A. The Material Culture archive is a virtual museum of Playa Artifacts - objects created by Burning Man participants throughout the years, and gifted on the playa. Material Culture is a reflection and representation of the culture and the Zeitgeist of Burning Man and its community.
Q. What kind of objects are appropriate for this archive?
A. We look for original playa gift items that have some specific reference to Burning Man. These don't necessarily have to be handmade, but cannot be a generic item bought from a store without alteration. For example, a condom would not be appropriate, but a packet labeled "Playa Safe Sex Kit" containing condoms would.
Commercially made items (such as matchbooks, lighters, etc.) printed with a Burning Man reference are acceptable, as are other manufactured items that refer to our event. Ideally the item would reflect our playa culture. You can also submit a handmade object that doesn't refer to Burning Man if it's something entirely made by you as your gift to the community. This archive also includes items that are not necessarily gifts, such as objects from art installations or theme camps, signs, etc.
Q. How do I contribute a physical playa artifact to your archive?
A. Here is the step-by-step:
1. Print and fill out our Playa Artifacts PDF form.
2. If you happen to be standing on the playa right now, bring the form and the Playa Artifact to the Artery in Center Camp. If youĠre off the playa (and weĠre assuming you are), mail the form and your Playa Artifact to:
Material Culture
c/o Burning Man
P.O. Box 884688
San Francisco, CA
94188-4688
Q. How can I contribute photos of the item to this archive?
A. First, scan or take a digital picture of your object. If you donĠt have a scanner of your own, you can find one at most copy stores these days.
Second, if you have not already done so, register yourself as a photographer. Registering as a photographer is free. This system lets us display personal information like your name and e-mail address, without you having to enter the information for every submitted image. It's entirely up to you how much contact information you want to display with your images; only your name is required. You can update your own information if it changes.
Third, create one large and one thumbnail 72dpi JPEG file for each image. The large image can have a maximum height and/or width of 500 pixels and must have a file size under 30k (this means 29k or less.) The thumbnail image can have a maximum height and/or width of 100 pixels and must have a file size under 10k (this means 9k or less.) There are a variety of freeware and shareware thumbnail generation tools available on the Internet to do this, or you can use most common photo editing software packages such as Fireworks, Image Ready, and PhotoShop. If available, use the "Save for Web" function. If your image is rejected for being too large, check the file size with a few different programs to be sure that it is under the limit.
Finally, go to the contributor's area and submit your images, adding a caption for each photo, notes and optionally, a list of keywords.
Image submissions are checked frequently and will be reviewed by an editor to determine if they will be displayed in the gallery.
Q. Who created this application?
A. Collaboratively, Burning Man volunteers created this application to benefit the Burning Man community and help create a collection of images that visually communicate the spirit of Burning Man. In particular, we would like to thank the following:
