Burning Man 2017 Shrine - "Emotional Journeys"

Wolf & Whimsy and the Portland Oregon Burner Community

  

Summary

Our Emotional Journeys, depicted in words, images and figures on an artistic arch sculpture; A visual way visitors can relate to their own experiences, trials and joys.

Visitors are encouraged to share their journeys, stories, feelings through writings and offerings.

Status Reports

(10-August-2017) Today we received our final placement: find us at the 4:30 plaza... in the very center! "Emotional Journeys" will be the center shrine in an X pattern of the five shrines for our plaza. As with everything about Burning Man, this is subject to change. But that's our most likely location. Yesterday we finished the last bit of woodworking by carving a wood box with the project's name on it. We have one more Portland area work project, at the Noobie Picnic event on Saturday August 12th. Come out and help us decorate the shrine before it heads to Black Rock City!

(25-March-2017) We have been approved by Burning Man Arts to build and install our Shrine! Yes! Go Portland!
(The Burner Community of Bend, OR is also building a Shrine - Yay! Go Bend! Go Oregon!)

"Emotional Journeys" is one of 30 shrines that will be showcased as regional honorariums (formerly CORE) at Burning Man 2017. Twenty shrines will be in the center area around The Man; five will be in the 4:30 Plaza and five will be in the 7:30 Plaza.

Presentation and Interactivity

The sculpture will be four levels of arches that increase in size as they ascend, with a Lotus Flower at the very top. Transitions and emotions will be depicted visually on the arches by means of words, pictures, figures. The arches may represent a visual transition between the high and low emotions. Example:
Suffering <-> Accident <-> Healing <-> Joy
Some states may be represented by figures, e.g. “Contemplation” might be Rodin’s “The Thinker” sitting on a middle arch; “Despair” might be a figure of a fallen angel weeping under a bottom arch. “Joy” might be several figures dancing on a top arch.

Arches “connect” emotional states with events and trials:

There will be a total of 30 arches, all made from solid wood. The top level is a cross-arch like the inside of a Gothic cathedral. This sits on four arches which sit on eight arches which sit on sixteen arches at the bottom. A wooden chain will hang down from the underside of the pinnacle and from that will be platforms with decorative (LED) candles illuminating the structure from within. Four small spotlights may be positioned at the corners of the plinth to illuminate the outside from below.

Four hand-carved wood boxes (approx 4”x9”) at the base, one along each side, will contain pens, colored paper and wood push-pins so that visitors may add their own emotions or a short story to the structure. Or write directly on the arches.

History and Meaning

I (Wolf) and many of my friends have been through a tumultuous emotional journey over the past three or so years. Calling it an "emotional rollercoaster" seems an undertatement. It seemed like every day one of my friends would post on Facebook a story of how amazing or how devastating a recent event in their life had been.

I began to think about how I could represent the transitions of emotions we experience in Life, visually, and the idea of Arches Spanning Across Life Events came to mind. Of course there are a whole spectrum of emotions, and a myriad of ways to get from one emotional state to another. This sculpture is not intended to be a precise roadmap by any means -- only a visual/artistic representation (from top-to-bottom, or from bottom-to-top) as to how we experience the extremes... by way of the events we encounter and choices we make that get us there.

The project is intended to have a Gothic Cathedral feel to it throughout. Arches represent strength (one of the strongest and most reliable architectural elements) as well as elegance and solemnity.

The Lotus Flower is revered in many cultures (particularly in Asia) as a representation of core spirituality, love, and purity. It is the flower from which the Seven Chakras are visually modeled. It is thought to be the representation of clarity (cleanliness) arising from trouble and chaos (murky waters/mud).

The (LED) candle chandelier is the central element of Illumination, to represent how our Energies and Self are the fires within that keep us going, keep us growing. I really like the idea of the chain being made from solid wood, both because it can burn with the rest of the structure and because it fits the wood motif so well. I've been a woodworker for decades and haven't made a wood chain before. It is one of the elements I am most excited about.

Collaborative & Interactive Art

We would encourage all in the Portland Oregon Burner communinity to participate, by helping us refine the design and work together in its construction. The theme will benefit from an open discussion about how to represent the Emotional Transitions, how to apply the different words, figures and pictures onto the sculpture. We want this to be a collaborative effort from the whole community, allowing anyone who has felt these Emotional Rollercoasters as we have to express themselves through this art piece.

And at the Big Burn we will have markers, paper and push-pins for others to add their own emotions, experiences, thoughts, prayers, desires.

Construction Materials & Techniques

Arches

Fabricated from framing lumber, cut freehand using a bandsaw. Arch cross-section will be approximately 1-2" thick and 2-3" deep. All arches are 12" tall. The top arch has a span of about 48" while the bottom sixteen arches are about 6" wide on centers, and approximately 6" apart on centers. The top of every arch will be somewhat flat to accommodate the placement of an arch (or the Lotus Flower) above it.

The arch pattern (from bottom to top) is 16-8-4-2. The top arch is actually four half arcs that meet at an apex. Above the apex sits the Lotus Flower. Below the apex will hang the chandelier. We are debating whether to do a gothic or romanesque style cathedral arch, a moorish arch, or just a plain arch.

The top of the cross arch will be approximately 48" above the base. With the thickness and amount of wood, this will be a fairly substantial structure weighing approx. 180-300 lbs.

Base

Burning Man Artery provides us with a Plinth with a solid plywood surface. On top of this our project foundation will be mounted, which is a frame made of 2x4's to help delineate the project from the base architecturally, and provide a rigid structure to secure the arches from underneath. Currently we plan to paint the base flat black, to accentuate all of the structure elements above it.

Chandelier

Four chains made of 2.5"x4" wood links will descend from the upper cross-arch. The chains extend to (and into) the top tier of the chandelier. The chandelier itself consists of two 9" disc platforms made of solid wood. Each platform will have 4 flickering LED candles. Wiring for the candles will be hidden completely, enhancing the notion these are flaming candles. Power for these will be made by two rechargeable batteries. The run-time on a set of batteries is approximately 72 hours.

The links will be made from solid Cherry and Black Walnut, possibly in an alternating color scheme. Most of the chandelier will be coated in polyurethane to help keep it clean of dust and to add lustre.

Lotus Flower

Our ceremonial piece will be a 6" wide white (or pink) Lotus Flower made from a soft foam that closely represents a real live flower. Our original intent was to have the flower glow at night, but due to thickness of the material this seemed impractical. Also the flower will be 7 feet off the ground and it didn't seem its glow would have been apparent.

Carved Boxes for Writing Utensils

At two points along the base, we will install boxes decorated with chip carving. The carving style is called "Kerbschnitzen" (Kerbschnitt) which is a centuries-old carving style originating from Switzerland. Wolf picked up this skill many years ago and is excited to use it again for this project.

Inside the boxes there will be felt-tip pens ("Sharpies") of many colors. Visitors may write their memories or emotions directly on the sculpture.

Leave-No-Trace plan

For Transport: from build site (Portland, OR) to Black Rock City, the shrine will be boxed in plywood crating to protect it from elements and contain anything that might get loose on the journey.

On Playa: Installation should be relatively simple. The art piece needs to be uncrated and placed atop its plinth, then secured using 3" deck screws. We will pre-drill the holes for screws so that no MOOP is released. The participatory elements (pens and other writing implements) are kept in lidded boxes during the event to prevent from MOOPing. At the end of the event, we will disassemble and pack away the entire structure, then comprehensively MOOP sweep the plinth and surrounding area.

Burn Plan: 98% of the materials should be burnable. The remainder (i.e. wires, faux candles and LED spotlights) can be stripped from the installation prior to burning if required. Note that BM Arts has designated this shrine will NOT to be burned at Burning Man. Our plan is to disassemble at end of the event and take the pieces home, intact. Future installation(s) are possible or it may find permanent residence in an art collection. It may eventually be burned ritualistically at a Portland regional in 2018.

Additional Pictures, Diagrams

Other Visual Elements (ideas)

Emotion Wheel

Sample of emotional states and relationships, similar to how they could be represented on the structure:

Lotus Flower - (the real one, not a daffodil this time!)

Influences

I have to give credit to many artisans who have so beautifully depicted emotion in drawings, music, performance and sculpture. Below are only a few that come to mind in the first 15 seconds:

©2017 Wolf & Whimsy. All Rights Reserved.
PO Box 86435 / Portland OR 97286