LIGHTING YOUR ART INSTALLATION
by Steve Boverie AKA Dr Glowire
"Art is hard. Especially when you crash your bicycle into it."Playaquest
Congratulations! You've put together your art and you're going to place it out on the playa for everyone to see. You've done the planning, gotten the materials together and put a lot of hard work into it. If you don't have any lights on your installation, then all that hard work may turn into a stressful headache, ranging from damaged art to severe injury that requires an expensive medi-vac to Reno. That's a bummer and it's certainly not the kind of news you want to make.
If your art doesn't incorporate light of some kind, then NOW is the time to put it in. Burning Man is like three different events: there is the daytime, the nighttime and WHITE OUT time. During the daytime everything is relatively easy to see, and people will be able to see obstacles and avoid running into your art. Nighttime can be dark enough that you can not see clearly beyond a few yards in front of you. Then there is the dreaded whiteout time with so much blowing dust that you can’t see anything beyond a yard. You should have a plan to make your art noticeable in all three conditions.
If your art doesn't use light or it just needs muted light, then you should at least mark out its boundaries with lights. The important thing is to make your installation obvious to someone who may be driving a car with no headlights or someone on a bicycle with no headlight. Rebar is also a good place to put safety lights. It can secure the lights from theft and make the rebar and ropes or guy wires visible. You don’t need to rent a generator and put up huge floodlights, unless your artistic vision requires it for your installation.
Lighting Types
- Mirrors and other reflective objects work well during the day and can help at night and during whiteouts if coupled with some form of light.
- The simplest light you can use is a few of blinking bicycle safety lights; you should set them so they can be seen from any direction.
- Chemical light sticks can help, but they will fade out too soon and would have to be replaced daily.
- Use battery powered lamps such as the large round “tap” lamps that you push to turn on or off.
- Use larger flood lights connected to a power source with enough power to last the night.
- Use solar LED lanterns.
- Use EL wire (electroluminescent wire) to light up the perimeter of your installation.
- Blinking lights get attention faster than lights that are always on and blinking lights use less power.
If your art features light, then you should know about power sources. Whatever power source you use needs to be hardened to endure the extreme conditions on the playa.
Powering Lights
- Batteries generate electricity using chemicals. Heat makes the chemical reaction happen faster, so on the hot playa, you need to keep your spare batteries in a cool place until needed.
- The bigger the battery, the more power it can produce.
- You should test the battery life of your lighting setup and know how many batteries to have on hand for the time your art will be on the playa. You should also bring extra batteries.
- Deep cycle automotive batteries work well on the playa and they can be recharged as needed. These batteries are designed for the extremes of winter and summer. Just take care that the battery is protected to prevent spills.
- Generators come in many sizes and use different fuels. You should make sure that your generator has all the fuel needed and place it where it will be out of the way. Make sure that everything from the starter to the power cables are working before you come to the playa.
- You should secure everything to prevent theft or having parts blown away in the wind.
Now you have your art installed on the playa, you’ve secured it to the playa in case of a powerful windstorm and you have lights incorporated into the art; then you just need to monitor your installation site to make sure that it is ready for show time. Go out in the early evening to do a MOOP patrol and make sure that your lighting system is working, return in the morning to MOOP up and turn the lights off. When you are ready to take down your art installation, make sure you leave the playa as clean as or cleaner than it was when you arrived. After the event is over you can celebrate the experience and come back next year with another installation.
