Rising to approximately the same height as the Man in 2008, the Man stood proudly on top of an iron-gray structure. Reaching to over 100 feet in height, the Man towered over participants, evoking that sense of skyscrapers in a teeming metropolis.
The Man Vignette
Though similar in height to 2008, the 2010 structure was built broader on each level, allowing space for participants to gather, discuss, and connect about the theme, the art or the event. Surrounding the Man was Polygonia – close to 2,000 puzzle-type pieces approximately three feet in diameter. Conceived as a version of an oversized child’s building toy, these pieces were left at the base of the Man as a sort of offering to the Black Rock City denizens to build their own structures. Hundreds of people enjoyed building small towers, chairs, structures to help shade them from the sun, and more.
In 2010 the Man was arguably more brilliantly lit in neon than ever before. Using aluminum tape on the Man structure itself, the neon reflected out with more intensity than in years past. In addition, the Neon Team added a subtle black stripe to several of the tubes, thus giving it a stronger sense of dimensionality than usual. These techniques were utilized in an effort to embrace the Metropolis theme – giving the Man that sense of art deco brilliance and beauty.
The Man base team engaged several lighting experts to work on the Man’s lighting scheme in 2010. From the recessed lighting running up and down the length of the Man to the blacklight structures reminiscent of the spires in Black Rock City, the Man base team leveraged lighting to unify the structure and its surrounding elements in the style of Metropolis.
Man Watch
2010 was by far the most successful year yet for Man Watch. The Man Watch volunteers worked with participants to ensure that no damage was inflicted on the Man until it was its proper time to expire in flaming glory on Burn night. We are hopeful that through this effort the community will help support the efforts of the Man Watch team.
Submitted by,
Beth Scarborough and Will Roger Peterson