Friends in the desert and other delights.
by Greta deJong
Tomorrow I head to the playa for the 22nd annual Burning Man Festival in Black Rock City, Nevada. Year No. 7 for me. (Hear KCPW’s Lara Jones interview several of us local participants at www.kcpw.org/article/4182.) My friend and fellow journeyer Sallie Shatz has made this image of me in the wee hours as I pore over one last hot story, a necessity before getting out of town. You can see her reflection in the mirror.
Sallie lives with a camera on her body. She makes images as easily as she breathes. (She is training me out of the old-school violent language of film: no more shooting people and taking their pictures; now we make images.) Elsewhere in this issue you will find a photo of our dancing shadows on the sidewalk; thoughtfully rendered images of SLC’s top four mayoral candidates, and a fun image of Margaret Ruth (which, I hear, Sallie made sprawled on the hood of an SUV).
How is it I can see more in her photos than in the reality itself? How does she do that? I look around this room, now, and see it with renewed interest.
Speaking of mayoral candidates: Read our survey. Attend (or tune in to) the panels. Vote in the September 11 primary. If it’s after the 11th… still read this story so you’ll get a better sense who to vote for come November. And then hold the winner to his or her word-because they’ve made some pretty exciting declarations in these pages.
Okay. Off we go. Motorized sofas, bus-sized dragons, towering temples, flaming rollercoasters, dance, camaraderie, naps-this will be a good week. And, traveling with Sal, I’ll probably have the pictures to prove it.
Greta Belanger deJong is the founder, editor and publisher of CATALYST. Contact her at greta@catalystmagazine.net.