Ride the Wave The Breaking Wave sculpture is now part of Burning Man history. After months of planning, preparation and wood gathering, the Wave was assembled and built in two nights on the playa. Since the daytime temperatures hovered around 100 degreesF. with blowing dust, we chose to work from sundown to sunrise using portable halogen lights. The sculpture weighed approximately two tons when completed, 16 feet high, 20 feet long and 10 feet wide. The construction of the 10 support trusses and 5 box found
The core members of the crew in alphabetical order were Kevin Curry, James Deane, Mike Hattingh, Jason Malo and Ron Simmer, with much appreciated help from Amber, Brandon, BT, Curtis, Greg, Jessica, Lilli, Ryan, Matthew, Percilla , Yvonne , Vertumnus and many other volunteers from Washington and Oregon. Ryan McCann of Documonkey TV has produced a Breaking Wave video documentary. The Breaking Wave project received no cash honorarium from the BM Org., and was financed in part by the art crew through fundraisi
The Breaking Wave sculpture created for Burning Man was inspired by the classic Great Wave of Kanagawa by Japanese painter Hokusai. We tried to capture and embody the image of Hokusai`s wave as a giant attacking claw. Mariners have always feared breaking waves as a sign of dangerous sea states or deadly shoals; the sculpture was intended as a tribute to those who lost their lives in the Japanese Tsunami of 2011.