Finding Aid to Christine Kristen Burning Man Ephemera collection
1993-2022
SFH 739
Finding aid composed by Norman Yee
San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library
2023
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
sfhistory@sfpl.org
Contributing Institution:
San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 557-4567
sfhistory@sfpl.org
Title: Christine Kristen Burning Man ephemera collection
Creator:
Kristen, Christine
Identifier/Call Number: SFH 739
Physical Description:
4 cartons, 1 flat box, 1 oversize flat box
(7 Cubic Feet)
Date (inclusive): 1993-2022
Date (bulk): (bulk 1998-2019, 2022)
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.
Physical Location: The collection is stored offsite.
Languages Represented: Collection materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
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.
Publication Rights
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.
Provenance
This collection was gifted to SFPL by Christine Kristen in 2022.
Conservation Note
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.
Materials Transferred
1 panoramic print of Burning Man's venue, Black Rock City, has been transferred to Preservation and stored in the Photo Room.
Biography
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.
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.
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.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Burning Man -- Festival
Printed Ephemera -- Specimens
Fliers (Ephemera)
Ephemera.
Series 1
Photographs and Posters
2005-2015
Box 6, Folder 2
Burning Man Photographs
2005-2015
Materials Transferred
1 panoramic print of Burning Man's venue, Black Rock City, has been transferred to Preservation and stored in the Photo Room.
Series 2
Ephemera and Printed Materials
1993-2022
Box 3, folder 7
Ephemera [1/2]
2015
Materials Transferred
1 oversize print and 1 photocopy of original box artwork is stored in Box 6, Folder 3.
Box 4, folder 8
Burning Man Project Journal
1993-2007
Box 4, folder 9
Burning Man Clippings
1996-2022
Box 4, folder 10
Burning Man Clippings
1996-2022
Box 5, Folder 1
Burning Man Calendars
2003-2021
Materials Transferred
2 Flaming Lotus Girls calendars are stored in Box 6, Folder 3.
