美国艺术博物馆伦威克画廊将举办“燃烧人”展览

'Burning Man' Art Comes to Smithsonian

The Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C., is exploring the art of the yearly Burning Man event held in Nevada.

The show, No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man, opened March 30. The Renwick is part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Every August, a temporary city rises from the dust in northwestern Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. As many as 75,000 people gather for the eight-day event called Burning Man. They sculpt¹, build, perform and invent in many ways while there. Organizers have called Burning Man a “crucible² of creativity.” The attendees are called “Burners.” Each attendee is equal part observer and actor at Burning Man.

The event’s name comes from the burning of a huge, wooden representation of a human, known as the “Man.” It takes place on Saturday night, hours before the event ends. A crowd gathers, the model is lit on fire, and celebrants watch it burn.

The first “Man” was burned in 1986 on Baker³ Beach in San Francisco, California. That wooden work stood less than three meters high. Now they are always much bigger. The tallest ever was 32 meters.

But more than the “Man” turns to ash at Burning Man. Many works of art are burned during the eight days. The immediate⁴ and the temporary are important ideas at the event. Total respect for the environment is also important. Burners are expected to remove from the area all evidence of themselves and the activity when they leave.

Stephanie Stebich is the director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. She said that the Burning Man festival provides artists a chance to “dream big and create large-scale works with new technologies.”

But Burning Man is not easy to attend. It is deep in the desert, the living conditions are difficult and tickets are costly⁵. Many who want to go cannot. But, now, people in Washington can get much closer to the experience.

On a recent Saturday, visitors formed a long line in front of the Renwick. As they entered, one of the first artworks they saw was Temple, an installation from artist David Best.

At Burning Man, Best is known for designing huge structures in the style of holy buildings. People use them as spiritual centers during their stay at the event. Best told Renwick officials that there are not enough places where people can gather to think about loss. The artist said Temple is such a place without connection to any single religion.

Best’s work is always lit on fire at Burning Man. That will not happen at Renwick Gallery, of course. But the show's organizers have included other activities that are similar to what happens at Burning Man. Maybe most important is that Renwick visitors interact with the art at the exhibit. This is why the show is called “No Spectators.”

For example, visitors to Temple are provided wooden cards on which to write about memories or other thoughts of lost loved ones. They can then place the piece in small openings of the temple structure.

In this way, Temple is changed by those who enter it.

Visitors are also encouraged to touch and take photos of other artworks. FoldHaus’s Shrumen Lumen is an example. The three large models of mushrooms were created by the traditional Japanese art of folding paper, or origami. The mushrooms light up and grow when people are near. Children seem to especially enjoy this combination of technology and artistic⁶ skill.

Artist Richard Wilk’s Evotrope is also interactive⁷. The artwork of wheels and metal framing holds a large, flat round piece in its center. Attached to it are images of a blue eye: open, closed, and several positions in between. When visitors use the device to make the circle spin, the eye seems to open and close.

The Renwick Gallery show also has a virtual reality area where visitors can explore past Burning Mans as if they were there.

No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man will close on January 21, 2019.

I'm Caty Weaver⁸.

Words in This Story

crucible – n. a difficult test or challenge

large-scale – adj. covering or involving a large area

encourage – v. to make (someone) more likely to do something

virtual – adj. very close to being something without actually being it

1 sculpt   

n.雕刻，雕塑，雕刻品，雕塑品

参考例句：

• When I sculpt,my style is expressionistic.我的雕刻风格是表现主义。
• Then,sculpt the remaining fringe parting.然后雕刻剩余的边缘部分。

2 crucible   

n.坩锅，严酷的考验

参考例句：

• The alliance had been forged in the crucible of war.这个联盟经受了战争的严峻考验。
• Put the required amount of metal into the crucible.把适量的金属放入坩埚。

3 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

4 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

5 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

6 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

7 interactive   

adj.相互作用的，互相影响的，（电脑）交互的

参考例句：

• The psychotherapy is carried out in small interactive groups.这种心理治疗是在互动的小组之间进行的。
• This will make videogames more interactive than ever.这将使电子游戏的互动性更胜以往。

8 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。