A microcosm of the annual Burning Man event, No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man at the Cincinnati Art Museum brings surreal and immersive artwork to crowds who may otherwise be unfamiliar with Nevada's Black Rock Desert, where Burning Man participants erect a temporary city each year. In addition to the pieces already on display at the CAM, a number of new, larger-than-life installations will be scattered about the museum as a part of phase II of the exhibit.
“Audiences are in awe — they’re not expecting the level of technique and creativity, the huge effort, that goes into making the pieces in this exhibition,” guest curator David J. Brown told CityBeat in May. “It’s indicative of the kind of activity you can see out there.”
According to a press release, InVasive is a new outdoor artwork that “honors memory, emotion, experience and transformation.” Built entirely out of invasive honeysuckle from the museum grounds, the artwork was designed by University of Cincinnati students under the leadership of Samantha Krukowski, a faculty member at UC’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning. Visitors are encouraged to engage in introspection and leave their stories with the installation, which will be released — likely by flame — when the exhibition closes on Sept. 2.
Visitors will also be able to share their stories by writing their dreams on the museum walls via Candy Chang’s Before I Die board.
Other phase II additions include the patterns and lights of Hybycozo’s geometric shapes, headdresses made for the Playa at Black Rock, Android Jones’ intergalactic prints and intimate and large-scale photos — some of which were submitted by Burning Man participants themselves.
No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man is on display at the Cincinnati Art Museum through Sept. 2.
Sign up for CityBeat's weekly newsletters to get the latest on Cincinnati culture, dining, news and things to do delivered right to your inbox.https://www.citybeat.com/subscribe
Photos by Holden Mathis
