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A 40-foot steel-mesh woman rises, gazing toward the eastern horizon with her back to the setting sun over the fiery hues of Red Rock Canyon. A monumental steampunk octopus breathes fire, raising and lowering to thumping bass. Hundreds of racing LEDs pave the way into the dark abyss of the desert night.
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In a scene curiously similar to the visual landscape of the yearly Burning Man festival in northern Nevada’s Black Rock City, an outdoor art gallery called Transfix has just debuted on a four-acre, 200,000 square-foot multi-level site located at the door of Resorts World on the Las Vegas Strip.
Tom Stinchfield, Transfix’s co-founder and CRO, describes it as an exhibition space for artworks — interactive, kinetic, illuminated and fire-breathing — that don’t fit into the typical gallery, physically or psychologically.
“This is large-scale. It’s very niche. It’s very difficult to sell these pieces or to get them into museums or galleries. In most cases, they literally don’t fit,” says Stinchfield of the more than 41 artworks from 39 artists offering live experiences ranging from light and sound to video, which occupy a vacant lot in front of Resorts World until fall. “Burning Man is the easiest way to reference this style of art because it’s such a famous event that people see in the news.”
At Transfix, attendees embark on their own 90-to-120-minute journey through a two-acre labyrinth with 10 artist-designed bars and speakeasies sprinkled throughout the installations.
Highlights include Marco Cochrane’s giant metal sculpture, R-Evolution, of a woman aiming to challenge the audience’s perception of the female body; Pablo González Vargas’s work Ilumina where visitors take part in an immersive three-minute meditation using biometric technology to activate the massive sculpture by achieving group harmony; Christopher Bauder and KiNK’s Axion, a grid-like arrangement of light tubes and moving lights resembling a device for space exploration or particle detection; and the world premiere of a new sensory reset tunnel designed by Playmodes to take guests on an intergalactic journey.
In 2020 during the pandemic, Stinchfield and business partner Michael Blatter decided to share their love of art from the Burning Man festival with the world and put a business plan behind their passion.
The goal was to promote art experiences that foster a global creative economy, build community and support innovative creators of all backgrounds. (The duo also developed experiential marketing agency Mirrorball 10 years ago after meeting at Burning Man; Mirrorball produces large live events and tours for brands such as Heineken, Jack Daniels, Pepsi and Coca-Cola).
The result is Transfix. “We brought in some friends from the rock-and-roll touring industry, who helped us build an operational budget. Then, we talked to investors and raised the money,” he says.
Transfix rents monumentally large art pieces from their creators for a period of three years, paying for transportation, installation, maintenance and operation. This guaranteed source of income allows artists to create new pieces and gain exposure from a new audience through the traveling festival environment. Transfix’s residency in Las Vegas is scheduled until fall. After that, Stinchfield hopes it will tour to Los Angeles and Austin.
“We built this business model with artists in mind. We saw a need in the market. There are a lot of artists we’ve made relationships with over the years, and in some cases, they’re having to go to GoFundMe or private investors. And then, end up having to put their artwork into storage, which costs money,” he says. “By renting these works, we’re giving them predictable income from a regular paycheck, so they can create more. And we’re freeing up space in their warehouses. The ultimate goal of Transfix is to put revenue back into the art. And we will bring this amazing work to the masses as it wouldn’t normally be seen unless you have the means to go to festivals.”
In addition to Stinchfield and Blatter, the core team includes Thor Young, director of artist relations and community impact, and Meranda Carter, curator and experience designer.
Young says he hopes Transfix shifts the pervasive “gatekeeping culture in the art world where gallery owners and museum curators decide what gets seen and what is considered art.”
“We hope this will be a new inclusive format where artists who don’t belong in other spaces feel welcome,” he says.
Immersive and participatory artworks like those found at Transfix engage the viewer as part of the experience, transporting them into another world. Sometimes, they use technology such as virtual reality or projection mapping. Other times, they require the active involvement of the audience to complete or co-create the artwork.
“One of the things that’s really important about participatory art is that it gives people an opportunity to engage with their own creativity in a new and different way. If you can participate in the art instead of just being a viewer of the object, you show up differently in the world. You are a more creative person who has different opportunities and different options. We’re not only creating a new venue, but we’re creating a new opportunity for people to be able to connect as a creative person,” Young says.
Stinchfield adds, “When you give people the agency to push buttons, to climb things, to experience things, to touch things, it really requires the participant to complete the work.”
More than 600 artists were engaged at various stages during Transfix’s curatorial process. New works from NonoTek, LED Pulse, Axion and Hot Tea fill out the roster.
R-Evolution is the third and final sculpture in artist Marco Cochrane’s series The Bliss Project, which demystifies the nude body and captures the energy and power that arises when women are able to feel free and safe. These monumental sculptures first debuted at Burning Man 2015, and Bliss Dance permanently resides a few blocks down the Strip in front of T-Mobile Arena at Park MGM. R-Evolution invites participants to witness a confident 45-foot feminine figure standing before them. With every inhale and exhale, this sculpture challenges the viewer to see beyond the societally normative sexualization of the female form. The sculpture depicts San Francisco dancer Deja Solis and contains 17 motors. The figure stands strong in her power and breathing, radiating her own humanity.
“I hope Transfix becomes a business model that works so artists can make interactive art that is fun to be around and that sets a whole other place for creativity to happen. It is the opportunity we all have been talking about: to take it on the road and finally someone is doing it. I think Transfix can have a profound effect on art and art making in general, in turn changing the world. People will be doing what they want, following their bliss and seeing the magic in the world,” Cochrane says.
Light artist Christopher Bauder and electronic music maker KiNK bring the large-scale outdoor experiential art installation Axion to the desert, which serves as Transfix’s centerpiece. With its grid-like arrangement of light tubes and moving lights, from a distance, Axion resembles a giant scientific device for space exploration or particle detection. But once you step inside, it is a reflection on the potential of axions, dark matter and the idea of the unknown. Axion is a hallucination taking shape, a flowing dream of light and sound that meanders through the night.
The Emmy award-winning installation artist Hottea works with yarn to create the Murmuration installation, a new site-specific work using hundreds of wooden dowels to give viewers a sense of movement that is often found within nature.With this piece, Hottea reminds viewers of the importance of embracing not only big events in their lives but also cherishing the everyday moments that bring a sense of awe or peace. Sometimes, it’s these small moments that can have the biggest impact.
DragonO2 allows participants to explore their humanity through the lens of technology. LedPulse, founded by Danilo Grande and Benny Lai, presents this work as an advanced volumetric LED display that emulates humanity and its biological components in three dimensions. The result is a vivid and unforgettable display that blurs the lines between imagination and reality. DragonO2 invites visitors to step into a new creative dimension, limited only by their imagination.
Making a two-week-only appearance at Transfix, El Pulpo Magnifico by Duane Flatmo is probably the most recognizable work within the exhibit thanks to its notoriety from Burning Man. The art car beckons devotees to dance among the flames of a mechanical fire-breathing octopus that resembles a demented wind-up toy, with its eyes popping in and out as its tentacles rise and fall, blasting 30-foot flames into the sky. The 25-foot art car is constructed almost entirely out of recycled and repurposed scrap iron and aluminum. A double cam runs through the center, controlling all its animated parts to bring this beast to life. The firebox controls are made to activate the fire blasts with the sound system as a giant percussion instrument. El Pulpo Magnifico has been featured on an episode of The Simpsons.
Founder of the renowned collaborative project Mayan Warrior,Pablo González Vargas erects Ilumina, a 37-foot tall interactive light-and-sound sculpture that invites guests to participate in an immersive three-minute long meditation. They connect to biometric sensors and that is translated into data that powers the lighting design and moving soundscapes of the structure.
FoldHaus Collective, an art collective based out of both the U.S. and Germany, presents Shrumen Lumen, a garden of origami mushrooms with caps that expand and contract from a flat umbrella portobello to a bulbous cap when visitors activate them.
Nonotak is a Paris-based creative duo founded by former visual artist Noemi Schipfer and former architect-musician Takami Nakamoto, who present a dreamlike environment encompassing light, sound and space. This uses the same technology found on the exterior of MSG Sphere, which opens this fall adjacent to The Venetian.
Spanish audiovisual research studio Playmodes presents Stellar Beyond, an immersive 115-foot tunnel that plays with spatial perception, driving the audience into a “travel without moving” experience.
“This will really shake you out of your day, and the journey that you came through in order to get to Transfix,” Carter says. “This is a six-minute experience, and then you get pushed onto a non-linear path of choose-your-own-adventure.”
Tickets to Transfix are $59 and after 10 p.m. the venue goes 21+. On May 12, it hosts a one-night collaboration with Tulum/Miami music festival Art with Me called Dance with Me. From sunset to sundown, Dance with Me allows party-goers to take in Transfix with exclusive live performances across three music stages and immersive art installations.
“It’s a brand new type of experience. It’s a bit of an experiment. That being said, I think it’s a concept that we believe appeals to a lot of different people,” Stinchfield says. “I think there’s a little something for everyone.”
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FAQs
Burning Man-Inspired Outdoor Art Gallery Transfix Opens in Las Vegas? ›
In a scene curiously similar to the visual landscape of the yearly Burning Man festival in northern Nevada's Black Rock City, an outdoor art gallery called Transfix has just debuted on a four-acre, 200,000 square-foot multi-level site located at the door of Resorts World on the Las Vegas Strip.
What is Transfix Las Vegas? ›Visit the world's largest touring immersive experience filled with neon lights and art sculptures with the limited-time attraction TRANSFIX at Resorts World.
Where is the Burning Man sculpture located? ›After its appearance at Burning Man in 2013, the city of Reno purchased the sculpture in 2016 and has since made a permanent home in City Plaza.
Is there an art scene in Las Vegas? ›Los Angeles. Unlike the sleek museums that define New York and Los Angeles, the art scene in Las Vegas is gritty and industrial. In the shadows of Fremont Street, studios within the Arts Factory and Art Square are filled with artists creating and showcasing work.
How many sculptures are at Burning Man? ›The exhibition featured eight existing sculptures and four works that were built on site, three of which were constructed with the help of visitors and local community groups over the course of the year. This process mirrors that of Burning Man where teams of volunteers gather in the desert to create new artworks.
Is Transfix going public? ›Digital freight broker Transfix has announced it will remain a private company. It has terminated a business combination agreement with G Squared Ascend I, ending a planned initial public offering.
Is Transfix public? ›Transfix is a private company and not publicly traded.
Why is Burning Man so expensive? ›It also takes a lot of equipment and hours of labor to put things together out there. Each year we see increases in the costs of our permits, logistics, and operations. Our costs are also increasing because we're making serious investments in expanding our impact around the globe.
Where is Burning Man cost? ›Approximately 3,000 tickets at $575 each, and approximately 1,500 vehicle passes available at $150 each, plus applicable fees and taxes. You can buy a maximum of two (2) tickets and one (1) vehicle pass.
What do people do at Burning Man? ›The Burning Man Summer Event
They cook, dance, sing, drink, make art and celebrate life in general. Other activities are going around in different corners, like wine tasting, massages, zip lining, and tattoos, all open for anyone without any cost.
What iconic Las Vegas attraction is being destroyed? ›
But a famous, over-the-top entertainment landmark, Mosaic On The Strip, has been fully and formally destroyed. Longtime locals know this place. The venue was originally home to Utopia nightclub, undergoing several iterations, all themed for some form of live entertainment.
Where is Kiss in Las Vegas? ›Where to Find Us - Explore Map. KISS performs at Zappos Theater inside Planet Hollywood.
What is the red room in Vegas? ›Grey's Red Room of Pain is a suspense escape room designed and conceptualized by Escape Vegas XXX. You are out on the streets of Vegas when you get bombarded with calls from Anastasia.
What happens to the art after Burning Man? ›Much of the art at Burning Man is temporary, purposely so. The wooden temple is burned every year the day after the Man burns, and several other pieces are burned even earlier in the week. Other artworks will be deconstructed to take home, and will remain that way.
Do they sell the art created at Burning Man? ›Burning Man has partnered with auction house Sotheby's to sell art, sculptures and other ephemera associated with the desert festival. As Billboard reports, the auction comes as the not-for-profit event aims to stay afloat amid two years of cancelled festivals due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Who owns Burning Man? ›Black Rock City LLC was formed in 1999 to represent the event's organizers and is now considered a subsidiary of the non-profit organization. The Burning Man Project endorses multiple smaller regional events guided by the Burning Man principles, both in the United States and internationally.
Who is the owner of Transfix? ›Drew McElroy is the Co-Founder & CEO of Transfix(transfix.io), a startup committed to radically transforming the way goods move. Previously Drew was the President of Priority Distribution Inc. (PDI), a mid-market transportation management third party logistics provider(3PL).
How does Transfix make money? ›While the app is free, it's clear that Transfix makes money by brokering deals between carriers and shippers; I asked the company how exactly its business model works: “Our core product is the marketplace," said Transfix CEO Drew McElroy over email.
How many carriers does Transfix have? ›About Transfix
Today, Transfix connects shippers to 28,000+ carriers with real-time, many-to-many freight matching and the visibility they need to make their supply chains more efficient and environmentally responsible. Learn more at Transfix.io.
Transfix was founded in 2013. Where is Transfix's headquarters? Transfix's headquarters is located at 498 7th Ave, New York.
Who is the product designer for Transfix? ›
Caleb Godsey - Senior Product Designer II - Transfix | LinkedIn.
How much is Transfix merger worth? ›In addition, G Squared agreed to provide Transfix with up to an additional $50 million of committed capital whether or not the proposed merger closed. As announced in Septeber 2021, the transaction implied a pro forma enterprise value for Transfix of $1.1 billion. Read more.
Are there drugs at Burning Man? ›An irony that creates challenges for pro-psychedelic lobbying at the preeminent event for taking psychedelics is that drug use is officially forbidden at Burning Man. The festival takes place on federal land, and agents from the Bureau of Land Management roam the playa busting anyone who consumes openly.
Is clothing optional at Burning Man? ›When it's nearly 100 degrees at Burning Man, an annual, nine-day art event and temporary community in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada, clothing tends to be limited, and oftentimes even optional. But for those who do choose to wear clothing, Burning Man is all about the costumes.
Is Burning Man food free? ›An easy way to calculate how much each person should pay is to charge each person $10 for food per day. This should also cover water and supplies.
Is alcohol free at Burning Man? ›Such people should stay very far away, he says, because the free alcohol, free drugs, and free sex will make Burning Man an extremely difficult place to be.
Is there cell service at Burning Man? ›Cell phones do not work well at the event. There are no cell towers operating near the area that can handle the volume of calls necessary for our population of more than 70,000. You absolutely should not rely on it it for mission-critical communications after that.
What drugs are used at Burning Man Festival? ›LSD is one of the most popular drugs used at music festivals across the globe including Rolling Loud, Amsterdam Dance Event, and Burning Man. People often take LSD for recreational purposes or to enhance their experience with other substances such as marijuana.
What are the 10 rules at Burning Man? ›- Radical Inclusion. Anyone may be a part of Burning Man. ...
- Gifting. Burning Man is devoted to acts of gift giving. ...
- Decommodification. ...
- Radical Self-reliance. ...
- Radical Self-expression. ...
- Communal Effort. ...
- Civic Responsibility. ...
- Leaving No Trace.
Personal Transportation Vehicles NOT Allowed
Larger stand-up scooters, fat tire scooters, gas-powered bicycles, powered quadricycles, ATVS, mopeds and motorcycles are not allowed inside the Burning Man event.
Are they tearing The Mirage down in Vegas? ›
A guitar-shaped room tower will eventually replace it, but the iconic volcano in front of the Mirage on the Las Vegas Strip is getting a bit of a reprieve. To the delight of its fans, it will continue to erupt nightly for most of 2023 as Hard Rock International completes its ambitious plan to remodel the resort.
Will The Mirage be demolished? ›The Seminole Tribe intends to operate The Mirage until 2024, fully debuting its Hard Rock brand and the guitar tower a year later. In December 2022, executives first presented their plans. In addition to the new tower, these include renovating the entire Mirage, including its existing 3,044 hotel rooms.
Are they destroying The Mirage? ›Hard Rock International plans to close The Mirage, destroy the entire hotel and casino, and spend billions to expand and upgrade the property starting in late 2023 or 2024, the company has revealed.
Why did KISS cancel their Las Vegas residency? ›"Our original plan was to come in just before New Year's," Simmons told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, "but it was just too busy. When I came into town and joined my friend Dave Grohl onstage, that same night you could see George Strait at T-Mobile Arena, literally across the street.
Where did Elvis love in Vegas? ›The Westgate
During his Las Vegas concerts, Elvis lived in the 30th floor Imperial Suite, a 5,000 square-foot spread where he usually retired with the night's VIP guests after his midnight performances.
Tickets for KISS shows in Las Vegas start at $90.00, and average $202.00.
What do they do in the red room? ›The Red Room, also known as the Black Widow Program, was a secret Soviet-Russian training program that involved taking young women and turning them into elite spies and assassins known as Black Widows.
Why does the red room use girls? ›It's a multi-faceted reason. Traditionally, the Red Room operatives were trained from childhood to be spies and assassins. Well first there's the allure of the beautiful woman -- they have the option to use their charms to gain access and influence by becoming the lovers and companions of their targets.
What happens in the red room of Pain? ›And that thing, ladies and gents, is the Red Room of Pain. What's the Red Room of Pain, you ask? And why is it so important? Well, in a nutshell, it's the sexual, pain-and-pleasure torture dungeon that pretty much everybody has in their house, except Christian Grey's version is red.
Do they burn the temple at Burning Man? ›There is only one official ritual in the Temple, and that is to burn it. On Sunday night of the event, with thousands of participants as witnesses, the Temple is burned in silence.
Does Burning Man burn the man? ›
At the annual gathering known as Burning Man, enthusiastic participants set fire to a large wooden effigy—which they call The Man. This is truly sticking it to the man, in the parlance of the counterculture. And the stick here is a log, soaked in fuel and bacon grease, then set ablaze with a large magnifying glass.
How much does Burning Man make? ›Burning Man has 467 employees, and the revenue per employee ratio is $98,972. Burning Man peak revenue was $46.2M in 2022.
Do you pay for anything at Burning Man? ›Burning Man is an annual festival that takes place in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. To obtain tickets you can purchase them at many tourism companies. People purchase a 2500 USD reservation to guarantee the right to buy a ticket for the event.
Do you pay for things at Burning Man? ›It also doesn't sell goods. But the cost of attending Burning Man can come to thousands of dollars between tickets, transportation, accommodations, supplies, and costumes.
What is gifting at Burning Man? ›Burning Man has what's known as a gift economy, not a barter nor trade economy. That means you give without expecting anything in return. Humans are wired to give and it feels so good to both give and receive, so your Burn will be enhanced by bringing thoughtful gifts.
What is the average age at Burning Man? ›* The median age of Burners is 33-34 years old. * 1 percent of Burners are 70 years old, or older.
Where do you sleep at Burning Man? ›There are many wonderful ways to camp at Burning Man — tents, yurts, living containers, RVs, and many more creative living solutions. The Burning Man organization does not provide or sell RVs to participants. You cannot buy an RV with your Burning Man ticket. We do not connect participants to RV companies.
Is Transfix a broker? ›Transfix, named to Forbes' “Next Billion-Dollar Startups” list, is the leading transportation solutions provider whose digital brokerage marketplace and logistics software offerings are helping transform the $800 billion trucking industry.
How transient is Las Vegas? ›Las Vegas is quite a transient city – meaning – people often don't stay there for the long term. In fact, only 24% of current residents were actually born in this place. Most of them move to and from places like California, Washington, and all over the country.
What is the space needle looking thing in Las Vegas? ›The Strat Hotel, Casino and SkyPod (formerly the Stratosphere) is a hotel and casino located in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. It includes a 1,149 ft (350.2 m) observation tower, the tallest in the United States.
Can I trust my broker? ›
In short, yes, many are. Real estate agents, realtors, and brokers are like most professionals working directly with clients. They know to build a strong career, they need their clients to trust them.
Is Vegas declining? ›After a post-lockdown surge and recovery, Las Vegas has seen several months of decline.
Is it a good idea to move to Vegas? ›Good for Retirement. Whether you're retiring now or in the future, Las Vegas is a great place to spend your golden years. With its mild climate, low cost of living, and high quality of life, Las Vegas is an ideal spot to settle down and enjoy life.
Who is the biggest trucking carrier? ›The largest trucking company in the North America is UPS, with a revenue of $97.3 billion. As of 2022, the U.S. trucking industry has a market size of $217.3 billion.
Who is the largest freight carrier? ›- UPS Inc. Founded: 1907. Revenue: 97.3 billion USD (2021) ...
- FedEx Corp. Founded: 1971. ...
- XPO Logistics. Founded: 1989. ...
- J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. ...
- Knight-Swift Transport Services. Founded: 1990. ...
- YRC Worldwide. Founded: 1929. ...
- Schneider. Founded: 1976. ...
- Landstar Systems. Founded: 1968.
Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier.
Is it safe to walk to the Space Needle? ›Safe Neighborhoods and Areas in Seattle
In addition, the main tourist attractions like Pike Place Market, Seattle Center, the Space Needle, and waterfront attractions are safe to explore. There are no particularly dangerous and unsafe neighborhoods in Seattle that you should never visit.
Provide nice view of Vegas. Recommend go here at night. $15 per person, rides are extra.
Do you pay to Space Needle? ›General Space Needle tickets range in price from $24.50 to $37.50, depending on age, when you buy, and whether you are buying tickets for seniors or children. Tickets are available online, at the Space Needle itself and as part of a few different package deals, if you're looking to get more bang for your buck.