This video shot by a drone gives a panoramic view of the playa during this year’s Burning Man festival held in the Nevada desert. Watching the video, it is hard not to notice the central importance of sculpture at the event. From the eponymous Burning Man to the many works dotting the desert floor, art is integral to attracting the 61,000 persons who are estimated to have attended this year. That figure is very close to the number of attendees who flock to Art Basel Miami Beach each December.
Yet there seems to be no overlap between the artists and the audiences. Is that because the art market and those who build art for the experience are two separate cultures? Is it an East v. West divide? Burning Man is driven by Silicon Valley where art collecting remains remote from the culture of wealth.
