Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Burning Man, an annual weeklong event devoted to countercultural principles and art, offers a rich context for studying art, consumption, religiosity and spirituality, subcultures, collective action, and organizations. During the week leading to the Labor Day holiday, some 47,000 persons gather across five square miles, forming Black Rock City, one of Nevada's largest, albeit temporary, cities. Toward the week's end, the event's eponymous bonfire consumes the Man, a 40-foot-tall, neon-decorated, wooden figure that stands at the city's center. Although the event appears spontaneous, volunteers, paid staff, and organizers work year-round for its large formal organization. Incorporated as the Black Rock City Limited Liability Corporation in 1997, this formal organization, hereafter referred to as the Burning Man organization, is led by six LLC board members, including event co-founder Larry Harvey. The organization secures an event permit and insurance, rents portable toilets and equipment, coordinates with federal and local agencies, and manages other complex tasks. Despite its for-profit form, the organization depends on volunteers who build and dismantle the city's temporary streets and shelters for infrastructural services, welcome new arrivals, help artists place their installations, work with media outlets which cover the event, patrol for emergencies, promote environmental conservation, ... log in or subscribe to read full text