Burning Man : Un Livre de Photos Aériennes Va Retracer L’histoire du Légendaire Festival

Dans son livre de photographies aériennes inédites, Will Roger, le tout premier directeur des opérations du Burning Man retrace l’histoire de l’un des plus grands festivals du monde.

Will Roger fut le premier directeur des opérations du Burning Man. Ancien chimiste, artiste et, aujourd’hui, membre fondateur du conseil d’administration de la ville nomade de Black Rock City, il publie un livre retraçant en images aériennes l’histoire d’un festival rassemblant, au début des années 1990, seulement quelques milliers de fêtards. En constante évolution, cette grande fête désertique en plein Nevada a subi de larges transformations, à l’image « d’une toile vierge sur laquelle les gens peuvent venir et créer ». S’y réunissent désormais 70 000 âmes. > Read More @ TRAX Magazine

Black Rock City is designed to "sprout out of nothing", says Burning Man co-founder Will Roger

Burning Man co-founder Will Roger has spent the last 14 years capturing the festival in aerial photographs. As a book of his images is released, he spoke to Dezeen about how they created a pop-up city in the desert.

Compass of the Ephemeral: Aerial Photography of Black Rock City through the Lens of Will Roger, shows how the festival has grown from a small camp into a mini metropolis with a population of 70,000.

"If you look at the pictures in sequence from 2005 to 2018, the most significant thing that you see is that the city has grown in size," Roger told Dezeen. > Read More @ Dezeen

Screen Shot 2019-12-23 at 1.07.37 PM.jpg

2 Books Explore Evolution of Burning Man Festival

The Burning Man festival began in 1986 as an intimate, intensely personal gathering on a San Francisco beach. When the latest incarnation of the event begins Sunday in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, running through Sept. 2, tens of thousands of celebrants will gather to celebrate art, music and share in a sense of counterculture reminiscent of the ’60s but totally modern.

How Burning Man got from there to here — and the meaning of it all — is the focus of two recently published books.

“Compass of the Ephemeral: Aerial Photography of Black Rock City through the Lens of Will Roger” (Smallworks, $29.99) features photographs taken by Roger, a Burning Man founder, as well as archival images of festivals over the years. “Radical Ritual: How Burning Man Changed the World” by Neil Shister (Counterpoint, $26) is a telling of the Burning Man story, based in large part on interviews with the festival’s principals.

Roger’s photos turn the Burning Man festival itself into a piece of art. From the air, the half-circle collection of tents and recreational vehicles that make up Black Rock City take on the appearance of a geoglyph, one of those massive designs carved into the ground that can be seen only from the air. Other photos depict Burning Man art installations, poster and ticket designs through the years and other archival visuals, fleshed out with essays about Burning Man history and the festival experience. > Read More @ Las Vegas Review Journal

D’évolution du Burning Man, Entre Véhicules Mutants Et Vues au Drone

Plus de 30 ans plus tard, 70 000 personnes sont attendues pour l’événement, qui aura lieu du 25 août au 2 septembre cette année. Le photographe Will Roger, "cofondateur culturel" de Burning Man, a documenté l’évolution de ce lieu éphémère, hors du temps, de l’espace et de toute contrainte, dédié à "l’art, à la vie en communauté, à l’anticonsommation et à l’expression personnelle", indique sa maison d'édition Smallwork Press.

Son livre, intitulé Compass of the Ephemeral: Aerial Photography of Black Rock City through the Lens of Will Roger ("Boussole de l’éphémère : photographies aériennes de Black Rock City à travers l’objectif de Will Roger"), réunit des décennies d’images racontant l’événement. > Read More @ Cheese! Konboni

Juxtapoz Magazine Book Review: Compass of the Ephemeral

Some of us will never understand, but we’re all very curious. Compass of the Ephemeral: Aerial Photography of Black Rock City Through the Lens of Will Roger is a stunning historical travelogue in words and pictures that defines and depicts Black Rock City, as it was conceived, as well as how it continues to regenerate. While the gorgeous pictures present themselves admirably, the accompanying essays, all written with passion and precision, relate history, process, schematics and vision.

In his foreword, Will Roger describes navigating the bureaucratic loops to build “the beautiful serpentine city” in order to create what he simply calls “land art.” William Fox, Director of the Center for Art + Environment at the Nevada Museum of Art, lends context in describing the 400 square miles of North America’s largest playa where meager blue light shifts can result in cognitive dissonance (like snow blindness!), a diminishment that “is useful if you’re seeking to un-anchor your normal sense of reality.” Tony Perez-Banuet says of the clock signage and building the city anew every year that the design was “such a damn good one that is simply prevailed.” In conclusion, Roger, a co-founder of Burning Man, recalls the aerial filming that began in 2005, crediting his pilots who helped him show an expansive perspective that truly captures the enduring power of the desert. > Read More @ Juxtapoz Magazine

Seattle Book Review: Compass of the Ephemeral

The annual Burning Man event and its location in Black Rock City have become icons representing novel creativeness while promoting unrestrained expression. Co-founder of this inspiring phenomenon, Will Rogers has assembled a colorful collection of aerial photographs recording the evolution of this summer site over the past thirteen years starting in 2005. Interspersed within this photographic assemblage are a series of essays describing the objectives of this meeting place, the geology and natural history of the site, some glimpses into the personalities of the founding characters, and ultimately meeting the challenges of fulfilling both the demands of the Department of Public Works and meeting the needs of the escalating number of camping participants. > Read More @ Seattle Book Review

Phace Magazine Book Review: Compass of the Ephemeral

Firstly I have to say like a lot of people I had heard of Burning Man, even though I never really gave it any attention. Well now! I have! This book has blown me away, the photographs are inspiring and do help in beginning to understand what Burning Man is all about. But wait! I'm really hoping to talk to Will Roger, about Burning Man & about this amazing book!

At this point I have to say a big thanks to Smallworks Press for publishing & getting it right! I've put a small introduction below.

I'm engrossed in my copy! > Read More @ Phace Magazine

Black Rock Desert, Photo by Contributing Photographer Vanessa Franking

Black Rock Desert, Photo by Contributing Photographer Vanessa Franking

The Evolution of Burning Man Captured from the Sky by Will Roger

One man who is more than acquainted with this incredible temporary city is Nevada artist and Burning Man cultural co-founder Will Roger. Over the past 14 years, he’s photographed the unique, ever-changing cityscape, capturing its transformation from humble roots to the now living, breathing metropolis that supports over 70,000 citizens today. > Read More @ Malestrom

Burning Man : Un Livre Va Répertorier Les Photos Aériennes de Will Roger

Un titre à rallonge pour un très beau livre. Compass of the Ephemeral : Aerial Photography of Black Rock City Through the Lens of Will Roger sortira le 18 juin prochain. Au travers des yeux du photographe Will Roger, l’objet sera composé de nombreuses photographies du festival mythique, prise depuis le ciel. L’artiste s’est depuis longtemps spécialisé dans les paysages du désert nord-américain. Ce n’est donc pas un hasard qu’il soit également le co-fondateur de ce rassemblement annuel d’environ 75.000 personnes qu’incarne le Burning Man. Pour les moins attentifs, l’évènement se déroule en effet dans le désert de Black Rock, dans le Nevada, depuis bientôt 30 ans. > Read More @ Tsuigi

Drone Photography, Temple Galaxia by Arthur Mamou-Mani

Drone Photography, Temple Galaxia by Arthur Mamou-Mani

Aerial Photography of Black Rock City Documents the Historical Evolution of Burning Man

Compass of the Ephemeral includes a collection of Will Roger’s photographs chronicling the ever-changing cityscape and transformation of Black Rock City, home to Burning Man and one of the harshest climates in the continental U.S. The book traces the history and transition of Black Rock City from a few thousand people in the late 1990s to the growing metropolis required to support over 70,000 citizens today.

‘A BLANK CANVAS’

As the first director of operations of the Burning Man event, Will Roger worked alongside the other five founding board members and all others involved to ensure that Black Rock City becomes a reality each year and then vanishes without a trace.

He was instrumental in creating numerous foundations for the event; he established the Department of Public Works (DPW), a workforce of volunteers dedicated to building and deconstructing the physical infrastructure of Black Rock City. Will also actualised an FAA approved airport, and conceived traditions such as the Gold Spike Ceremony, a pre-event commemoration for the builders of Black Rock City, as the first stake is placed in the ground to survey and build the future city. > Read More @ My Green Pod

Feature: My Green Pod
Source: https://www.mygreenpod.com/articles/compas...

New Photobook Documents Notorious Burning Man

Roger says: “Burning Man is a blank canvas for people to come and create on. Burning Man creates a human empathy, then serendipity and creativity happens. Burning Man is the real world; everything else is the default world. People come away with changed lives and a changed culture because at Burning Man, everyone is human . . . there is no class, no color. You become family: human family, world family, global family.” > Read More @ Fine Books Magazine

Source: https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/press/20...

Book Preview: Compass of the Ephemeral @ Nevada Museum of Art

Join author, photographer and co-founder of Burning Man, Will Roger as he reveals his newest book which includes a substantial collection of Roger’s aerial photos chronicling the ever-changing cityscape and transformation of the temporary Black Rock City. This program will feature a panel discussion between Will Roger, Crimson Rose and William L. Fox, Director of the Center for Art + Environment at the Nevada Museum of Art, moderated by James Stanford.

Doors open at 5 pm with bar. Book signing to follow. > Register Here @ Nevada Museum of Art