The Art of Burning Man

Burning Man gives way to Mutant Vehicles on the Playa. Mutant vehicles are a distinctive part of the artful imagination that makes Burning Man the captivating event that it is.

The mutant vehicles add light and color to the playa ranging from firetrucks, buses, bicycles, scooters, motorcycles, golf carts, and all manner of wheeled objects which serve as visually stimulating transport.

Josh Wentworth, Britelite’s Technical Director, collaborated on a mutant vehicle project implementing his technical skills in a fun artistic endeavor in this unique environment. The vehicle, called the H.G. Wheels Grime Machine, is the brainchild of the Bumblers, native to the Burning Man Bumblepuss theme camp. We asked Josh to inform us about his experience this year.

Britelite Immersive: What was the aim of the art car project?

Josh Wentworth: It was incredibly refreshing to work on a project whose sole purpose was to bring joy to those who experienced it.

Britelite Immersive: What were the technologies deployed?

Josh WentWorth: With a fairly minimal processor I was able to run close to 300 channels of dmx data powering nearly 100 different fixtures on the grime machine. Using Max/MSP on a small ARM processor in a laptop, I wrote an application that took input from a midi controller near the drivers seat and ran themes along the car. Some examples were flames, rain, wind, rainbows, lightning, to name a few.

Britelite Immersive: how were the technologies effective for the event environment?

Josh Wentworth: LED technology is particularly effective in harsh environments, such as burning man. They require very little power to produce a lot of light and are not particularly sensitive to temperature (both hot and cold). They are also readily available as weather-proof strip that can be cut to custom lengths. Also as long as the engineers are careful the connections and data runs are also resistant to interference.

The Grime Machine Ready to Go List:

• 7 BF Goodrich all-terrain tires (incl. 1 spare)

• Fire Proofing Rig: tanks, gas, plumbing, electronics

• LEDs: extras & replacements

• Sheet metal supplies for scales

• Fuel for truck & generators

• Stock steel to repair training wheels

• Stock steel to fill in frame for scale mounting

• Assorted hardware

The H.G. Wheels Grime Machine was brought to life bringing weirdness and joy to the playa stimulating the many Burners on their joy ride!