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Our guest, Jennifer Raiser, an Author, is no stranger to experiences that stretch who we are and expand our understanding of ourselves and what we can do. Jennifer Raiser divides her roles as an Author and Management Innovator. She is the Author of the bestseller, Burning Man: Art on Fire, 2014/2016, Race Point Press, and lectures extensively on the significance of the Burning Man art movement, in Black Rock City and around the world. As founding Treasurer of Burning Man Project, she oversees a budget of over $47M; on playa, she also volunteers with the Black Rock Rangers and Gate Departments. She is the Author of In the Spirit of Napa Valley, 2015, Assouline, The Art of Being Bill: The Many Faces of Awesome, 2018, Race Point Press, two commissioned biographies, and has two books in development. She earned a BA in English Literature and an MBA, both from Harvard University. Buy the book: Burning Man: Art on FireBurning Man: Art on Fire is the book that inspired the stunning film of the same name. The book is the authorized collection of some of the most extraordinary examples of Burning Man art of the past two decades. Authored by longtime Burner Jennifer Raiser, it was published in 2014 by Race Point/Quarto, with a revised and updated in a slipcover edition in 2016. It records the effort, creativity, and interactivity of what becomes the largest art gallery in the world for one week a year. Braving extreme elements, artists and volunteer builders create a temporary city devoted to expression and participation. Within a 9-mile fence, over four hundred wildly ambitious sculptures delight, provoke, involve, and amaze. Interviews with the artists reveal not only their motivation to create art specifically for Burning Man, but also illuminate the dramatic efforts it takes to bring their vision to the remote Black Rock Desert, just because they can. Featuring the work of photographers Scott London and Sidney Erthal, with an introduction from Burning Man founder Larry Harvey and a foreword from Will Chase, this stunning book provides a tangible artifact of Burning Man for the other 51 weeks of the year.Watch the Film Burning Man: Art on FireCheck out all things Dia Bondi here.
See our beautiful world through the eyes of a well-traveled author with a diverse range of interests connected through wine.Viewers receive 20% off (members receive 30% off).To purchase wines, click here: https://my.boissetcollection.com/virtual-tastings/#buynow
Stuart talks about Burning Man art, making art, and making art about the art, with Jennifer Raiser, author of the book “Art on Fire,” Sophia Swire, producer of the new film of the same name, and Andrew Johnstone, one of the artists profiled in the film.Burning Man art has become a movement in the mainstream art world and in popular culture, and spawning museum shows, books, and films. In what ways does this radically participatory, highly interactive form of expression translate from its desert home to these more traditional channels? Jennifer Raiser is a member of the board of directors of Burning Man Project and the author of books including The Art of Being Bill: Bill Murray and the Many Faces of Awesome, In the Spirit of Napa Valley, and Burning Man: Art on Fire. She’s also a Black Rock Ranger and answers to the playa name “Coco Cabana.” Joining us today from London is Sophia Swire, an entrepreneur, activist, author and film-maker. She’s produced documentaries for BBC Channel 4 and her latest film, Art on Fire, will be premiered online, on Burning Man’s Kindling channel, on August 15th.Andrew Johnstone is an Oakland based artist, painter, muralist, and longtime Burning Man contributor. For close to 20 years he worked with Burning Man founder Larry Harvey to design one of the most ambitious works of interactive art in Black Rock City, the Man base or pavilion, which changes every year according to the annual art theme and forms the centerpiece of the city. https://www.kindling.burningman.org/art-on-firehttp://www.sophiaswire.com/LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG
Dr. Heidi talks with Jennifer Raiser is a writer, strategist, and nonprofit junkie. She is the Treasurer of the Burning Man organization, and author of the bestselling book, "Burning Man: Art on Fire." Jennifer Raiser divides her roles as an author and management innovator. She is the author of the bestseller, Burning Man: Art on Fire, 2014/2016, Race Point Press, and lectures extensively on the significance of the Burning Man art movement, in Black Rock City and around the world. As founding Treasurer of Burning Man Project, she oversees a $47M budget. She is the author of In the Spirit of Napa Valley, 2015, Assouline, The Art of Being Bill: The Many Faces of Awesome, 2018, Race Point Press. She is the founding editor of SFWire.com, and writes for the San Francisco Chronicle, Huffington Post, and other publications. She also works in corporate communications for clients in the health care and food tech sectors. As a nonprofit advisor, she has served on the boards of the Bently Foundation, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Peninsula Community Foundation, Junior Statesmen Foundation, CuriOdyssey Museum, Ecology Action, Gatepath, and many community benefit organizations. Jennifer Raiser founded and managed Raiser Senior Services, a provider of luxury retirement communities in the Bay Area. The subject of a case study at the Harvard Business School, she was a trailblazer in the implementation of continuing care for the elderly, outlined in her book Designing Retirement Communities for the Future, 1998, John Wiley and Sons. She earned a BA in English Literature and an MBA, both from Harvard University. website: www.jenniferraiser.com Facebook Page - Twitter ID - Instagram : Jennifer.Raiser This episode is sponsored by Oska Pulse, the opiod-free solution for chronic pain. Oska Pulse is a Pain Relief and Recovery Device using Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy (PEMF). For a discount on your order go to http://bit.ly/EDS-Oska, or simply enter discount code 2BU at checkout at OskaWellness.com. Your order will help support the Evolving Digital Self podcast. If you like it, please feel free to share it with your friends (both the discount and the podcast ).
We step away from the normal format of the show in order to hold space for the passing of Larry Harvey. Burner Podcast team members Navjeet Sarna and Tori Massie join Arash to read messages and stories written to and about The Man in the Hat. Listen on iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, iHeart Radio, Mixcloud or SoundCloud. ******************* Lynn Marie Morski... I attended my first burn amid much strife in my capoeira life. I had wanted to play in the orchestra that leads the capoeira games, but my low status in the group prevented me from doing so. In capoeira,` your cord (belt) color is a rank like other martial arts, and only the higher cords were allowed to play instruments.But not on the playa. I went to a capoeira class my first day and there were no cords, no hierarchy. When it came time to play, I asked who was going to lead the orchestra. They said whomever could lead...So *I* led. For the first time ever. And I've never looked back. Thanks, Larry, for creating a hierarchy-less paradise for me to find my strength and my home in the orchestra. ******************* Arthur Mamou-Mani... Larry Harvey - you are in our thoughts. The Temple 2018 will be here for you and for the community that you have so deeply inspired and changed for the better. ******************* Amy Vogler…. The result of your little beach bonfire party has changed the course of my life in so many aspects, and exposed me to more love, compassion, & creativity than I thought possible; within the community, and within myself. Thanks for your participation! ******************* Kat Ripley…. R.I.P. Larry Harvey Thank you so much for all you have done for humanity. I think it would be impossible to overstate the positive impact you made across the globe. I don’t know if I can make one one hundredth of an impact on this world as you have, but I promise I will try. ******************* Absinthia Vermut…. I first remember Larry when I was still at Burning Man, two days after the Man burned in 1995. I celebrated my 25th birthday on playa, fell madly in love with Burning Man, and I stayed to clean up. I just couldn't leave! A year earlier, I had moved to San Francisco, a dream I had since I first visited as a young girl. I never dreamed I would find something like Burning Man in an incredible location like Black Rock Desert, but there I was. Home. Two years later, I remember Larry pulling my then boyfriend, Paul Addis, and me into a meeting late one night on Hualapai Playa. We were there with maybe two dozen others as he explained that the sheriff had relieved the gate of its cash, and he needed us to walk around and collect cash donations from participants. Of course, we did. He offered me a lifetime ticket to Burning Man for $500. I was a starving artist and couldn’t afford it, but more importantly, I thought it was a terrible idea and a huge waste of money. There was no way this thing would continue! Turns out Larry was as much of a pitbull with Burning Man as I have been with my absinthe. That was right around the time I started bootlegging absinthe, and Larry was a huge fan, perhaps my biggest. Since his passing, a friend told me that there was a night when Larry, Flash, and Peter were craving absinthe and set out into Black Rock City to find some. To find me. As they wandered through camps asking if Absinthia was camped there, they left a trail of participants asking, “Was that….Larry Harvey?” I have memories of him at the Anon Salons, holding court with a neon green glass in his hand. One memory in particular stands out, where he had five glasses and was quite belligerent. Marian was there and while she was annoyed by his behavior, we also found it hilarious and endearing. A performer named Magenta was there that night and met him on that fifth glass of absinthe, and then wowed us all by spinning in circles with a knife on her scarved head.I once witnessed Larry managing his fame. I was in first camp and saw him on the poop deck. I walked up to say hello, and he said a very formal “Yes, hello” without looking up. A moment later, he did and caught my eye, “OH! Hello dear, how are you?” It was clear that he heard “Hello Larry” often from people he didn’t know. It was interesting to be treated like a stranger and then recognized by a man whom everyone knew. Ah, playa celebrity. But of course, he was more than that. So much more. The moment made me stop and think what it must be like to walk through Black Rock City as Larry Harvey. Have you ever thought about that? The last time I saw Larry was burn night 2017. I was walking back from the burn to Marian’s absinthe bar to serve my absinthe, my burn night tradition. I had just witnessed a man dive into the fire, and I was completely shell shocked. I remember telling Larry this, and he, too, seemed shell shocked. We didn’t have that nice warm welcome that we usually have. It was too intense of an evening for us all.My favorite story of Larry occured burn night in 2015. I arrived at Marian’s pop up absinthe bar, and no one was around. I found a black baseball cap that said, MEOW, in the bar, and put that on without a second thought. I wandered over to first camp to drum up some interest. I walked in, and Larry caught my eye and gave me a huge smile. Now, Larry had never ever flirted with me before, he was always like an uncle to me, my crazy Uncle Larry, but on this night, I was dressed as Marian, with an all black outfit, a long blonde wig, and the last minute addition of the MEOW hat. Perhaps the only night I have ever not worn green on playa, I was Absinthia dressed as Marian serving Absinthia’s absinthe in Marian’s pop up bar. Larry didn’t leave my side all night. He escorted me back to the bar and I served him and many others absinthe that evening. A lot of absinthe. I said, “MEOW” a lot; what else does one say when they are mimicking Maid Marian? Larry told the story of how he had almost been arrested earlier that night during the burn. The Man was taking forever to burn, and Larry was getting worried. He also wasn’t wearing his Hat - I had witnessed him toss it into the crowd at the GLC a few years prior. He just wasn’t as recognizable without it, and beneath the slowly burning Man, a young LEO, as Larry described him, stopped him and asked him what he was doing so close to the Man, with people lying on the ground nearby watching it burn. “I am worried about it falling,” Larry said.“Well, that is not your concern. Get out of this area.”“Listen, son…” Larry started to say.“Son? Don’t you condescend to me! Now leave this area before I have you arrested and taken away!”Larry loved this story and told it several times that evening. We continued drinking absinthe, talking about such things as what to do about the Plug and Play camps, Larry sharing his ideas about building small Temples in the keyholes, and more. When the evening wore down and we all had more than enough absinthe, Larry offered to drive me, still dressed as Marian, home. I was all the way out in Illumination Village at 3 o’clock and A that year, and welcomed the ride. Larry spent about ten minutes debating with himself whether or not to drive his golf cart or his Jeep, and in the end, the Jeep won. He tried to unlock the door with his key, and I had to hold his arm to help him get the key in the lock. I went around and got in the passenger side to see him put a half full glass of absinthe in the cup holder! “Larry! You are driving me home with a glass of absinthe in the cup holder?” “Of course I am, dear, now let’s get going.” He drove out onto the playa and headed to my camp. “OMG LARRY that is a piece of art!” I hollered when a big something jumped out in front of the car. He slowed down and narrowly missed it. When found my camp, he seemed determined to drive me all the way to my door. Now, IllVille is home to a lot of fire art, which means there are propane tanks, gas lines, and art everywhere. A bad place for anyone to drive, but like I said, he really wanted to drive me to my door. We got to a spot where he had to stop, and I jumped out before he could drive any further into dangerous fire art, grabbed my case of absinthe, and gave him a big hug. I told him I loved him. He seemed embarrassed, and turned his Jeep around and drove home. Thank you, Larry. You created a world I never dreamt I would find. Thanks to you, I found my Island of Misfit Toys and a place where I belong. I came to the playa a shy photographer, hiding behind my camera, and there I found my dreams, my crazy absinthe induced green fairy dreams, and I made them a reality. I am a different person now. We all are. Like all of us, you are flawed, you are human, you are loved. You and your friends gave us the landscape to make magic happen. You left one hell of a trace, my friend.Cheers, Absinthia Vermut ******************* Rebekah Waites... I only met him a few times so don’t really have any stories. I just know that he loved Church Trap and talked about it in interviews. Found out after that he carried a picture of it in his journal. Finding that out meant a lot to me. Only story I have was one on his bday at a party at Headquarters. I didn’t know anyone and am a bit shy. Jennifer Raiser invited me and when i got there told me to go say hi to Larry. When I tried to introduce myself he snapped “I just woke up.” So i ran away. Haha! When Jennifer asked me later if I said hi to him, I said I tried to but it didn’t go over very well. So she told me to go say hi again. This time I caught him in the line for tacos and started to say who I was. His response: “who???!” “Larry... it’s me. Rebekah. Rebekah Waites who did Church Trap.” Aaaaaaaand then I got the biggest hug from Larry and we talked for a moment. It was awesome. I’ll never forget that. ******************* Danielle White... Larry Harvey passed into his next journey. Thank you for the amazing growth, change and experience that this incarnation brought to my life. I am eternally grateful.
Jennifer Raiser takes you behind the scenes of the annual Burning Man gathering
Why do tens of thousands of people trek to a temporary camp city in a remote Nevada desert every August? Is Burning Man worth the heat and dust storms? What's queer about it? On Thursday's Out in the Bay (7pm PDT 8/20) Eric Jansen's guests are Jennifer Raiser and Sidney Erthal, writer and photographer, respectively, of the book Burning Man: Art on Fire ; and Foxy, past mayor of Camp Beaverton , the main lesbian camp in Burning Man 's "gayborhood." (This interview first broadcast Aug. 14, 2014)
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