Raleigh artist stuck at Burning Man, traveled 2,700 miles to get his art there
A Raleigh artist and sculptor is among tens of thousands of people stuck in the northern Nevada desert after an unusual late-summer storm.
Matt McConnell said he traveled 2,700 miles to get his massive pieces of art to Burning Man, an annual gathering in the Black Rock Desert about 110 miles north of Reno.
“[There is] plenty of food [and] plenty of water,” McConnell said. “It’s more of an inconvenience than anything else.”
McConnell, who studied industrial design at North Carolina State University, admitted there are dangers at Burning Man due to the muddy conditions. Heavy rains left the area with thick, ankle-deep mud. One person has died, but authorities said it was unrelated to weather.
“They asked everyone to stay off the roads, not drive around when things are wet,” he said. “There are those who choose not to.”
On Monday, festival organizers said they expect people could start leaving midday as the ground dried up.
Celebrity DJ Diplo posted a video to Instagram on Saturday evening showing him and comedian Chris Rock riding in the back of a fan’s pickup truck. He said they had walked six miles through the mud before hitching a ride.
It last rained at Burning Man in 2014.
“A lot of people were not prepared,” McConnell said.
McConnell said his group is doing well.
"It creates a community of people to take care of each other and themselves," McConnell said. "That's why when things like this happen, its not a terrible situation."
McConnell said it’s going to take time to retrieve his artwork.
“We have to go out and get the artwork back,” McConnell said. “Basically, it just costs about a day for everything to dry out, so we can get back on the road and get where the artwork is to get it taken down.”
McConnell said people who attend Burning Man are resilient.
“Spirits are high,” McConnell said. “Everyone is fine, ended up in camp, catching up on sleep, hanging out with camp mates [and] dealing with rain.”
McConnell said he arrived at Burning Man on Aug. 23.
“If we are lucky, we will get out Tuesday,” he said.
