Burning Man 2011 - The Cloud Project

The Cloud Project renders for our Burning Man Art Grant Proposal 2011. As you walk across the playa with your crew, you notice a faint cloud-like shape emerging in the distance. "A cloud?" you think to yourself, "it couldn't be…" As you get nearer, you see that it lies fairly low to the ground, and now you see that, no, it is definitely not a cloud. It is a fluffy looking mass hanging low in the sky above what looks like a giant basket.
"What the…?"





















Of course, you are drawn to checking out this enigmatic flying contraption. When you get within about 5 yards, the sudo-cloud has become fully visible to your naked eye. The floating part is actually a giant nylon net full of what must be thousands of 1 foot diameter blue balloons. The net is tethered to the giant platform in about twenty places. As you are staring at it, the cloud suddenly changes shape, as the tethers shift and the balloons take on a new configuration. The platform, which looks like it is made out of a kind of woven wicker-like material is about a foot off of the ground. As you and your friends step onto the platform, you are blanketed by the calming and cooling relief of shade. There are dozens of people sitting, standing and lying on the rolling landscape, which creating a multiple rolls of armature seating. Around the edges of this "valley" and near the entrances stand large tanks of fresh drinking water. You realize that you have found a desert oasis, ahhhh...












































Side Note: The Cloud will grow in size over the course of the week as we add new, buoyant balloons to the net. It will appear as if a storm is gathering as the cloud becomes more and more voluminous and towering over its occupants.