Burning Man Records
Scope and Contents
Most of the collection is comprised of flyers, programs, maps, and other ephemeral material related to the annual Burning Man festival. A small amount of administrative and general information is also present, including a 2016 annual report, articles about Burning Man, and calendars produced each year to promote the festival and, more importantly, to "generate [a] society that connects each individual to his or her creative powers, to participation in community, to the larger realm of civic life, and to the even greater world of nature that exists beyond society."
Dates
- 1990-2021
Creator
- Burning Man (Festival) (Creator, Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research. Materials must be used on-site; advance notice suggested. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.
Historical Note
Burning Man was founded in 1986 by Larry Harvey and Jerry James. The first festival took place on San Francisco's Baker Beach for the summer solstice and continued there through 1989 after San Francisco police banned the burning of the man effigy due to fire concerns.
In 1990, Burning Man, which by now had grown to over 300 participants, relocated to the Black Rock Desert in northern Washoe County, Nevada. The date of Burning Man also moved from June of each year to September, eventually landing on Labor Day weekend. From there, Burning Man exploded into one of the most well-known countercultural events in the world. Attendance skyrocketed from 350 individuals in 1990 to over 67,000 people in 2016, all of whom come to Black Rock City, a settlement that exists for just the one week each year and houses Burning Man.
Extent
2.5 Linear Feet (4 boxes, 2 oversize folders)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Burning Man is an annual countercultural festival that takes place in the Black Rock Desert of northern Washoe County, Nevada each September. Most of the collection is comprised of flyers, programs, maps, and other ephemeral material related to the annual Burning Man festival from 1990-2018. A small amount of administrative and general information is also present, including a 2016 annual report, articles about Burning Man, and calendars produced each year to promote the festival and, more importantly, to "generate [a] society that connects each individual to his or her creative powers, to participation in community, to the larger realm of civic life, and to the even greater world of nature that exists beyond society."
Arrangement
Arranged in two series:
1) Burning Man Festival Materials
2) Administrative and General
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Michael Mikel in April 2013, February 2018, and December 2018.
Separated Materials
Books received with the donation transferred to the Special Collections stacks and include the following titles:
Burning Man, images by Barbara Traub and others; essays by Janelle Brown and others; designed by John Plunkett; edited by Brad Wieners. San Francisco : HardWired, 1997 [TR654 .B856 1997]
Burning Man, designed by Arin Hart Fishkin. No publication location : Black Rock City, LLC, 2010
Post, George R. Dancing with the Playa Messiah, Richmond, CA : Dragon Fotografix, 2012 [TR680 .P678 2012]
Bruder, Jessica. Burning Book: A Visual History of Burning Man. New York : Simon Spotlight Entertainment, 2007 [NX510.N32 B632 2007]
Huang, Vincent. Baninguman gokuraku sabaku enjin = Burning man 1997-2000, Tokyo : Asupekuto, 2001 [NX510.N48 B635 2001]
Videos received with the donation transferred to the Special Collections stacks and include the following titles:
Burning Man: Beyond Black Rock, 2006
Dust Devils, 2003
Folding-Time and Space at Burning Man 2, 2005
Gifting It: A Burning Embrace of Gift Economy, 2002
The Burning Man Project, 1999-2000
Juicy Danger Meets Burning Man, 1998
Burn: The Burning Man Arts Festival, 2000
Where's the Fire?: A Burning Man Alchementary, 1999
"Black Rock City in the Sand" in Substance TV, 2(6), 2002
Burn on the Bayou, 2008
Burning Man 1997
Creator
- Burning Man (Festival) (Creator, Organization)
- Title
- Guide to the Burning Man Records
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Jessica Maddox
- Date
- March 2018
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the University of Nevada, Reno. Special Collections Department Repository
Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center
1664 N. Virginia St.
Reno Nevada 89557-0322 USA
775-682-5665
775-682-5724 (Fax)
specoll@unr.edu