Monday, December 1, 2008

Welcome to the Vishnu's Dream Blog!

Ex nihilo omnia


OK Kidz! World famous artiste Jeautoux here with another art installation for Burning Man! This year's effort will be a 32 foot high tensile structure called Vishnu's Dream. Here's a picture of the model I made of it.





Deedee and I had a blast at our first Burning Man in 2007: after all the crazy art cars, kinetic sculptures, and participatory art, well, we haven't looked at art in the same way since. So of course we have to return and spend even more money and make an even larger commitment of time and resources to build this year's project!

But Burning Man gets in your blood the way the playa dust gets in your hair - no matter the expense or commitment, it's something that simply has to be done. When I was climber, we used to arrogantly say to people who asked why we climbed: "if you have to ask why, you'll never understand." Well, I guess we're in the same place again with Burning Man whenever someone asks why we would go to such effort for something that will only be seen for a week: if you have to ask why, you'll never understand - but the difference is that now I'm the one asking the "why" question of myself!

Of course, there's no rational answer and perhaps that's the appeal. After so many years being wired tight with expectations to produce results and conform to whatever society dictates as the "norm," Burning Man represents the opportunity for creative expression without judgement, without the need to explain why. In fact, if you look at the core of the event itself - the burning of a forty foot effigy of a man - no one can really explain why it's done other than that it can be done.

So here we are, blessed with the opportunity to create art for art's sake. We are very fortunate indeed. But to make this a reality, we are going to need help! So we are applying for a Burning Man Art grant to cover half the expenses. And we will be trying to raise another 25% of the cost through donations and the remaining 25% will come from our own pockets. We'll be having a couple of fund raisers this spring and summer so check back here for details.
Meanwhile you can see our web site at http://www.vishnusdream.info/ for lots more information on Vishnu's Dream and some links to the Burning Man event.

If you're interested in becoming involved with the building of the project, check out the support page. We'll be looking for help with the welding, sewing and painting. Also on the support page is a link to our PayPal site where you can make financial contribution.

Stay tuned for details. I'll be updating the blog as the project develops!

Oh! And the Latin at the top? It means "from nothing, everything," a reference to how Burning Man springs from the totally empty desert into a complete city and then totally vanishes.

Joe - aka the artiste currently known as "Jeautoux"