Ok, this is just a printable version of the entire text of this site

Project Name: Metaluselah

Artist: Diarmaid Horkan

averylargenumber@gmail.com
irish@blackrockburnerhostel.om
011 64 9 372 6853

Address: 14 Beechwood Road, Ranelagh,
Dublin 6. IRELAND.

Nevada base after May 20th:
1350 Breaker Way, Sparks, NV 89431

Project Overview...

Deep on the open Playa, we find an ancient man standing alone,
gnarled body bent by age, knotted hand upon a walking stick lest
he collapse....

His time on earth drawing to a close, he looks back across his city
and his life, a life of unfettered joy, of passions explored, and of
experience most profound.

His body, though cracked and rusted, shines with a light of pure
joy, and his wizened face is aglow with the happiness of a full life
well spent. As he comtemplates his impending end, a deep
satisfaction and peace radiates from within, for he feels blessed
to be in the presence of such wonderful companions, and he is
thankful.

Metaluselah, our Oldest Friend.

Meaning

Metaluselah, our oldest friend, is a representation of mortality, come
travelling to us from the far future to remind us that, though we
will eventually die, we have started on a path through life that will
allow us to look back on a life well lived, and feel only love and
gratitiude.

He shows us how we may end our lives, shining from within, bent with
age but with ragin fires still burning within.

He urges us never to stray from this path we have discovered, nor
to fear, nor to worry, but to remain true to ourselves.

He brings this powerful message to our city from the Hall of the
Elders, and the people listen respectfully to the Wisdom of the
Eldest.

He is old, old beyond reckoning, yet young, potent, and alive, at the
very doorstep of his passing.

He is wise - we should listen and take heart!!!

...on the other hand....

Metaluselah is a continuation from my 2005 project,
Silence of the Other. The Other was a dark figure, an image of
Loss and Shadow, caged,(FOR ONE WEEK ONLY!!), for the
duration of the Burn. that we might be free of his terrible influence.
2005 was a particularly unusual year for me, I was led on a strange
journey into consideration of mortality, expectation and inevitable
transience by a powerful shaman of unknown origin, and I realised
the Other was not real, but an unreal construct I was finally letting
fall behind.

This was an extremely painful, sickening, yet ultimately liberating
experience for me. I realised that I could no longer fear the reality
of death, and now I look forward to that time with Hope, hope that I
might one day look back and feel content that I have given more than
I have taken, that my net contribution to the world might come out in
the black.

To me, Metaluselah represents this Future person, and i wish to
invite him to Black Rock City, the place of his birth.

Description

Standing 10 feet from the playa floor at his tallest point, Metaluselah
will be a metal sculpture in the form of a stylised old man, whose
stooped back will arch forward to a wizened yet benign face that
smiles downward to address those that approach.

While his decrepit body will be fashioned of rusting and discarded
metal, the blazing soul within will be expressed through the use of
heavily worked EL-wire filigree that will outline his wrinkled face,
as well as key panels on his body. See the illumination page for more
details

From his mind will emanate flames of creativity, giving him an almost
halo-like wreath upon his crown. This will be achieved through the use
of a simple wick and lamp oil setup.
See the fire page for more details.

His form will be constructed in 5 major pieces, as well as a base
hidden beneath the playa. These will consist of the lower body,
torso, both arms, and head. A scaled metal walking stick will also
be inserted between his right hand and the base. Each of these
pieces will be built up in welded layers from an interior skeleton of
steel I-beams. Each section will bolt to the next at specially fashioned
connection points that will take advantage of the structural steels
strenght. See the Construction page for more details on his physical
form.

The pieces will be assembled on site, having previously been tested
for workability, tightness of fit, and structural integrity at the
workshop. As with last year, the approach I will be taking is the
standard playa engineering method of building it so strong that it
would take the dynamic weight at least 6 times the number of
drunk human beings that could physically climb on it at any one time.

More Information on the dying message Metaluselah brings us can
be found on the meaning page.

Impact

Well, I know that its almost impossible to predict how
burners will interact with any work, no matter how well thought out,
but to be honest I like that!!!

Although I am creating something with a clear meaning in mind,
I take the view that the citizens of BRC should be free to take
their own meaning to the encounter, and therefore feel disinclined
to provide any cues or suggestions of my own at the site...

So how then will people experience the work?

Well, I feel that Metaluselah will be a very quiet and
comtemplative moment for those who encounter him. He brings an
aura of wisdom, satisfaction, and venerability with him, into
which mystified burners may step and share.

Meeting with Metaluselah - Maybe like a personal Rendezvous
with Rama or maybe the Stone Mother, or Martian Time Slip,
or, or, or....

Quiet, unhurried, peaceful, benign, - a meeting with gentleness
for those walking solo or hand in hand. The piece would ideally
be placed away from large scale sound art, and by itself, looking
back towards the city, and would thus be one of those utterly
mysterious spots on the open playa that one just happens across.

Strange... I feel strange...

Construction

Construction of this project is a predominantly modular affair,
allowing both easy assembly on playa, as well as keeping
the more easily damaged EL wire components seperate from
the skeleton during transport.

Metaluselah will consist of EL wire panels and spot welded
metal musclature/innards around a structural steel skeleton.
This skeleton will be assembled in 7 discrete parts,

Trunk
Lower Torso
Upper Torso
Shoulder Cross Beam
Arms
Neck and Head

Each of these sections will be securely bolted together,
and the whole structure set into a 7 foot circular
base buried under the playa surface. This base was used last
year in Silence of the Other, to great effect, even with 4
people climbing on the structure. It consists of a spoked wheel
onto which have been welded steel reaction plates to provide
surface area. An 18 inch steel box bracket holds the base of
the sculptures leg, and the whole base is anchored into the
playa by a system of 12 4 foot rebar stakes. It is
extremely stable.

The skeleton is equipped with a system of both welded hard
points and drilled bolt holes to allow the attachment of the
next layer out, the "musculature". This layer will provide most
of the feel of the sculpture, and will consist of an intricate array
of junk metal to give the sculpture a more organic dimensionality.
Within this layer will be placed several strategic LED lights to
cast further 3D relief at night.

Separated by spacers from this seond layer will be the final
layer, a number of plates across the chest, spine, shoulders
and face that will be heavily worked in tribal LED designs.

A static fire element will be mounted above and behind the
head to provide a halo of flame in roughly the same area as the
hair might be expected, however it will be somewhat isolated
from the face assembly to prevent thermal transmission forward
into the facial EL wire.

External illumination will be provided by a rig of LED clusters
at ground level which also serve to delineate the footprint
of the artwork.

My experience last year makes me confident that this project
is eminently possible to do extremely effectively in 2006,
for the following reasons

Both projects are of the same approximate
physical dimensions
Base is already fabricated and battle tested
All skills required were further developed at
last years burn, in particular welding and EL wire.
Developed access to a wealth of in depth technical
knowledge
Proximity of build site to junkyards, mentors, transport,
staging area, and accomodation.
Access to great workshop at build site, and all tools
available all the time.
Ample time frame to complete project well in advance of
the Burn.

Illumination

We shall consider this in 3 parts:

1. EL Wire.
2. Internal LEDs
3. External LED lighting

EL WIre

The Soul of Metaluselah will be represented by a finely constructed
EL wire filigree that will pick out his features and outline his failing
body by night Predominantly modelled in a mixture of pink and yellow,
the lighting will endeavour to give him a very positive mood by night
that will contrast with his rusted shell. The aged lines in his face will
all be picked out, and body panels will be afixed bearing mystical
tribal markings that echo the wealth and importance of ritual in his
long life. The EL wire will be grafted onto plasma cut metal panels,
and threaded through holes, so that while exposed wire will be
visible from the playa, the back sides of the panels will also cast
soft coloured illumination back onto his interior structure. This double
sided, modular approach serves a manifold purpose:

It allows for a richer variety and depth of
directional Illumination.
It minimises soldering a bunch of extra junctions
on the ELwire circuits by favouring continuous
strands of EL
It allows each EL section to be tested and
transported seperate from the sculpture itself,
minimising breakage and confusion.
In the case of the face and head, it allows the
EL wire to be at an even further remove from the
flame effect, thus enhancing thermal insulation.

Internal LEDs.

A small number of white and blue LEDs will be incorporated within
his body in order to enhance sculptural definition during the night.
These will have muc the same role as the reflected light provided
by the rearward facing EL Wire mentioned above, but will be used
more to illuminate the core and joints of the structure, rather than
the surface. These colours have been chosen to contrast with the
warm pinks and yellows of the EL, as well as to cast shadows on
the ground, which I had great success with last year. Mmm,
dimensional...

External LEDs.

Emerging from the ground around Metaluselah will be 4 LED
clusters that will provide overall illumination of the figure. Again,
I used one of these to great success last year, and have chosen
to use them this time out for the following reasons

They draw very little power.
They are bright yet reflect very subtly off of metal
They come premade as 21 LED arrays in metal case,
thereby circumventing nay issues that might arise
through trying to construct them myself...

Power

I have chosen to go with LED lighting on this project as it is so
power efficient, thereby allowing me to keep everything simple
and clean. Power will be provided by three 12volt deep cycle
batteries, one of which will be providing power, while one
recharges, and one fully charged in reserve in case of failure.
Similarly, the EL wire is extremely efficient, and I anticipate
having far more power than is necessary to garauntee a high
and consistent level of visibility all night long, and bright enough
to ensure visibility even in case of a midnight dust storm...

Fire

Metaluselah will incorporate a small semicircular halo of flame
set above and slightly behind his face, serving almost as his hair.

This effect will be accomplished in the following manner.

Figure One.
A concealed shoulder mounted reservoir of standard lamp oil,(a)
will gravity feed oil through a pipe through the neck, (b), into
a smaller reservoir,(c), which feeds 4 kevlar wicks up through
the wick spreading device, (d). These wicks then feed a
semicircular wrapped kevlar element,(e), which is protected by
a strong steel mesh, (f).

Technical Issues

(a). the reservoir is mounted on the body of the sculpture to
isolateit from the actual burning elements and to provide strong
structural support.

(b). The feed pipe exits the reservoir from its lowest point,
thus ensuring that all fuel will be fed to the wicks, leaving no
fuel standing in the mechanism once it burns out.

(c). The top of the secondary reservoir is placed higher than
the highest fill point of the primary, thus ensuring that no
fuel will escaoe.

(d) The wick spreading device will be constructed so that all
wicks fit tightly and will not allow flame to migrate down into the
reservoir.

(e) The actual burn element itself will be constructed of wrapped
Kevlar fabric to provide an inert burn medium

(f) a rigid steel frame will prevent any damage to the burn element

(General) All other metal elements will be constructed from
copper pipe, and all junctions will be tightly sealed with
appropriate copper elements. The main reservoir will have a
small hole in the filling cap to allow atmospheric pressure to
gravity feed the fuel to the secondary. The general engineering
approach could be considered as a combination of oil lamp and
mercury barometer.

Safety.

All fuel will be stored in a locked steel box at camp until
required. The amount of fuel required to burn only for the
duration of the nighttime will be calculated beforehand,
thsu ensuring that the effect goes out in the morning.

A small fire extinguisher can be included in the body of the
sculpture if necessary.

This effect will not incorporate any pyrotechnics or compressed
gas.

The halo is expected to be about 8 feet above ground level,
thus keeping it out of the range of over enthusiastic messers,
and the faces of the innocent.

Similarly, its distance from the playa will prevent any burn scar.

Extensive testing before the event will further influence the
design, and modifications will continually be made until we are
certain it is safe.

Timetable

Arrival in Reno: 20th May

Acquiring frame materials begins immediately,
with major work starting on the modaular frame by
June 1st.

Initial priority to establish integrity of base after a winter
in the yard.

Based on construction time last year, I hope to have the
skeleton complete and tested by about June 15th.

With frame complete, cutting and construction of the
most intricate piece, the face, begins, in order to inform
design of the body panels.

At the same time, the fire element is constructed so that
as the face is finished, both can be grafted together
and bolted on to the neck, to allow testing of the viability
and safety of the fire effect. I expect to be at this point
by the end of June.

Juplaya!!!

With the skeleton and head tested and finalised, in early
July cutting and fitting of the body panels would begin, as
well as the welding on of cosmetic metal that represent
his musculature and innards. This will take until about
the midde of the month.... again, based on experience last
year. As this stage begins, I will also be preparing the El
Wire for inclusion into the panels, so that I can test and
consider the effect as each panel goes on.

At the start of August, I would hope to have the bulk of the
work done, with only the LED lighting left to afix.

I really want to have this project finished at least three weeks
in advance of the burn, to allow for tweaking, or taking
care of any issue that may arise.

I believe that this timeframe is more than ample for the
realisation of the project, and will at all times be in consultation
with my technical gurus to ensure that build quality is as high
as possible.

Resources!

I am happy to report that several critical resources
have been already been tracked down for this project.

Workshop space and access to wire feed welder, plasma
torch, grinding equipment, and tabletop band saw for
cutting not ferrous elements have been sourced just outside
Reno.

Similarly, a certain amount of access to 2 junkyards has been
negotiated in Reno. Hopefully much of the cosmetic steel and
scrap iron for the project can be sourced here. It will ceratinly
make for less interuption in the work process due to missing
materials.

Technical welding information and the wisdom of age vis a vis
all things metal come courtesy of Big Giant Head legend, Dale
Huntsman.

Batteries also provided from the battery farm of Big Dale, man
he rocks....

EL WIre expert advice and electricity suggestion comes from
Damian Janssen of MiniMan fame.

Accomodation in Reno for the duration of the build has been
arranged courtesy of Fred Hagemeister and the Black Rock
International Burner Hostel.

So really, all that I need now is the raw materials, in particular
the structural beams, EL wire, LEDs, and, once we hit the playa,
sufficent fuel to keep the halo lit.

And Oh Yes

Offensive Capabilities courtesy of Kamp Apokiliptika - You're
All Fucking Doomed...

Budget

Ok, while I have been able to source a most of the non material
resources required for this project myself, I wish to submit the
following items for funding consideration.

They are presented in the order they will be required during
construction, along with the approximate dates they will be needed
by.

Structural Steel I-beams, June 1st

20' x8" @ $15/foot $300

Kevlar, June 15th

6' x 60" kevlar fabric $40

EL Wire, July 1st

1.3mm AngelHair 20ft @ $1.06/' $21.20
2.5mm HiBrite 200ft @ $1.40/' $280
ifw-5681 12v Inverter $9.50
ifw-9669 12v Inverter $79.00
100' 16 gauge Speaker Wire $19.99

LED Clusters, July 25th

Mr16 Red Cluster x 6 $59.94

K-1 Kerosene, August 1st

40 gallons @ $2.80 $112.00

Trailer Hire, August 25th

approx $200, but will try to source one in the
local community rather than rent. However, including
it here just in case I cant *

TOTAL FUNDING REQUEST
$1121.63

As you can see, this project won't cost all that much, and I
firmly believe the end result will be worth the investment. Please
please help Metaluselah come home for 2006!!!

* Of course, if i find a trailer without having to rent one, the
total funding drops to $921.63 which would be equally helpful.

Thanks for your time and consideration….
See y’all out there!!