Pirate Ship Engineering Marvel at Burning Man

 This Pirate ship called the Lost Ship, seeing here cruising the hi desert seas of Burning Man is modern marvel of art and engineering. For more details I would suggest going to their blog so you can see a more detailed view of how they put it all together.

Captain Andy started dreaming of a pirate ship with a huge mechanized wheel during his first visit to Burning Man in 2004. As a structural engineer and experienced metal sculptor, Andy has a head full of design know-how, a knack for aesthetics, and a drive to creatively reuse and salvage metals that are otherwise bound for the recycle bin. The prospect of creating an “art car” from scratch gave him an opportunity to combine these three gifts on a grand scale. Six years later the Pirate ship made its maiden voyage to this years Burning Man. via

Milking it at Burning Man on Milktropolis Mutant Vehicle

The Milktropolis mutant vehicle was built by Jon Zensius, Bob Dow, Natalie Zensius and Stephanie Rose for this years burning man event. This project took 9 months of hard work and was a test of their skills, friendships and marriages. It's wood and fiberglass and a wee bit of steel in the corners on a Ford Explorer body. The Cereal Bowl seats 8 and the carton accommodates 4. There are 100 hand sewn cereal shaped pillows in the bowl for comfort. It's driven from up in the carton area and the drive train is done with bike chains from steering wheel to a home brew rotor and back to steering wheel. Gas and brakes are controlled via one of the former power window motors. It also has over 5000 LED lights for night time driving, that runs on a 1000w portable generator. Passengers have the pleasure of entering Milktropolis via a "spoon" ladder and exit via a pool slide. It was a huge hit and we will returning in 2011 with a few modifications in case you missed it but my only question is 1% or 2%???

Watch Burning Man Live NOW!!! - via Ustream

I just added a live  burning man feed via ustream for those of us that decided to stay home and avoid the 7 deadly hassles. Cant wait to post more mutant vehicles from this years event.

What do you get when you cross a Unicycle, a Tuba and Burning Man

Photo Via Olson & Farlow
I needed an art unicycle for my collection here on Art Car Central and this is what I found. Some dude named Erin "Red" Thompson who figured that tubas and unicycles where a good much. So he covered himself in silver paint, went to burning man one year and did his thing. Mom would be proud, those tuba lessons paid off.

inCARnation - Apocalypse Mobile/Time Machine

inCARnation - Apocalypse Mobile/Time Machine

inCARnation, the Apocalypse Mobile/Time Machine was sent in by Meg (Hint, the one with the pink hair). It was built over the course of a few years at her apartment in Minneapolis and is under constant construction. The frame is an early 1990s Honda Accord that belonged to Adam. Adam Lutterman (Atom), Andy Rennert (MN Phatts) and Meg (Dee Zaster) all contributed to its creation. They take it to Burning Man every year and it made its debut this year at the Houston Art Car Parade and promise to be back, I guess that's the time machine aspect of the inCARnation. They also participate in Art Car events in the Twin Cities on a regular basis. They are beginning work on radically altering the appearance, but the plans are under wraps. It will be bigger and badder the next time around, so keep a look out!

Riot Wheel - Burly Motorized Big Wheel

Riot Wheel is a 1000lb monster motorized big wheel with the driver up front that took about 18 months to build. It was built for a trip to Burning Man and was an instant hit, and since then has been featured on Discovery Channel’s Monster Nation. The Riot Wheel video at Burning Man is a must see!!!

Easter Bunny Furball Art Car Madness - And More!!

With Easter on its way this weekend, I though it appropriate to explore the world of cute furry bunny art cars from around the world. There are a variety of the Easter Art Car wonders making the rounds this year, hiding eggs and scaring small children. From art cars to motorcycles with men in bunny suites, we have it all, enjoy, and Happy Easter!!!

Furry VW Bunny Art Car


Rex Rabbit Art Car


Pink VW Art Car


Burning Man Bunny Party Float


Burning Man Bunny Slippers

And we digress with a few more bunny's on wheels. This is the more part.

Mercedes Vs Spray Paint at Burning Man

mercedes art car, originally uploaded by lomokev.

This particular Mercedes Art Car was spotted at burning man some time ago. I am not sure the philosophy behind this piece but it looks like some dude went crazy on his brand new Merecedes with a can of paint. I wonder if the warranty covers crazy?

The Electrobite Olenoides or just A Trilobite Vehicle

Trilobite Vehicle in the day time

Trilobite Vehicle with the lights on

via

Its been way over a month since my last art car entry, but I am back and ready to tackle and art car a day maybe two just catch up. What better way to get back in the game than with The Electrobite Olenoides, a wonderful metal trilobite vehicle that you can ride around on, build from an electric wheelchair . It was created for Burning Man 2009 by Jon Sarriugarte and Kyrsten Mate of Form & Reform, the same guys who made the SS Alpha Fox and Golden Mean Snail Car. You can get a better idea of this neat vehicle in this Boing Boing episode.

Gonzo Mutant Vehicle

via
And just for fun, for the those of you who just got back from burning man this year, I bring you Gonzo the Mutant Vehicle. And for those of you who have not gone to Burning Man and never will because everyone and their mother has gone to Burning Man, I suggest you check out a nice alternative event at the same location called Burning Toast Man.

The Vehicle of Enlightenment by Susan Jette

The Vehicle of Enlightenment art car in the day time

The Vehicle of Enlightenment art car at night by Susan Jette


Recently I got a post card placed on my Mercedes Pens Art Car and it was from Susan Jette and her amazing Vehicle of Enlightenment art car. There is a lot of stuff glued on the car and looks amazing in the day time. But at night with LED and L-Wire it is transformed into something entirely different seen here at Burning man. Susan told me in her email that the car is currently in limbo, in the shop needed some major engine work, so I guess this car is currently on hold until an art car "angel" comes to enlightened rescue. All the best.

7 things I missed at Burning Man - But Mutant Vehicles Rock!!!

In spite of being denied entry into this years Burning Man with my Mercedes Pens Art Car for not being "mutant" enough, I will post this video about mutant vehicles on the playa. These Mutant Vehicles are amazing and wonderful and a big thumbs up for all who make them possible. The time and dedication that goes into these creations is commendable. On the other hand being denied entry by the "DMV Hotties" probably was a blessing in disguise because I was able to:

1) Not have to go into debt to finance the trip and entry into Burning Man
2) Not have to look at naked people
3) Not have my bike stolen
4) Not have to use a portable toilet
5) Not have to deal with yahoos (of the obnoxious variety)
6) Not have to eat dust
7) Not have to spend a month cleaning my art car

Overall I stayed home, had fun, took lots of showers, got lots of rest, spend valuable time with my family and my car wasn't ruined by playa dust. If your like me and have had enough with "burn-a-man-ia" you might find this article called 10 Things I Hate About Burning Man a good read. I also found another event called Burning Toast Man, that might be the answer to the Burning Man dilemma.