Video clip of post installation of the project at Decompression 2007 in San Francisco. Video clips shows Rebecca and daughter sending their pulse to the original heart of the project salvaged from the first burn of BM 2007.

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LED Neon Heart (Pre-install)


LED Neon Heart (installed in the Man)

Neon of First Man of 2007


Tree structure and heart sensor with man in background.

Tree structure with Naomi at the heart sensor.

Naomi sending her pulse to the Heart of Burning Man.

Kathy activating the heart (rescued from the fire at burning man) at BM Decompression in San Francisco.

In-progress view of the heart sensor and supporting branch.

Wireless receiver electronics prior to being installed in the manbase.

The Heart of Burning Man Project is an interactive installation at Burning Man that allowed participants to interactively transmit their own heartbeat to a LED-neon heart sculpture located in the Burning Man. The project is inspired by and about the people who make up the event and honors each person's unique connection to it which is always very personal and heartfelt.

The project was a success, however, it was short lived due to an act of vandalism/arson which resulted in the premature burn of the man just a few hours after this project and the manbase were opened. Due to this unfortunate event, our documentation is limited to just a few photographs. Thankfully, one of the two hearts installed survived the fire and we were able setup a version of the project for Burning Man Decompression 2007 in October in San Francisco, CA.

Participants who were fortunate enough to see the project before the man burned were able to step up to an interactive tree sculpture to have their pulse read by special heartbeat sensors. Their pulse was then calculated and wirelessly transmitted to the heart installed in the man. With each heartbeat of the participant, the Heart of Burning Man pulsed accordingly.

The project is designed and supported by...
Gene Cooper
Naomi Stein Cooper

Project Collaborators:
Scott Vannote, Mark Masterus, Jim Kelly, Joan Czaia, Dave Ballinger, Alan Mays

Supporting Sponsors:
We'd like to thank our generous sponsors for helping us with financial assistance and support for the project...

Four Chambers Studio, www.fourchambers.org
Black Rock City, www.burningman.com
Cool Neon, www.coolneon.com

Supporting Individual Contributors:
We'd like to thank the wide range of individuals who are contributing to the project in many very interesting and different ways...

Bettie June and Crimson Rose
Russ Overbeck and Shannon Smith
Bill Stockton and Ali Pearson
The Neon Crew
The Manbase Crew
DPW
Bill Brauckman
Brett Dutton

Philosophical Statement:
The metaphoric heart of Burning Man has always, in my opionion, been about the people who make up the event…the spirit, the energy, the hopes, aspirations, and more. Its safe to say that most who have been at Burning Man feel a deep rooted connection as both contributors and participants in a very personal way. This project honors that connection and brings it forth into the limelight by enabling anyone at the event to see their own personal heartbeat, beat in the Heart of the Man.

As a participant, this as a powerful experience, to stand in front of the Man and see your own heartbeat pulsing in such a symbolic icon as the Man. And as a spectator, the experience of seeing the Man with a heartbeat and know that the heartbeat is driven from a live person.

The Process:
Participants step up to a tree sculpture to have their pulse read by special heartbeat sensors embedded in the branches of the tree. Their pulse is then calculated and wirelessly transmitted to a led-neon sculpture embedded in the Burning Man sculpture centerpiece. With each heartbeat of the participant, the Heart of Burning Man will pulse accordingly.

The Tree and Heart Sensors:
The tree was constructed with a built in heart sensor system to allow any individual to approach the tree and have their pulse read and ultimately transmitted to the Man. The sensor system involves simply holding two specific branches, each with sensors built in to read the pulse. Once a steady pulse is read, the signal is then transmitted to the heart sculpture on the man until they leave. Take about 5-10 seconds for a steady heartbeat signal to be acquired.

The Heart Sculpture:
A heart is 3 dimensional sculpture with multiple pulsing colors (red and orange) of led-neon. A synchronized pulsing effect simulates and corresponds to the particpants heartbeat. The led-neon is a relatively new technology and is flexible, waterproof, uses less power than traditional neon and does not require a transformer.

Graphics and Technical Diagrams:
Below are diagrams and an animation sequence for visualizing the proposed Heart of Burning Man art installation. Please contact Gene Cooper at gene@fourchambers.org for questions.

Animation of Syncronized Pulsing of Hearts Quicktime (MPEG Version) 3MB Quicktime (JPEG Version) 12 MB Note: May take 1-5 minutes to download with high speed connection. Requires Quicktime 5.0 or higher. To download the free Quicktime plug-in, click below.	Tree Sculpture Diagram Download JPEG .3 MB
	Technical Diagram Download JPEG .5 MB