I am taking an art project to Burning Man this year. This project has the following components: paintings, sound and light. The project is called “The Dreamroom”. The idea is to create a reflective space on the deep playa that is compelling in either the day or night. I want to give you the opportunity to participate in my project if you are moved or are compelled to do so.

The theme for Burning Man 2008 is “The American Dream”. With that in mind, the influences I want to take into creating The Dreamroom are dreams in the sense of ideal visions. Be those visions personal to me or for society. Thoughts behind the work might be “this is how I want my country to be”. “This how I want my day to day life to go.” “This is how people should treat one another.”

So how can you participate? Your ideas are always welcome. There is a lot of surface to be painted (640 square feet). Think fine art paintings, not house painting. A soundtrack to be created. Ambient lighting. Contributions to the paintings could be prose, items to be secured to a painting, etc.

All participants will be credited at the art site in the way of their choosing or be kept anonymous.

To give you a better idea of project, the full description is below.

If you want to discuss, have questions, ideas, etc. contact me.

Thanks,

WayWard

Basic Description: Eight sided structure made of 20 “paintings”. Lit for deep playa safety and interaction with a looping soundtrack. Lighting and sound powered by 12v batteries that will be recharged by solar panels throughout the event.

Inspiration: The feeling of The Dreamroom is influenced by The Rothko Chapel in Houston, TX. The Rothko Chapel houses 14 large paintings by Mark Rothko. The chapel was opened in 1971. I first discovered the chapel in 1986. Being from Houston I have visited the chapel many times and it has served as a rejuvenating, quiet space numerous times in my life. More information on Rothko Chapel is available at: www.rothkochapel.org/. The structural design of The Dreamroom is influenced by modern adaptations of Mongolian Yurts. The Wikipedia yurt entry: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yurt. A popular modern adaptation of the yurt: hexayurt.com/.

The “Paintings”: The paintings are 20 paintings on 8’ x 4’ panels of Masonite. These 20 panels will be used to “skin” the structure. I plan for these paintings to be mostly acrylic. The subject matter theme is based on the 2008 Burning Man theme, “The American Dream”. My interpretation of “Dream” is more in the sense of Martin Luther King’s quote “I have a dream…” rather than say Salvador Dali’s intensely feverish dreams.

The Structure: The structure is eight walls placed in an octagon. The walls are framed 2 x 4s staked to the playa in a toenail fashion using #5 rebar. The walls will be fastened together using large 9/16” lag bolts. Each wall will be 8’ tall and 4’ wide on the exterior. Both the exterior and interior will be covered with a painting. Two opposing wall will be cut with openings. The first opening will be the “door”. The door will be a 2’ x 2’ opening that is 1’ above the ground. On the opposing wall, there will be a “window”. The window will be 1’ x 3’ and 3’ above the ground. The roof will be a 30 degree pitched roof consisting of eight panels from the eight walls. These roof sections will converge into an 18” diameter circle that will be topped with a plastic dome that will house a beacon light. The roof sections will be covered with pieced of four of the paintings to create the ceiling and roof.

Sound: The Dreamroom will house a continuous soundtrack played back via an MP3 player.

Light: For safety, the project will be lit on the perimeter by solar powered yard lights and the beacon light atop the structure. For ambiance, a series of LEDs will be mounted throughout the inside of the structure. These LEDs will be wired to sound controllers to blink and respond to the sound track and any ambient noise.

Power: 12v batteries will power the lights and sound. This equipment will be placed near the structure in a lockbox that will also be staked to the ground by #5 rebar. The batteries will be changed daily and recharged daily by solar power and/or generator off site from the project.