring color and depth to the sky, planning jumps and ground installations that will allow BRC citizens to experience the aerial view of the city either in person or vicariously, and finally creating costumes and camp art that reflect humanity's timeless love affair with the heavens.

Check out the Aerial Art discussion on our Projects message board for further information