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What is space?I don't mean what's that giant dark thing in the sky or what fills the void in ones heart. I mean, what factors define what we consider to be a 'space'?
Take the first three of what we consider to be 'Dimensions' and you create a volume. That volume is an space designated by the constraints of length, width, and height. It's how that space is defined where subjectivity, creativity, and need intersect.
There is something special and intangible about how a space can be created. It's the part of the building beyond the front door, the protective walls around your heart, or the illuminated cone of air and patch of Earth protected by a lone streetlight, the area of your camp where a square of carpet resides, or the distance the light from your campfire can reach, or as far as the sound from your speakers carries. Since humanity first sought shelter in caves, we have been defining space only the language and choice of curtains have evolved.
At this year's burn a few of us found respite from a midweek dust bowl within one of these spaces. Legends in the installation art world built "the garage" on playa, a legit up-to-code garage with all the trappings of one you'd find in any middle-america suburb (the christmas decorations in the rafters was a nice touch). In talking with the artists, we happened upon this common desire of using art to create space where, in this instance, nostalgia and familiarity in an unfamiliar setting was the master brush stroke.
As members of this community continue to return from the big burn and others still prepare for our regional, I would suggest that we all look at what spaces we occupy, how we define and decorate it, and who we choose to invite in. Your shelter is a reflection of what's internal to you, is it filled with people or sparsely populated? Is it colorful and inviting or dark and concealed? Will it protect you from a light rain or from a full dust bowl? Who's to say? Has it even been properly tested? The instructions have long since been disposed of, from here on it's up to you.
There is a storm approaching and the arrival time is unclear due to budget cuts. What will your space look like as the supports pull out, the dust creeps in, and the walls bow inward? Will you still dance and sing and celebrate? Or will you collapse into the heap that once was your tent?
I don't know the answers, if I did I wouldn't write. All I can do is continue to ask the questions. What I do know is that this community, the big burn, the little burns, and all these gatherings are important. They point out the silly things that make us human and keep us safe. They are an exercise in thriving in a world that's actively trying to K*ll us and the more we dance in the face of the world's worst dust bowl the longer we will live. Besides, you remembered your scarf and goggles; you're a burner, you'll be fine.
Keep dancing,
Woj
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Event venue
O'Sullivan's Irish Pub & Restaurant Escondido, 118 E Grand Ave, Escondido, CA 92025-2712, United States
Tickets
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.