Early Burner Man

There is a strong difference between creativity and maliciousness. This person is very affected and disconnected. I really feel sorry for him. Every person brings and takes from the Burning Man experience what they will. He stole that from some, gave it to some and got his 15 minuets or so. He wants attention. Deny him.

lol, no idea =/.

That guy seems a little tweaked out.

The Other Side of the Torch

The morning after the legitimate burn of the Man, at Green Man, my futuristic Statue of Liberty was a 10' cinder; my trailer, generator, scaffold and all of my tools were bent, melted and mangled wreckage. The arsonist(s) had dragged the generator to the trailer, removed the gas cap and dumped it up-side down on top. A spent, pocket-sized butane canister lay among the wreckage. I believe that, like the Man, the attack on Liberty was targeted and calculated I suspect the attacks were waged on two pivotal cultural symbols, perhaps by the same hand and that the acts represent a form of domestic terror designed to get attention and paired specifically to Burning Man...I welcome any corroboratory or contradictory evidence. It has seriously affected my ability to support or express myself through my artwork.

After much prompting, I created a Paypal account at timeless.sculptures@gmail.com. (So far, the wonderful people of BRC have already deposited almost $3900.00!!) I can also charge to a debit card. Of course one great way to help is to order a sculpture... I am sorely compromised in my ability to promote my business… Check out my website at www.TimelessSculptures.com

For images and a detailed account, commentary and updates or to post your own comments please visit and/or link your own posts to my evolving Tribe page: http://people.tribe.net/timeless1

Matthew (Timeless) Welter

Please stop putting so much of the burning man activities on the air... it's like a couple of months ago, I totally stopped watching because it seemed like every other pod was about tiny cars ... and carbon footprint.. You know other countries are worse than the US because they don't understand global warming etc. We do our part, but the rest of the world needs to do theirs.. and who is suppose to pay for the adjustments on factories in china, third world countries, other places where pollution of water and other things is just a fact of life... Everyone seems to have an anti american attitude.. try traveling the world. We have a wonderful country and if more americans took pride in what we have, there wouldn't be the social problems we have.

...the burgeoning adolescent, at any chronological age, is a risk taker and a risk maker.....sometimes truly grave, and great, danger is involved...
Growing Up does not by definition mean 'boredom'.... Mature Creativity with a more clarified Purpose and Meaning is the sign of
the Adult Artist...
Many there are in these times who fear aging...hence, extreme exercises in protracted adolescent activity...and, one by one by one we realize the complex, profound, and deeper meaning of "Learn how to behave from those who cannot"...

homeboy acts a little off. I don't think he "planned" it out, he just got bored.

From the article: "However, within BRC mores, it would not be entirely out of place (though a minority view I suspect) to suggest that burning someone's art may be considered a form of interacting with it."

I suggest the author ask some actual artists how they feel about that. It gets much less abstract when it's your art, your energy, your time, blood, sweat and tears. How about if someone steals the art? Shall we call that interaction as well? What if it's not someone trying to make a point about the useless notion of ownership who burns art but rather some drunk chick who just thinks it'd be funny?

The fact is that burning man is no longer what it was in the 1990's. It's nice to be reminded of what it used to be...but honestly, if you feel that strongly, go start your own event. Burning Man is just one small thing. There are many deserts. There are many other weeks in the year. Go forth and multiply...

Paul may have burned the man during the ecclipse, his reasoning was most people would be distracted by the moon and not be around the Man.

This dialogue on safety is anathema to the experience of BM. The ticket you purchase is a one way ticket to self-responsibility. Paul showed us that, as Holly says, BM isn't the same. He modernized BM by proving the conformity which has become commonplace.

Holly, I totally agree with you, i wasn't justifying anything that he did or qualifying it in any way, that's just what he said, and I found it to be an interesting contrast between his actions [very dangerous] and his words ["I was concerned for people's safety"]... also I don't think that destroying someone's artwork is the way to get a point across especially in that context.

"thereby insuring that no one got hurt"? Please. While I don't vilify Addis and kinda chuckled when I heard about the whole thing, there's no insurance involved when it comes to arson and lots of people. Some guy screaming at people at burning man doesn't really mean much. And if you look at it in the context as the Man is a sculpture and Paul decided to burn someone else's art, well...that's a cardinal sin on the playa. I get his point, but come on. Let's not kid ourselves into thinking that he took any kind of real precaution for anyone else's safety.

And yes, burning man used to be much more dangerous...the drive-by shooting range, blowing up propane tanks, etc. It's just not that event anymore, for better or for worse. Go out on July 4 if you want to blow sh*t up.

Has he confessed yet? I notice you identify him as the man who did it. I mean, I think he did it, but last I heard he hadn't confessed and obviously it hasn't gone to trial. What's the word?

That's a good question, he said that he was yelling and screaming at people for 5 min before he did it telling them to move away because he was going to burn the man thereby insuring that no one got hurt, though he also made the point that Burning Man used to be a lot more dangerous and therefore more fun and he was trying to bring that spirit back to it..

He was making me nervous with how jumpy he was at first. It was good to see him calm down a bit by the end.

His comment about "please don't hurt anybody" intrigued me though. If they hadn't been able to put out the fire he started when he lit the man early, my understanding is that his actions very well might have injured a lot of people. How does he explain that?