The Burning Man festival

Burning Man is a week-long annual event held in the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada, in the United States. The event begins on the last Monday in August, and ends on the first Monday in September, which coincides with the American Labor Day holiday.

One of the roots of the annual event now known as Burning Man began as a bonfire ritual on the summer solstice in 1986 when Larry Harvey, Jerry James, and a few friends met on Baker Beach in San Francisco and burned a 9-foot (2.7-meter) wooden man as well as a smaller wooden dog. Harvey has described his inspiration for burning these effigies as a spontaneous act of "radical self-expression". The event did have earlier roots, though. Sculptor Mary Grauberger, a friend of Harvey's girlfriend Janet Lohr, held solstice bonfire gatherings on Baker Beach for several years prior to 1986, some of which Harvey attended. When Grauberger stopped organizing it, Harvey "picked up the torch and ran with it," so to speak. He and Jerry James built an 8-foot (2.4-meter) wooden effigy for 1986, which was much smaller and more crudely made than the neon-lit figure featured in the current ritual. In 1987, the effigy grew to almost 15 feet (4.6 meters) tall, and by 1988, it had grown to around 40 feet (12 meters). Burning Man attendees informally called it "The Man," and this name was given to each successive effigy, every year since Burning Man began.

In 1990, a separate event was planned by Kevin Evans and John Law on the remote and largely unknown dry lake known as Black Rock Desert, about 110 miles north of Reno. Evans conceived it as a dadaist temporary autonomous zone with sculpture to be burned and situationist performance art. He asked John Law, who also had experience on the dry lake and was a defining founder of Cacophony Society, to take on central organizing functions. In the Cacophony Society's newsletter, it was announced as Zone Trip #4, A Bad Day at Black Rock (inspired by the movie of that name).
1991 marked the first year that the event had a legal permit, through the BLM (the Bureau of Land Management). 1992 saw the birth of a smaller, intensive (with 30 or so participants) near-by event named "Desert Siteworks," co-directed by William Binzen and Judy West.
1997 marked another major pivotal year for the event. By 1996, the land-speed-record-holding open playa had grown to a critical mass with 8,000 attendees and was deemed too dangerous (marked with numerous vehicular incidents) to continue in the same way with unrestricted driving.
As the population of Black Rock City grew, further rules were established in relation to its survival. Some critics of the event cite the addition of these rules as impinging on the original freedoms, altering the experience unacceptably, while others find the increased level of activity more than balances out the changes.
In April 2011, Larry Harvey announced that the LLC was beginning a three-year process to transfer ownership and control of the event over to a new non-profit organization called the "Burning Man Project". The move towards becoming a non-profit organization was the result of "bitter infighting" between members of the board. At one point it looked like all of the board members were going to hire lawyers. Corporate appraisers were brought in to determine how much the company was worth, which Larry Harvey found "abhorrent" and against all of the values that Burning Man stood for.

Art on the dry lake is assisted by the Artery which helps artists place their art in the desert and ensures lighting (to prevent accidental collisions), burn-platform (to protect the integrity of the dry lake bed), and fire-safety requirements are met.
Since 1995, a different theme has been created, ostensibly by Larry Harvey, for each year's event. For 2006, the theme was Hope and Fear, and for 2007, it was The Green Man. The 2011 theme was "Rites of Passage". The 2012 theme was "Fertility 2.0". It determines to some extent the design of the Man (although his design and construction, while evolutionary, has remained relatively unchanged) and especially the structure on which he stands (an Observatory for "Vault of Heaven," a Lighthouse for "The Floating World"). These themes also greatly affect the designs that participants employ in their artworks, costumes, camps and vehicles.

Mutant Vehicles, often motorized, are purpose-built or creatively altered cars and trucks. Participants who wish to bring motorized mutant vehicles must submit their designs in advance to the event's own DMV or "Department of Mutant Vehicles” for approval and for physical inspection at the time of the event. Not all designs and proposals are accepted.

In addition to the burning of the Man, the burning of a Temple has become an activity at the event. David Best's temple projects were ritually burned from 2000 to 2004.2011—The Temple of Transition
The 2011 Temple was the first Temple built in Reno, Nevada. The International Arts Megacrew, helmed by Chris "Kiwi" Hankins, Diarmaid "Irish" Horkan and Ian "Beave" Beaverstock returned to a more traditional style. The Temple of Transition took the form of a 120-foot tiered, hexagonal central tower, surrounded by five 58-foot tiered, hexagonal towers. The towers were vaulted and lofty, cut with a profusion of gothic style arches.
2012—The Temple of Juno
With the 2012 Temple came the return of David Best. David planned the most detailed temple he's ever built.[76] The Temple of Juno incorporated a large central tower with central altar space, sitting within a 150' x 150' walled courtyard lined with benches, accessed from four entrances. Intricately cut wooden panels and detailed shapes covered the courtyard walls as well as the interior space and altars.
The tradition of participants inscribing on the surfaces of the piece has continued though all of the iterations and are usually of a highly personal nature.
2000—The Temple of the Mind
2001—The Temple of Tears
2002—The Temple of Joy
2003—The Temple of Honor
2004—The Temple of Stars
2005—The Temple of Dreams
In 2005, Best stepped aside to allow for another artist, Mark Grieve, to build his own interpretation of a Temple. Grieve's temples were seen in both 2005 and 2006.
2006—The Temple of Hope
2007—The Temple of Forgiveness
In 2007 David Best took over the temple building duties for what he thought would be one last time. The 2007 Temple was named "The Temple of Forgiveness." Best stated that after 2007, it was time to hand the Temple over to the community.
2008—Basura Sagrada
In 2008 the "Basura Sagrada" Temple was a collaboration of Shrine and Tucker Teutsch 3.0, built with the extensive help of their friends and the greater Burning Man community.
2009—Fire of Fires
In 2009, the "Fire of Fires" Temple for Burning Man was built in Austin, Texas.
2010—The Temple of Flux
In 2010, the Temple of Flux was designed and orchestrated by artists Rebecca Anders, Jess Hobbs and Peter (pk.) Kimelman who formed the Flux Foundation. This group was notable for drawing from a broad section of the Burning Man community, including the large-scale sound camps and other existing BM art groups. The Flux Foundation has since continued to make large-scale public art outside of Burning Man. The Temple of Flux broke from tradition and was highly abstract in nature, appearing as a series of landforms with canyon and cave-like spaces.
2011—The Temple of Transition
The 2011 Temple was the first Temple built in Reno, Nevada. The International Arts Megacrew, helmed by Chris "Kiwi" Hankins, Diarmaid "Irish" Horkan and Ian "Beave" Beaverstock returned to a more traditional style. The Temple of Transition took the form of a 120-foot tiered, hexagonal central tower, surrounded by five 58-foot tiered, hexagonal towers. The towers were vaulted and lofty, cut with a profusion of gothic style arches.

2012—The Temple of Juno
With the 2012 Temple came the return of David Best. David planned the most detailed temple he's ever built. The Temple of Juno incorporated a large central tower with central altar space, sitting within a 150' x 150' walled courtyard lined with benches, accessed from four entrances. Intricately cut wooden panels and detailed shapes covered the courtyard walls as well as the interior space and altars.

The 2012 Burning Man Festival took place between August 27 and September 3. It takes its name from the ritual burning of a large wooden effigy on Saturday evening. The event is described as an experiment in community, art, radical self-expression, and radical self-reliance. Burning Man is organized by Black Rock City, LLC. In 2010, 51,515 people attended Burning Man. 2011 attendance was capped at 50,000 participants and the event sold out on July 24. In April 2011, Larry Harvey announced that the organization had begun the process of transitioning management of the festival over to a new non-profit organization called the "Burning Man Project".

Tucked away in the Black Rock desert, the 2013 Burning Man arts and music festival celebrates its 27th year. People from all over the world gather for the remote and experimental cultural event. The week-long festivities end Sept. 2.

Once the party wraps up on Sept. 2, the whole site will be torn down entirely, leaving no sign of festivities.

Once a year, tens of thousands of participants gather for Burning Man in Nevada's Black Rock Desert to create Black Rock City, dedicated to community, art, self-expression and self-reliance. This year's festival was held Aug. 26 - Sept. 2, 2013.

U.S. Bureau of Land Management spokesman Mark Turney said more than 61,000 people turned out for the weekend Burning Man outdoor art and music festival in the Black Rock Desert.