Background
As we all know, starfisher only lasted for a few hours one glorious night last year before it started collapsing in that amazing firefly frenzy. Turns out people wanted to intensely interact... at Burning Man!? Go figure! So we talked about making it super-sturdy and interaction-friendly and doing it all over again for Burning Man 2005. But to me, time/money/stress limitations dictated that this would be quite an undertaking in only a few short months that may or may not work. Hmmm...

These were my criteria in thinking up a new art installation idea for 2005:
1. Use all the working parts from starfisher (as well as the solar parts we used in our camp).
2. Use recycled materials where possible. Go to Urban Ore in Berkeley and stock up on cheap wood, metal, whatever.
3. Include our whole camp in the creation process. Somehow involve everyone.
5. Try and do as much work before the event as possible. Minimize on-site installation time.

My Proposal
Picture a miniature wooden house out in the middle of the open playa. Jut a bit larger than dollhouse scale so it's a strange proportion, slightly too tall. Maybe 6 feet high. The house is crudely built and weathered, but detailed where it counts. The style is Alice in Wonderland meets Tim Burton. Everything feels a little "off". The house is backed up to a stand of barren trees, created by willow branches embedded in the playa. It's as if this house had the bad fortune to have the only creepy forest around grow directly behind it. This house has something to hide.

There are windows on the three exposed sides of the house on multiple floors, and they don't necessarily line up correctly. Outside there might be miniature utility poles with power lines, a clothesline blowing in the desert wind, a water well... who knows? Inside the house all the solar parts are hidden. The starfisher poles are mounted and somewhat hidden within the willow "forest" and shoot up and out in all directions from the house. The LEDs dangle a few paces off, illuminating the whole surrounding area in pools of light that dance and pulse in the breeze. The LEDs are too high to be reached, and the willow branches protect the poles from over-handling and eliminate the chance of them being broken again. Maybe we could try some Super Starfisher© in the future that can withstand intense interactivity, but I propose: not this year.

If a visitor to the house kneels down and peers into each window, they will discover a different "room" waiting. What they will find inside is totally unknown at this time.... because each room will have been built by a different person in our camp. (These people will henceforth be referred to as "dreamers".) The rooms are made out of shoe boxes. Before the playa, over the next few months, each person will create their own little dream room with glue guns, paper, dollhouse toys, strange objects. They are also free to create objects that LED lights can be mounted into... lamps, TVs, fireplaces, glowing orbs? (Or any low-voltage gadget. The rooms all communicate a dream... an imaginative space.

I propose that the dreamers do not see each other's rooms until they meet on the playa. A big part of this process will be to see what everyone comes up with. There is zero pressure to complete the rooms. The house will have empty placeholder rooms, just in case. At the event we'll swap out the empty rooms with the dream rooms. The shelves that will hold the shoe boxes in place can be mobile and flexible for all sizes and shapes.

Option: Soundtrack
Bonus points if we can wire up a basic sound system that plays a looped soundtrack of odd music. Maybe it's garbled piano, distant banjo? People talking? I have a ton of sound effect mp3s from the art car project. If we can hard-wire a low-draw audio system and a small speaker.... it would be very cool.

Option: Burn the fucker
It only makes sense that the whole installation really should be ritually torched in a blazing inferno, and sending all those dreams out into the ether. At the size I'm picturing, a burn platform would not be expensive or elaborate to build. We can file for a fire permit and do it by the rules.

Optional Idea: Dream Journal
What if the visitor opens the front door to discover a dream journal and pen in which they are encouraged to write down a dream they had? The first few pages could talk about the house and who dreamt it up, followed by an invitation to participate. We'll probaby have to attach it with chain so it doesn't walk off.

But what will become of the Dream Book?
Choice A: We burn it, but not before taking a photo of every page for posterity.
Choice B: We keep it, and share it with others, but only on the playa each year.

Can We Do It?
I really think this can be done with minimal playa stress, very little money, and a ton of collaboration on the rooms. The house can be built very crudely out of scrap wood and be ready in advance. As for the rooms, if everyone is into the idea then I propose whoever wants to build a room raise their hand now and start doing it while there is still ample time.

So... what do ya think? Anyone in?

--
Britton