Subject: Fwd:  Re: [burningcorn] That was really disappointing

--- In burningcorn@y..., "Phil" <chrome@l...> wrote:

----- Original Message -----
From: "Gary Xaoui" <gxaoui@c...>
To: <burningcorn@y...>
Sent: Friday, August 03, 2001 12:31 AM
Subject: Re: [burningcorn] That was really disappointing


> As to the comparison of Burning Corn TO Burning Man with the
tree/Treehouse
> issue.  You must remember that in the early 90d's when BM started 
as a
small
> beach party, the accessibility to image recording equipment Still 
Image,
or
> Video, Digital or Film, was not like it is now.  Hell I got a pop 
up ad
> today for a wireless digital camera, that was slanted to 'spy on 
people'.

It wasn't that bad back then, Gary.  I still use a camcorder I bought 
15
years ago.  Granted, the thing is rather hard on my lower back, but it
shoots nice video on common VHS cassettes.  I'm sure people dragged a 
few of
those back-wreckers to the first Burning Man.  I bet the playa dust 
played
hell with them, too, worse than taping at a local dirt track.  The 
X10 video
cams are also kind of old tech on a new frequency, 2.4 gig.

> Think back to how you first heard of events like this one, or 
Burning Man
> itself.  Did you immediately understand what it was about?  Did you 
see
> images of it?  Did you just hear stories about the wild, crazy, 
stuff that
> went on in the name of Art, Community, or Neo-pagan individualism?

TV, definitely TV before I heard anything on the Internet.  I think 
it was
on Discovery.

> I am an artist, that is the most important thing in my life.  
Putting on
> events like this on is one of the ways I enjoy expressing myself.  
A large
> part of that is setting up the environment for others to do so 
also.  I
take
> great pride in what I (with the expellant help of others) have been 
able
to
> for this community.  When a peace of Art becomes so large that I 
cannot
> experience it all and still perform in it I feel sort of cheated.  
In
> hearing stories and looking at some of the images I missed some 
really
cool
> stuff. (like the firecrackers making a wild strobe effect when 
going off
> inside the core.  I put them there.  I would have like to have seen 
that!)

That was one NICE long string of crackers you put in there!

> Hopefully some of the video documentation will provide me with 
better
ideas
> on how to make better Art.  Like placement of fireworks, position 
and
> amounts of fuel, or improving my firebreathing technique.

Suggestion:  BRING PAINT.  Very few people painted themselves, and we 
were
worse off for it.   BTW, I never did get around to complementing you 
for
what a nice overall event this was!  We must have had at least 4x the 
people
we had last year, yet they all fit in somehow.  I really liked the 
corny
arch and signs on the way in too, nice atmosphere.  I wish I could 
have
gotten there in the daylight, but it was still great at night.

> As a working Professional Artist the one thing I have found you 
cannot get
> enough of is documentation.

Now you've got me envious.  I'm Leslie Cope's nephew, and kind of a 
black
sheep in my family for not being a professional artist.

> Sure Kristen can tell you all about her 16'
> tall Ear of Corn, show you some images of it being built, set up, 
and
> displayed.  But its burn and the activities that were inspired to 
happen
> around it are what its point as an object of art was.  So shouldn't 
she be
> able to document the event?  And shouldn't other Artists be able to 
use
this
> event to make art of there own?  The images posted did that well.  
I am
not
> condoning the use of just your individual image take out of 
context, and
> posted without your consent.  But when its used as documentation 
and you
are
> not readily Identifiably and the image is part of an overall 
peace.   I
feel
> that is very acceptable, and most often the style of image people 
are
taking
> at such an event.
>
> GXAOUI
--- End forwarded message ---