This is a series about Decommodification, one of Burning Man’s 10 Principles and a crucial issue in our culture. Black Rock City is decommodified zone, a space free from advertising and transactional relationships, not beholden to corporate influence. Over the last few years, we’ve seen an increase in people posting photos from BRC on Instagram tagging the brands they’re wearing and promoting products. We hope this series will help shed some light on the many angles, interpretations, and opinions on a topic that is central to our event and our global community.
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Decommodifying Permission: Participation vs. Commodification
Since I started this series, I’ve gotten a few messages from people saying (more or less): “YES, I want to be part of a decommodified culture! But also, I need to fundraise for my art project. Does that make me a bad person?” No. No it does not. It means you are struggling to do …Read More
To Reconcile Art and Commerce, Take Them Less Seriously
My first post in this series explored the way in which Decommodified art can do things that commodified art can’t. That it’s not just that one’s “free” and one “costs money” — the act of decommodifying something create a difference in kind as well as accessibility. The second post was a closer look at why …Read More
Everyone’s an Artist; Artists Need to Make a Living Like Everyone
This is part III in Caveat’s series about “decommodifying permission” and figuring out how to square the needs of a decommodified art culture with the difficulty making a living as an artist. Read the whole series here. A while back I was having tea with an artist I admire, and he mentioned that one of …Read More
Further Writings
Anything Commercial Art Can Do, Decommodified Art Can Do Better!
In my first post in this series, I said that decommodified art can do things that commercial art can’t. But what does that mean? Here’s how I put it in Turn Your Life Into Art (with snippets from a few different sections, lightly edited below): Consider Disney World. Imagine the most impressive, impossible ride that …Read More
Decommodify Permission: Make Incredible Experiences With What You Have
For the past year I’ve been visiting different Burning Man communities and offering to work with local artists and creators to collaborate on some kind of weird art experience for everyone who wants to participate. The reason—at least at the time—was that since publishing my new book Turn Your Life Into Art: Lessons in Psychomagic …Read More
Burning Man, High Fashion, and Commodification
By Megan MillerEarlier this week, I was made aware of a “hip new clothing line” that debuted at this year’s Paris Fashion Week. The collection features representations of at least 26 Black Rock City works of art and six mutant vehicles. Several pieces also include derivatives of the Burning Man symbol. As I clicked through the photos, …Read More
Before Decommodification, There Was Once a Merch Table in Center Camp
Did you know that there was once merchandise for sale at Burning Man? There was! In 1996, a few of us took the opportunity to sell some stuff. Keep in mind that Larry Harvey didn’t write the 10 Principles until 2004, so “Decommodification” wasn’t officially part of our ethos yet. Things were different in the …Read More
(Non) Newsflash: Burning Man Is Not a Backdrop for Your Product
There are lots of reasons to go to Burning Man, but one of the best is to get away from the relentless consumerism of mainstream society. It’s a relief to be part of a culture that isn’t marketing at you all the time. Part of Burning Man’s magic is having experiences that are unmediated by …Read More
The Revelation Will Not Be Commodified
There’s a growing sense of outrage in the Burning Man community that our culture is being commodified. I think it’s great for us to be having these conversations, and I’m a little alarmed at the tone of some participants, which shows a lack of civility that seems misaligned with the broader spirit of the Principles. …Read More
I Am Not a Brand, Am I?
So, after my post about the Fyre Festival, my friend Robin Lehto — who is very active in San Francisco’s underground art scenes but not a Burner — responded this way on Facebook: “Image uber alles.” Slow clap. But a MILLION eyerolls at people with personal brands being restricted at Burning Man. My dear, sweet friend, with …Read More
Decommodification Reminder
I’ve seen some online conversations dismissing the importance of the Decommodification Principle. “Who cares if people do photo shoots of their products at Burning Man?” “Burning Man is changing, you can’t fight the tide.” Wha?? You most certainly can! You build a sea-wall to protect our sacred city up on the cliffs from falling …Read More
Commerce & Community: Distilling philosophy from a cup of coffee …
By Larry Harvey[This post is part of the 10 Principles blog series, an ongoing exploration of the history, philosophy and dynamics of Burning Man’s 10 Principles in Black Rock City and around the world. We welcome your voice in the conversation.] Sometimes the exception to a rule can deepen understanding of a principle. For example, some critics of Burning Man …Read More
“Decommodification” and “Cultural Appropriation” – two great conversations that go great together
Right now many Burners are having conversations about how they can discourage people attending Burning Man events from engaging in acts of cultural appropriation (like wearing native costumes) … and many other Burners are having conversations about how they can keep Burning Man decommodified, weird, and even dangerous as it grows. I’d like to suggest …Read More
What does it mean to have “Decommodification” as a principle?
This video illustrates how being commidified is to be easily measurable, rankable, and knowable, making us all simpler and shallower rather than deeper and more complex. …Read More
Frontiers of Decommodification: Video Games, Micro-transactions, and Authenticity
I’m not familiar with any serious schools of thought suggesting that Burning Man has much in common with video games. This post is not going to change that. But I was intrigued to read a recent Kotaku editorial arguing that using micro-transactions to monetize games ruins video gaming communities. That is a whole new frontier …Read More