Well friends, I know that many of you have been eagerly (some frantically) awaiting the announcement of the Burning Man 2012 theme. So, without further ado, here you go:
The theme for Burning Man 2012 is:
Fertility 2.0
Boom! Didn’t see that coming, did you? Well despite all the chatter about a 2012 Apocalypse Theme (which would have been awesome!), the most recent rumor is that the theme for 2012 will be Fertility 2.0. Of course, the 2.0 comes into play because in 1997, the theme was Fertility: The Living Land. It seems that Larry & co thought that it was time to revisit the idea that Burning Man is, as Halcyon puts it, “an intensely fertile landscape” where ideas and people can flourish, unhindered by the shackles of modern, default society… or something like that.
The rumor mill has been churning away relentlessly, but as far as I can tell, the theme was announced by Larry Harvey at the Black Rock Arts Foundation’s Autumnal Gathering, but it has yet to be officially announced on the Burning Man website. Unusual Child gave me a heads up that there was a legit sounding leak (thanks!), and that sent me into frantic research journalist mode. There was a bit of a twitterstorm about the Fertility theme over the last couple days, but nothing substantial until today, when during the Happy Hour broadcast of Hug Nation, Halcyon confirmed the theme as Fertility 2.0. You can see that video here – just skip ahead to 8:30.
I asked Will Chase to confirm over twitter:
@willchase Any truth to the rumor about the 2012 Burning man theme will be Fertility 2.0?
To which he replied:
@JustinJones Yep. It’s true.
So, there you have it, folks! Fertility 2.0. Conception. Birth. Rebirth. Where would you take this theme? What does it inspire you to create?
I see the 2.0 suffix as a sort of nod to the fertility of the digital world. A world of ideas being spread through web 2.0 applications and social networks. The looming horizon of “fertile,” self-replicating machines, and an impending robopocalypse! See, there you go, you got your apocalypse theme anyway.
What are your thoughts? Please comment away!
As an interesting note: The BM org was formed in 1997 when the theme was first Fertility, and this year, the new non-profit was formed and there has been some restructure in the inner-workings of burning man. So, I do see this theme choice as a purposeful connection to the events in 1997. A resurgence of Fertility in the organization, and hopefully in the community!