Christine Kristen Burning Man ephemera collection, 1993-2022, bulk (bulk 1998-2019, 2022)

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Summary

Creators:
Kristen, Christine
Abstract:
This is a collection of ephemera collected by Christine "LadyBee" Kristen, Burning Man's Archivist and Art Collection Manager. Collected ephemera include flyers, photographs, posters, maps, bandanas, patches, clippings, calendars, and a small amount of uncategorized objects from Burning Man festivals dating from 1998 through 2022. This collection also contains print copies of the Burning Man Journal from 1993-2007.
Extent:
4 cartons, 1 flat box, 1 oversize flat box (7 Cubic Feet)
Language:
Collection materials are in English .
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Christine Kristen Burning Man Ephemera Collection (SFH 739), San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection consists of ephemera collected by Christine "LadyBee" Kristen, Burning Man's Archivist and Art Collection Manager. Collected ephemera include flyers, photographs, posters, maps, bandanas, patches, clippings, calendars, and a small amount of uncategorized objects from Burning Man festivals dating from 1998 through 2022. Of particular interest are 12 oversize aerial photos of the Black Rock City venue. Burning Man was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is reflected in this collection with omission of 2020 and 2021 ephemera.

This collection also contains print copies of the Burning Man Journal from 1993-2007. Subsequent issues of the Burning Man Journal are available online at journal.burningman.org as of the time of this writing.

Biographical / historical:

Christine "LadyBee" Kristen, born February 18th, 1952, is Burning Man's Archivist, Art Collection Manager and Photo Gallery editor. She was Burning Man's art curator from 1999 to 2008, where she managed the art and art grant programs, the archives, and the Image Gallery. She also wrote content for the Burning Man website, worked with the ARTery, and taught about the art of Burning Man. She left in 2008 to work for an arts startup but returned in 2012 as the art collection curator and archivist.

She is the co-author of "The Jewelry of Burning Man", with Karen Christians and George Post, and is the curator of the exhibition "PlayaMade: Jewelry of Burning Man", which debuted at the Fuller Craft Museum near Boston in 2017. This exhibit then opened at the Bellevue Arts Museum in Seattle in January 2020. She has an MFA in sculpture from the Art Institute of Chicago.

Burning Man is a week-long large-scale desert event focused on "community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance" held annually in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada, USA. It is produced by the Burning Man Project, which was preceeded by Black Rock City LLC. The event is guided by ten stated principles: radical inclusion, gifting, decommodification, radical self-reliance, radical self-expression, communal effort, civic responsibility, leaving no trace, participation, and immediacy, as described by Burning Man co-founder Larry Harvey. Burning Man participants design and build all the art, activities, and events, which include experimental and interactive sculptures, buildings, performances, and art cars, among other media. These contributions are inspired by a theme chosen annually by the Burning Man Project, and are often destroyed by fire at the conclusion of the festival.

Acquisition information:
This collection was gifted to SFPL by Christine Kristen in 2022.
Processing information:

During processing, the entire collection was re-foldered and re-housed in acid-free folders and boxes. Collection contains some metal objects that are potentially sharp. Some metal staples remain.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged into 2 series; Series 1: Photographs and Posters, and Series 2: Ephemera and Printed Materials. Series 2 ephemera is arranged by chronological year, followed by Burning Man calendars then printed copies of the Burning Man Journal, likewise in chronological order.

Physical location:
Open for research. The collection is offsite and advance notice is required for retrieval. Material must be requested at least 4 business days in advance of visit.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is available for use during San Francisco History Center hours, with photographs available during Photo Desk hours. Collections that are stored offsite should be requested 48 hours in advance.

Terms of access:

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the City Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the San Francisco Public Library as the owner of the physical items.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Christine Kristen Burning Man Ephemera Collection (SFH 739), San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library.

Location of this collection:
San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102, US
Contact:
(415) 557-4567
sfhistory@sfpl.org
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