A line of light reaching straight up into the sky |
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2005 Report
That's One Tall Fucking Thing aka the Beanstalk, an experiment in perceptive disorder, was first attempted in 2001. The Thing consists of several connected strands of industrial-quality white Christmas lights suspended from a helium balloon. While the installation is simple in concept and execution, the effect on viewers is extraordinary, and was described by participants as "elegant" and "the best thing out here" in its earlier, more modest installations.
The piece functions at several levels for the viewer; seen from a distance as a towering landmark, the Thing helps to provide a vertical reference point to the vast blackness of the nighttime playa. The Black Rock Desert is one of the very few places wide open enough for such a site-specific installation to be possible, to be seen and enjoyed by thousands of people.
Drawn out to the deep playa by the impossibly tall line of twinkling lights, you begin to understand what it is, but not how it is suspended. Three guy lines are anchored a considerable distance away from the point where the lights reach the playa floor. Participants under the supervision of a docent can approach the Thing and shake it gently to watch waveform undulations cascade upwards from their grasp, then, if just the right frequency is applied, to return from the unseen suspension point, crossing the next set of uprising waves. Or, if you are feeling contemplative, you can simply stand close at the base of the strand, looking up as they disappear into pinpricks of light.
Tony Hiss, a noted writer on man and the built environment, remarked on the effect that can be achieved if you stand very close to a tall, vertical object and look up. The eye plays a trick of foreshortening the perception of distance, bringing the vault of the sky seemingly closer to your eye. This is a rather profound experience with the potential to bring on sensations that are quite exciting, or in their vertiginous effect, rather disconcerting.
While we were able to reach a short-lived altitude of 165 feet in 2003 using a weather balloon, in 2005, we hope to extend our experiment in perceptive disorder to the Federal Aviation Administration's 500-foot ceiling. To achieve this milestone, we believe that we will need something more than an ordinary helium-filled balloon for greater durability and lifting power. And as such, we will need considerably more helium than the two tanks we are able to fit in our Volkswagen camper.
The project's key component is the SkyDoc balloon, which is used by the military and industry for a variety of purposes. The 11-foot SkyDoc is capable of a net lift of 10 lbs and has been tested in up to 90 mph. winds. This level of performance and durability comes at a significant price, $1,474. However this balloon would allow the Thing to remain aloft during almost anything the playa has to throw at it. By way of comparison, less-expensive helium advertising blimps would need to be taken down once the wind exceeded 20 mph. Weather balloons are not designed for tethered flight, and, as we discovered during the 2003 installation, not durable enough for participant interaction - a critical element.
The simplicity of the project means that it can be broken down and stored during the inevitable windstorms, and, perhaps most excitingly, deployed in different locations during the week. We are exploring whether it will be feasible to carry the entire generator and a single control line in a bicycle cart and then slowly creep the Thing around the playa at night - a landmark that moves, oops sorry, tweakers!
Budget
Item Unit Cost Units Total
SkyDoc Balloon $1,474 1 $1,474
Tether cord 102 1 102
Helium + delivery 80 6 480
Glowsticks 47 case 47
Caution tape 2 roll 2
Christmas lights 8.95 6 $53.70
Total $2,159*
(*tentative pending estimate of shipping costs, taxes, etc.)
Build timeline
That's One Tall Fucking Thing has very little pre-playa preparation. The few components are assembled on-site when weather conditions permit and deployed rapidly. In our experience, the project assembly can begin about an hour before sunset and be up and flying by dark. The simplicity of the project means that it can be broken down and stored during the inevitable windstorms, and, perhaps most excitingly, flown in different locations during the week.
Safety
Each of the three high-strength support lines is flagged with reflective tape at two-foot intervals until a height of about eight feet. Due to the lifting power of the balloon, the lines are nearly vertical from the anchor points, and in our previous experience, do not present a collision risk since they are well-festooned with caution tape. The three rebar anchor points are fully encased in two-liter clear plastic soda bottles, each of which contain a long-life glow stick and are duct-taped in place.
The small,
Honda generator is similarly marked. In case of high wind, we have a
heavy, back-stop-type nylon net lined with a plastic tarp in which the
balloon will be stored. In the highly likely event of an extreme
windstorm, the balloon will be deflated. We will monitor weather
conditions in conjunction with the Black Rock City Airport. If
conditions permit and we decide to keep the balloon in the air during
the day, it will be retracted to a lower altitude to avoid presenting a
hazard to pilots and/or skydivers. One member of our team is a licensed
pilot, and as such he is very attuned to the safety
issues involved with tethered objects. As far as L.E.O.-operated,
nocturnal Predator drones go, they are on their own.Cleanup
Cleanup is rather straightforward; as we always have in the past, early-morning sweeps of the installation site and surrounding area will be conducted. After the final showing, the three rebar stakes used to anchor the balloon control line are pulled from the ground. Our project team and frog-marched helpers will at the same time conduct an inch-by-inch ground sweep. Our compact Honda generator will be placed on a drip pan to eliminate the chance of oil or gasoline seeping onto the playa.
About the artists
Mike Light, David Rattray, and Wil Van Hazel have been participants at Burning Man more or less in uninterrupted fashion since 1996. Michael's installations of "Full Moon," a 125-foot-long, illuminated series of Apollo Mission photographs, and "100 Suns," a similar installation of images of the United States' nuclear bomb tests, were displayed on the playa in 2000, and 2002, respectively. Michael has exhibited nationally and internationally, and his work has been collected by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Getty Research Library, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the New York Public Library, and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, among others. "100 Suns" was published in six editions in 2003, and the exhibition is touring nationally and internationally. David collaborated with Michael on both of these projects. Together, they have been working on various incarnations of the Thing since 2001, gaining experience with balloons, helium, and high-lift parafoil kites. David is the driving force behind the Burning Squid project, which conducts small burns and other events on Eastern Long Island, N.Y. He has extensive construction and boatbuilding experience. His sailing skills come into play in this project through his knowledge of the wind and especially in tying good knots. Among other diversions, Michael and David stride upon on the playa as the Bucketmen, when the fancy strikes them. Wil is a Los Angeles cinematographer with extensive credits. His television and film set experience has proven invaluable in our project.
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