Desert to Dream: A Decade of Burning Man Photography (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Les Blank (Contributor), Larry Harvey (Contributor), Leonard Nimoy (Contributor), Lawrence Ferlinghetti (Contributor)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Traub presents 10 years' worth of lavish color photography on the annual counterculture festival, Burning Man. The first Burning Man was held on a San Francisco beach and attended by a couple dozen people. Today it takes place in Nevada's Black Rock Desert and is known as the Black Rock Arts Festival. Every year Black Rock City is erected around a giant wooden statue that is immolated to much fanfare at the end of a weeklong bacchanal. Traub's images capture the festival's spirit in lots of zany costumes and art installations celebrating off-kilter takes on contemporary culture and the participants' flights of fancy. The slight accompanying text carries the highest -countercultural-subcultural pedigree, thanks -to the authors: celebration film documentarian Les Blank and Beat poetry icon Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Of course, there are some naked folk in the photographs, though their nudity is hardly gratuitous, what with all the body paint and artfully applied mud. Good visual fun and countercultural documentation, this is vibrant stuff in these grim days, a must for pop-culture collections. Mike Tribby
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Review

"Holiday Bookshelf - Top 10 Pick: Critically acclaimed photographer Barbara Traub takes readers on a stunning visual journey that brings to life 10 years of Burning Man" -- Nevada Magazine, 2006

"This book is a landmark. It does more than illustrate a so-called counter-cultural event. Rather, it exhibits the integrity and singleness of vision of a complete work of art...It does not merely display Burning Man in pictures or explain it in words: It manifests the spirit of our culture through its style." -- Larry Harvey, co-founder and director of Burning Man, 2006

Barb Traub has been going to Burning Man for a long time. Her book, Desert to Dream: A Decade of Burning Man Photography, chronicles a changing festival over the last decade. If you need some visuals to jog your memory of festivals past or won't be able to attend this year, her book provides a visual exploration of Burning Man, which after all, began as an art exhibition, of sorts. -- SFist.com

Ten years ago Traub worked on assignment for Wired's cover story on Burning Man, was chief photographer for HardWired's book Burning Man that was published the following year, and shot for Wired News in 2001. -- Wired News

Traub's evocative photography displays the human connections established by the attendees with each other, the art they produce and the beautiful landscape of the Nevada desert. A particular aspect of humanity's capacity for artistry is what Traub brings us. From the sensitive nude photographs of people in all manner of color and caked in mud to cars retrofitted to be art on wheels and the temporary temples which dot the desert floor. -- TakeGreatPictures.com

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Immedium (July 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597020036
• ISBN-13: 978-1597020039
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 10 x 2.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #506,782 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book on Burning Man I've seen yet, August 16, 2006

By	Richard S. Louie - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I remember Barbara Traub's photos from Wired magazine and their book in the late '90s, but her new title far outshines that and all earlier attempts to chronicle this scene. Sure, there have been other documentary efforts to help readers wrap their minds around the crazy compulsion to find oneself out in Black Rock City. But as they say, "A picture is worth a thousand words."

Certainly there are a ton of snapshots now on Flickr, but here are images few alive have captured and a unified body of work from a true professional. Traub's collection is breathtaking in composition, thoughtful in its theme, and unrivalled in scope. Plus the list of contributors is a who's who, from poet-laureate Ferlinghetti, the iconic Spock, and filmmaker Les Blank to the man himself Larry Harvey. Each has something unique to offer, and, when taken together, combine to really capture the kaleidescopic essence of being there.

Every Burner I've shared this book with has been truly impressed. It is a beautifully designed package which is also a great value, and (unfortunately) bound to inspire even more newbies to join the fun.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars visually stunning, January 9, 2007

By	BUZZAVO LEONARDO (Treviso, Italy) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Having attended Burning Man twice (in 2003 and 2005), and having connected to the amazing experience that it represents for the mind and the body, I am glad to see a book that is capable of capturing most of the images that trigger our senses. Good any time of the day ... it's best alongside your breakfast, helping you carrying the 'burn every day' philosophy throughout your day and evening.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Photographic Treat, April 2, 2007

A Kid's Review

Desert to Dream is a remarkable accomplishment -- a stunning tapestry of images and words that appears in essence to be a mystery play. I am amazed at the visual, emotional and spiritual complexity of her work that evokes deep contemplation. The book is very well laid out and I like how the diptychs are paired, even in some instances where there is a b&w and color photo side by side. Traub's sense of style and composition is dynamic and goes way beyond the usual ways of seeing. Congratulations on such an extraordinary book.

Ellen Bascom
Houston, TX