Beginning as a ceremonial bonfire to mark the summer solstice in 1986, Burning Man has grown into a giant annual community and arts event. The festival has transcended its counterculture roots to become an extraordinary celebration of elaborate, and temporary, art installations.
In recent years the event has exploded in popularity with some complaining it has lost touch with its original spirit. When Elon Musk commented in 2014 that Burning Man "is Silicon Valley," he wasn't kidding. The wealthy class now permeate the DNA of the event, and while this may validate accusations of gentrification, it also has amped up the scale of the art and installations.
The psychedelic wonderland of Burning Man has served up everything from the giant husk of a Boeing 747 to huge yachts with wheels designed to sail through the desert. If you look at a crazy installation from Burning Man and ask "Why?," the only answer we can offer is, "Because they can."
Take a look through our gallery of images, from the inspiring to the confounding. This is Burning Man 2017.
It seems to me that Burning Man originally began as an homage to the past - the celebration of the seasons as practiced by mankind for eons. To make it a high tech event with all the trappings of the commercialism seems antithetical to the spirit of the event.