Animated GIFs and commentary by Josh "CuriousJosh" Reiss
Maybe you didn't make the trek out to Burning Man this year.
Well, we got ace photographer CuriousJosh to bring us back these amazing GIFs.
They may not be quite as awesome as spending a week in Black Rock City. But it's the closest you'll ever get to six days at a wild hippie music fest in the desert while still sitting on your ass in front of a computer.
Snakes or Ropes is a type of fire poi (a tethered, swinging weight) with uses a straight length of flaming Kevlar rope attached to a chain.
In honor of the Fertility 2.0 theme, David Best designed the beautifully intricate 2012 Temple of Juno named after the Roman goddess of fertility. Many consider Sunday night's solemn temple burn one of the week's most moving events.
Everyone pitches in to make Zachary Coffin's "The Universe Revolves Around YOU" work.
Climbing is encouraged on "Timing is Everything / 24-7 Timestar" by Charlie Smith. As people clamber on the sculpture, their movements generate a wave of embers intentionally designed to emit in response to the piece's movement.
The Cubatron Core is Mark Lottor's incarnation of Cubatron 3D Display technology, which first appeared at Burning Man in 2004. It's 26 feet in diameter and 18 feet tall, with 80 tubes of 48 lights each, adding up to 3840 total lights.
El Pulpo Mecanico returns one year after premiering at Burning Man 2011, entertaining crowds with its fire-breathing mechanical octopus.
Flow artist Marvin Ong demonstrates a loose style of club spinning outside Sacred Spaces village.
A rotating double-helix of lights, just one of the many things you can find while wandering Black Rock City at night.
A fire tractor pauses for a moment on the playa before lighting up the night sky.
Motion-sensing hand controls drive music and video at the "Space Pallete."
Ruby Bettencourt and Jeff Howe's "FLIP" is an 8 foot diameter convex hand plasma-cut steel mandala that you can flip by hand. The creators hope it's a "quiet beacon calling for contemplation and meditation."
Fire poi, tethered flaming weights that are one of the flow arts' most popular fire tools.
Burners gather underneath the light of a glowing purple tripod.
Fire fans offer a much larger flame than the majority of fire tools, and often can't be held in the straight down position without burning the spinner's hands.
The Ego Project from Laura Klimpton and Michael Garlington continues Laura's series of larger than life words which in previous years included MOM, OINK, and LOVE. Attendees gathered in a large circle to watch the burning of this popular piece Saturday night after the burning of the man.
-- Josh "CuriousJosh" Reiss
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