Paper short abstract:

The Burning Man arts festival in Nevada, USA, is inextricably tied with the use of anthropogenic light as a form of artistic expression. This article explores the origins of this unorthodox use of light as a tool for individual artistic expression and social engagement

Paper long abstract:

From its modest beginnings as a beach bonfire in San Francisco in 1986, to today's vast week-long desert event, the Burning Man arts festival of Nevada, USA, is inextricably tied with the use of anthropogenic light as a form of artistic expression.

This article explores the origins of the unorthodox use of light at the event, in three primary contexts.

First, there is fire art, which is expression through luminosity at its most basic and primal forms. This encompasses a wide range of performance and visual art, ranging from the simple immolation of inflammable sculptures, to explosive gas technology, to fire performances with liquid fuel flame.

Second, there is sculptural lighting which ultimately derives from a more prosaic need: the event organisers' stipulation that artists illuminate their physical works, for safety reasons, at night. This requirement has evolved into complex light installations, many of which have no particular visual value in daylight, and which emphasise temporal and ephemeral experiences.

Third, there is the impact of technological change and the integration of "maker" culture into the Burning Man event. The increasingly widespread availability of affordable and digitally-controlled lighting technologies have contributed to the carnival atmosphere of Burning Man night. The event has also become a popular testbed of light art technologies.

Case studies of each mode are discussed, particularly in the context of the deliberate creation of landscapes of light for individual artistic expression and tools for social engagement.