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John Felix Martin: Early Burning Man Photographs

CAE2012

Summary Note

Photographer John Felix Martin was personally invited during a studio visit by Larry Harvey to attend the 1991 Burning Man event to photograph it and attended the festival in other years thereafter. Materials include transparencies, negatives, and contact sheets from the Burning Man event.

Biographical Note

Photographer John F. Martin (Graton, CA) has studied at School of Visual Arts, New York City; City College, San Francisco; and Stanford Continuing Studies. He has exhibited in many solo and group shows including the 2015 Soho Photo Gallery National Competition and Exhibition in New York, and as Juror’s Choice in FACES, in the Darkroom Gallery in Vermont. In addition to his monograph, John’s photographs are in the permanent collection of the Fowler Museum of Cultural History and were included in Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodou, edited by Donald J. Cosentino.

Other publications include a commemorative book on Amy Tan’s opera, The Bonesetter’s Daughter, periodicals such as Visual Artbeat, and blogs such as Elizabeth Avedon, F-Stop Magazine, and Lenscratch. His work is represented by the SFMOMA Artists Gallery. In February 2014, John signed a contract with Amadeus Press, a division of Hal Leonard, for In Character: Opera Portraiture that was released in November 2014.

John has taught “Introduction to Large Format Photography,” “Quality of Light,” “Digital Studio,” and drop-in digital workshops at the Academy of Art University. He has been an invited lecturer at the Academy of Art University, at Berkeley Community College, and at City College of San Francisco. He was a digital tech at the Harvey Milk Photo Center.

In June 2008, he attended Review Santa Fe Photo Symposium, and in 2011 he was awarded a fellowship for Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. In October 2016, John participated in Sonoma County Art Trails, a juried open studio, sponsored by Sebastopol Center for the Arts.

Scope and Content

Photographer John Felix Martin was personally invited during a studio visit by Larry Harvey to attend the 1991 Burning Man event to photograph it. Using his Fuji GX 680 camera, Martin recorded images on 6 x 8 cm film. Materials include transparencies and negatives from the early years of the Burning Man Festival.

Arrangement

Folders for this archive are arranged chronologically by year, except for folder 4, which contains images of Fly Geyser.

Inclusive Dates

1991-1994

Bulk Dates

1991-1994

Quantity / Extent

.125 cubic feet

Language

English

Related Archive Collections

  • CAE1305: Michael Mikel: Burning Man CAE1313: Dusty Mikel: Burning Man CAE1408: Michael Light: 100 Suns at Burning Man CAE1415: Connie Cahlil: Burning Man Ephemera CAE1503: William Binzen: Desert Siteworks CAE1607: Will Roger Peterson: Burning Man CAE1701: Burning Man Contributors CAE1702: Black Rock Solar CAE1704: Gregg Schlanger: Waterway for the Black Rock CAE1706: Crimson Rose: Burning Man CAE1711: Ranger Ronin: A Ranger's Commentary CAE1712: Marisha Farnsworth: The Temple
  • CAE1313: Dusty Mikel: Burning Man
  • CAE1408: Michael Light: 100 Suns at Burning Man
  • CAE1415: Connie Cahlil: Burning Man Ephemera
  • CAE1503: William Binzen: Desert Siteworks
  • CAE1607: Will Roger Peterson: Burning Man
  • CAE1701: Burning Man Contributors
  • CAE1702: Black Rock Solar
  • CAE1704: Gregg Schlanger: Waterway for the Black Rock
  • CAE1706: Crimson Rose: Burning Man
  • CAE1711: Ranger Ronin: A Ranger's Commentary
  • CAE1712: Marisha Farnsworth: The Temple
  • CAE1805: Bill Stapleton: Burning Man, A Slice of Life

Related Publications

A Voyage of Growth and Discovery. Produced by Mike Kelley and Michael Smith. N.S.W., Australia: ArtPix, 2011. DVD.

Aqua Burn: a 2002 Burning Man film. Directed by Bill Breithaupt. Novato, CA: Adrenaline Network Studios, 2008. DVD.

As the Dust Settles: a Participatory Documentary Shot at Burning Man. Produced by Mike Hedge. United States: Trigantic Productions, 2013. DVD.

Binzen, William. Waking Dream. San Anselmo, CA: Smith Anderson North, 2016.

Blank, Herrod. Art Cars. Douglas, AZ: Blank Books, 2002.

Bowditch, Rachel. On the Edge of Utopia: Performance and Ritual at Burning Man. New York, N.Y.: Seagull Books, 2010.

Bruder, Jessica. Burning Book: Two Decades of Burning Man. New York, N.Y.: Simon Spotlight Entertainment, 2007.

Burn Baby Burn: a film about the 2001 Burning Man Festival. San Francisco, CA: s. i., 2001. DVD.

Burn on the Bayou. Directed by Matt Leonard. San Francisco, CA: Black Rock City LLC, 2008. DVD.

Burn: The Burning Man Arts Festival. Directed by David Secter. San Francisco, CA: The Movie Secter LLC, 2000. DVD.

Burning Man 1998. Directed by Jim Babichuck. San Francisco, CA: Black Rock City LLC, 1998. DVD.

Burning Man: Beyond Black Rock. Directed by Damon Brown. Austin, TX: Gone Off Deep Productions LLC, 2006. DVD.

Burning Man: Where's the Fire? Directed by Fernando Velasquez. Los Angeles, CA: Seventh Arts Releasing, 1999. DVD.

Cash, Julian. The People of Burning Man: Portraits of Revolutionary Spirits. United States: ThePeopleOfBurningMan.com, 2011.

Chen, Katherine K. Enabling Creative Chaos: The Organization Behind the Burning Man Event. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2009.

Christians, Karen. Jewelry of Burning Man. California: Self-published, 2015.

Cohen, Scott. The Life Cube Project: The Journey from Burning Man to Downtown Las Vegas. Santa Rosa, CA: Global Interprint, 2014.

Confessions of a Burning Man: Experience the Journey. Directed by Paul Barnett and Unsu Lee. San Francisco, CA: Windline Films LLC, 2006. DVD.

Das Burning Man Projekt. Directed by Johannes Beckermann. Praha, Czech Republic: Art Cam Film Fernseh Production, 1996. DVD.

Diehl, Ronny. Burning Man: The American Frontier Revisted in Acoustic Space. Berlin, Germany: Grin Verlag, 2010.

Doherty, Brian. This is Burning Man: The Rise of a New American Underground. Dallas TX: BenBella Books, 2006.

Dust Devils. Directed by Dearbhla Glynn, Woodbury, MN: Purple Productions, 2003. DVD.

Evans, Kevin, Carrie Galbraith, and John Law. Tales of the San Francisco Cacophony Society. San Francisco CA: Last Gasp Publishing, 2013.

Falco, Edward. Burning Man: Stories. Dallas, TX: Southern Methodist University Press, 2011.

Fall of Man: Burning Man 99. Santa Barbara, CA: East Beach Productions, 2001. DVD.

Five Themes of Burning Man. Directed by Mark McGothigan. Oakland, CA: Steam Power Video, 2002. DVD.

Folding Time and Space at Burning Man 2. Directed by Robert Henrikson. Hana, HI: Panmagic.com, 2005. DVD.

Folding Time and Space at Burning Man. Directed by Robert Henrikson. Hana, HI: Panmagic.com, 2004. DVD.

Folding Time. Directed by Robert Henrikson. Hana, HI: Panmagic.com, 2003. DVD.

Fox, William L. Playa Works: The Myth of the Empty. Reno, NV: University of Nevada Press, 2002.

Fox, William L. The Black Rock Desert. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press, 2002.

Fox, William L. The Void, the Grid & the Sign: Traversing the Great Basin. Salt Lake City, UT: University of Utah Press, 2000.

Fraunfelder, Mark. et al., The Happy Mutant. New York: Riverhead Books, 1995.

Gifting It: A Burning Embrace of Gift Economy. Directed by Renea Roberts. Cerrillos, NM: R3 Productions, Inc. 2002. DVD.

Gilmore, Lee, and Mark Van Proyen, eds. AfterBurn: Reflections on Burning Man. Albuquerque, N.M.: University of New Mexico Press, 2005.

Gilmore, Lee. Theater in a Crowded Fire: Ritual and Spirituality at Burning Man. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2010.

Glade, Philippe. Black Rock City, NV: The New Ephemeral Architecture of Burning Man. San Francisco, CA: Real Paper Books, 2016.

Glade, Philippe. Black Rock City: The Ephemeral Architecture of Burning Man. San Francisco CA: Real Paper Books, 2011.

Goin, Peter. Black Rock. Reno, NV: University of Nevada Press, 2005.

Guy, NK. Art of Burning Man. Köln, Germany: Taschen, 2015.

Huang, Vincent. Burning Man. Japan: Self-published, 2001.

Jones, Steven T. The Tribes of Burning Man: How an Experimental City in the Desert is Shaping the New American Counterculture. San Francisco CA: Consortium of Collective Consciousness, 2011.

Juicy Danger Meets Burning Man. Produced and directed by David Vaisbord. Vancouver, B.C.: Herkules Productions in association with d-Network Pty. Ltd., 1998. DVD.

Kreuter, Holly. Drama in the Desert: The Sights and Sounds of Burning Man. San Francisco CA: Raised Barn Press, 2002.

Krukowski, Samantha, ed. Playa Dust: Collected Stories from Burning Man. London: Black Dog Publishing Limited, 2014.

Kuehn, Karen. Cargo Cult. ROGUE Publishing, 2014.

Kuehn, Karen. MetropoLOVE: Art and Love on The Playa. Peralta, NM: Self-published, 2012.

Kuehn, Karen. My Eyes are Burning. Peralta, NM: Self-published, 2010.

Loewy, Tomas. Radical Burning Desert: Burning Man Photography 2004 – 2010. Self-published, 2011.

Nash, A. Leo. Burning Man: Art in the Desert. New York, N.Y.: Harry N. Abrams, 2007.

Neurotic Burns: Johnny Does Burning Man. Produced by John Mendel, Curt LaFurney, Brian Stuart Hanish. Hollywood, CA: Upside Down Tv, 2006. DVD.

Pendell, Dale. Inspired Madness: The Gifts of Burning Man. Berkeley, CA: Frog Books, 2006.

Post, George P. Dancing with the Playa Messiah: Neon, Fire & Dust: A 21-Year Burning Man Photo Album. Richmond, CA: Dragon Fotografix, 2012.

Priestley, Joanna. Burning Man Eyes Open. Self-Published: 2016.

Priestley, Joanna. Children of Chaos @ Burning Man. Self-Published: 2017.

Raiser, Jennifer. Burning Man: Art on Fire. New York, NY: Race Point Publishing, 2014.

Roberts, Adrian, ed. Burning Man Live: 13 years of Piss Clear, Black Rock City's Alternative Newspaper. San Francisco, CA: RE/Search Publications, 2009.

Sensation: A Trip to Burning Man. Directed by Laurent Le Gall. San Rafael, CA: Free Run Pictures, 2003. DVD.

Spark: A Burning Man Story. Directed by Steven Brown & Jessie Deeter. Woodside, CA: Spark Pictures, 2014. DVD.

Spinelli, Frank. Burning Man: Into a 21st Century Utopia. Littlehorn Press: 2014.

Substance TV. Produced by Mike Wilson. Austin, TX: SubstanceTV Inc., 2002. DVD.

The Burning Man Festival. Directed by Joe Winston. Chicago, IL: Ow Myeye Productions, 2001. DVD.

The Burning Man Project: Renewal Cut. Directed by Bill Breithaupt. Novato, CA: s. i., 2000. DVD.

Traub, Barbara. Desert to Dream: A Decade of Burning Man Photography. San Francisco, CA: Immedium, 2006.

Uchronia Community. Uchronia Community: Message Out of the Future. Belgium: Uchronia Community, 2006.

Wieners, Brad, ed. Burning Man. San Francisco CA: Distributed to the trade by Publishers Group West, 1997.

Container Listing:

  • ARCH-FILE 67-1

    • Folder 1 1991 Images 1991
    • Folder 2 1993 Images 1993
    • Folder 3 1994 Images 1994
    • Folder 4 Fly Geyser not dated