PhotoCD 3003 / d3003i0068


photo

Detail of the plastic Taj Mahal, burningman '98. This was a night shot using a tripod, about two seconds exposure.

The Taj is a cube about 30 feet on a side, every square inch of which is covered with weird recycled plastic junk. It's lit from within by fluorescent tubes. It was built in the town of Mt. Shasta over the last decade or two by this non-freaky but totally obsessed guy. He recruited a lot of his neighbors to work on it too. This was its first public exhibition. I ran into Mark Pesce at Spiral Oasis and he was raving about how it was one of the greatest pieces of modern art so far. I liked how you could appreciate it not only from all four sides but at three different scales. From miles away on the playa at night it was a glowing cathedral, the best landmark for finding your way back to the center of town. From 20 feet the pseudo stained glass panels come to life, very three-D. And when you get your nose right up against it you can marvel at all the familiar plastic consumerist junk it's built from.

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burningman '98 and '96
Jef's page / Photos / PhotoCD 3003 / d3003i0068
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