The Lonely Reef
2024-Present
Physical Installation, Creative Producing
Burning Man 2024
Once an aircraft cargo vehicle, The Lonely Reef is a blooming coral reef sailing The Black Rock Desert sea where a small band of travelers hang out and share moments of awe and connection.
Skills Used:
- Creative Production, Planning & Scheduling
- Creative Direction
- Budget Management
- Coordination of Multiple Teams
- Stakeholder Communication
- Logistics Management
- Technical Direction
- Build Time: 4 months
- Core Team: 4 members plus 10+ collaborating artists
- Coral Elements: 50+ uniquely designed pieces
- Features: Integrated lighting and sound systems
- Budget: $75,000 — delivered on time and on budget
History
Matt Sweeney bought an old propane-powered tarmac cargo tug. He didn’t know what to do with it. He loved Burning Man, its art cars, and a good time. The vehicle sat around in a shipping container for three years. Through a mutual connection, Sweeney found me. He talked about a vision to transform his dormant vehicle into an art car. Art cars are a fun way to party. Art cars are an efficient way to explore Black Rock City. Art cars are plain cool. Okay, good talk. I thought about it. His excitement stuck with me. There were just a few problems. It was April. Burning Man is in August. The Burning Man art car application was due last month. The tug hadn’t been turned on in years. And I had no idea what it took to make an art car. I wanted to give it a shot anyway.
In the background, I knew this was a long shot. I told my best friend and collaborator Zeve the deal. I emailed the Burning Man Department of Mutant Vehicles asking if they would accept a late application. It was a no—an apologetic no, but a no nonetheless. Well, there goes that. Zeve, Sweeney, and I got excited for next year. The next day I received an email: “We have had some already registered Mutant Vehicles drop out, so the DMV has determined it can accept a late registration for your vehicle if submitted by the end of the day (11:59 PM) tomorrow.”
Game on. Sweeney was in. Zeve was in. I stayed up late researching these applications (they’re no joke). I assembled a team. Zeve and I were the leads. I recruited a concept artist and a CAD designer. I emailed everyone to meet at Zeve and I’s house at 9:30 am sharp along with a packet of art car information, Burning Man guidelines, and images of the base vehicle. What followed was a twelve-hour marathon in our living room. We ideated, designed, sketched, addressed risks, and lost our minds. But Zeve and I had what we needed — a Creative Vision. Zeve and I scrambled to put the application together and we hit submit just in time.
The next day we got the news: we were conditionally invited to bring The Lonely Reef to Burning Man 2024! Now, it was officially game time.
Matt Sweeney bought an old propane-powered tarmac cargo tug. He didn’t know what to do with it. He loved Burning Man, its art cars, and a good time. The vehicle sat around in a shipping container for three years. Through a mutual connection, Sweeney found me. He talked about a vision to transform his dormant vehicle into an art car. Art cars are a fun way to party. Art cars are an efficient way to explore Black Rock City. Art cars are plain cool. Okay, good talk. I thought about it. His excitement stuck with me. There were just a few problems. It was April. Burning Man is in August. The Burning Man art car application was due last month. The tug hadn’t been turned on in years. And I had no idea what it took to make an art car. I wanted to give it a shot anyway.
In the background, I knew this was a long shot. I told my best friend and collaborator Zeve the deal. I emailed the Burning Man Department of Mutant Vehicles asking if they would accept a late application. It was a no—an apologetic no, but a no nonetheless. Well, there goes that. Zeve, Sweeney, and I got excited for next year. The next day I received an email: “We have had some already registered Mutant Vehicles drop out, so the DMV has determined it can accept a late registration for your vehicle if submitted by the end of the day (11:59 PM) tomorrow.”
Game on. Sweeney was in. Zeve was in. I stayed up late researching these applications (they’re no joke). I assembled a team. Zeve and I were the leads. I recruited a concept artist and a CAD designer. I emailed everyone to meet at Zeve and I’s house at 9:30 am sharp along with a packet of art car information, Burning Man guidelines, and images of the base vehicle. What followed was a twelve-hour marathon in our living room. We ideated, designed, sketched, addressed risks, and lost our minds. But Zeve and I had what we needed — a Creative Vision. Zeve and I scrambled to put the application together and we hit submit just in time.
The next day we got the news: we were conditionally invited to bring The Lonely Reef to Burning Man 2024! Now, it was officially game time.
Creative Intent
Once we got conditionally we refined the creative vision to align with what’s feasible for a first-year art car. We refined the application’s Creative Vision: The Lonely Reef is a blooming coral reef sailing The Black Rock Desert sea where a small band of travelers hang out and share a collective experience. For year one, we wanted to keep and lean into aquatic themes. There was also Zeve and I’s shared love for scuba diving. And the desire to create a companion vessel to The Lonely Sub art car, an already-established party art car!
Execution
We hired a mechanic to tune the vehicle into working order.
We shipped the vehicle to Santa Fe and hired Stark Raven, a design and fabrication studio based in Santa Fe. Zeve and I creative directed. We stripped down the base vehicle (the 1990s cargo tug) to its bare bones.
The armature serves as a skeleton for the vehicle’s form and defines its overall shape. Steel tube members were welded onto the frame of the existing airplane tug.
A variety of coral forms were attached to the cladding, including, laser-cut and hand-sculpted coral forms and 3D printed sea creatures. The passenger bay was complete with sea-themed cushions and plushies.
We added a sound system — a marine audio package and a lighting system The lighting system included, perimeter lighting with light bars, par cans, and caustic water projectors.
We disassembled the vehicle and packed it up for the drive to Black Rock City. And alas, a small onsite assembly team put together the final Burning Man-ready art car and it set sail on the dusty seas.
The Experience
The Lonley Reef brought a moment of awe and wonder to those who came across it on the Black Rock Sea. Dusty voyagers enjoyed a fun, peaceful ride through Black Rock City, but more importantly, our sailors reflected and connected with our creation. Though it was hard for me to separate my critical eye from the work, people really loved it. One person said, “This is my favorite car on Playa this year.”
I also learned so much about what it takes to bring an art car to Burning Man. It was no joke. Building the car in dusty conditions with limited resources was hard. Maintaining the vehicle was even harder — changing the fuel, solving technical and safety hiccups, and fixing broken elements, all while trying to have my own Burning Man experience.
Building on these learnings, Zeve and I have started working on the year two iteration with a clear set of maintenance, operational, experiential, and collaboration priorities. We're excited to evolve The Lonely Reef and make the next chapter even better.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to Zeve, my creative partner. Thank you to Calli, and the Stark Raven team. Thank you to Sweeney, our funder and supporter. And thank you to all our artist collaborators:
@stark_raven_fab
@callibeck
@haydencarey_
@shopcoolcritters
@eclipsechaserr
@jadedrevolt
@liv__happier
@s.is.for.sean
@naturalis__facultas
@matthewerdmann
@alec_averyy
@andrew_harvey_leather
And I’m sure I’m missing others, but thank you!
Once we got conditionally we refined the creative vision to align with what’s feasible for a first-year art car. We refined the application’s Creative Vision: The Lonely Reef is a blooming coral reef sailing The Black Rock Desert sea where a small band of travelers hang out and share a collective experience. For year one, we wanted to keep and lean into aquatic themes. There was also Zeve and I’s shared love for scuba diving. And the desire to create a companion vessel to The Lonely Sub art car, an already-established party art car!
Execution
We hired a mechanic to tune the vehicle into working order.
We shipped the vehicle to Santa Fe and hired Stark Raven, a design and fabrication studio based in Santa Fe. Zeve and I creative directed. We stripped down the base vehicle (the 1990s cargo tug) to its bare bones.
The armature serves as a skeleton for the vehicle’s form and defines its overall shape. Steel tube members were welded onto the frame of the existing airplane tug.
A variety of coral forms were attached to the cladding, including, laser-cut and hand-sculpted coral forms and 3D printed sea creatures. The passenger bay was complete with sea-themed cushions and plushies.
We added a sound system — a marine audio package and a lighting system The lighting system included, perimeter lighting with light bars, par cans, and caustic water projectors.
We disassembled the vehicle and packed it up for the drive to Black Rock City. And alas, a small onsite assembly team put together the final Burning Man-ready art car and it set sail on the dusty seas.
The Experience
The Lonley Reef brought a moment of awe and wonder to those who came across it on the Black Rock Sea. Dusty voyagers enjoyed a fun, peaceful ride through Black Rock City, but more importantly, our sailors reflected and connected with our creation. Though it was hard for me to separate my critical eye from the work, people really loved it. One person said, “This is my favorite car on Playa this year.”
I also learned so much about what it takes to bring an art car to Burning Man. It was no joke. Building the car in dusty conditions with limited resources was hard. Maintaining the vehicle was even harder — changing the fuel, solving technical and safety hiccups, and fixing broken elements, all while trying to have my own Burning Man experience.
Building on these learnings, Zeve and I have started working on the year two iteration with a clear set of maintenance, operational, experiential, and collaboration priorities. We're excited to evolve The Lonely Reef and make the next chapter even better.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to Zeve, my creative partner. Thank you to Calli, and the Stark Raven team. Thank you to Sweeney, our funder and supporter. And thank you to all our artist collaborators:
@stark_raven_fab
@callibeck
@haydencarey_
@shopcoolcritters
@eclipsechaserr
@jadedrevolt
@liv__happier
@s.is.for.sean
@naturalis__facultas
@matthewerdmann
@alec_averyy
@andrew_harvey_leather
And I’m sure I’m missing others, but thank you!