Beyond Music: The Art Music Festivals Have to Offer

In its most simplistic form, community is defined as a group of people who share a close proximity. Though true by default, community is more of a human necessity than a coincidental proximity. The underground music community is one of the strongest and farthest reaching communities to date. What makes the music festival community unique, is that it is not limited by proximity. Musical gatherings are populated with familiar faces, and a curated collection of musicians and artists that attract attendees from all over the world and It is this deeply rooted connection that turns community into family.

At music festivals today there is much more to experience besides just the music. Between workshops, food & drink, talent shows, storytelling, art installations, yoga, camping, of course live music, and much more you’re bound to have the best two or three days of your life when attending a festival in today’s day and age. With all of this to offer, some festivals out there have taken their art installations to a new level with fixtures that will blow you away making you feel like you’re in another world.

Celebrating its 10-year reunion on September 17th-20th at the Woodward Reservoir in Oakdale, California is Symbiosis Gathering. A fan favorite of many individuals in the festival community, Symbiosis returns after a one-year hiatus in 2014 to present their most epic gathering yet. An explosion of art with Art Cards, Art Boats you can climb onto and floating art installations. There will be stationary sculptures and human or wind-powered cruising vessels as well. According to Symbiosis Gathering’s press release, “Adhering to the principles of co-creation, all Symbiosis community members are welcome to build and bring their own Art Boat.” If you’ve ever wanted to build a boat and go crazy with your artsy side, this is your chance to do so.

Every year, participants in the Burning Man Festival descend on the playa of Nevada’s Black Rock Desert to form a temporary city — a self-reliant community populated by performers, artists, free spirits, and more. In 2014, 65,000 people came to Burning Man from all over the world to dance, express themselves, and take in the spectacle. The Embrace sculpture by The Pier Group was one of the most iconic art pieces of Caravansary. Enjoy these images from Galen Oakes and Art Gimbel.

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in indio, California, located in the Inland Empire’s’s Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. Being one of the better known festivals out there, Coachella has some pretty awesome art to offer, my favorite being the Chrono Chromatic. Honoring tribute to time and color, Chrono Chromatic is a monumental sculpture that celebrates the festivals broad spectrum of music and artist, as they engrave their moment in time. Ranging in sze and color, These pillars are arranged in two tangent circles intertwining at the center to create a colored tunnel effect. This gateway lets the spectators explore and interact with the piece and its vibrant colors. The shape of each pillar is consistently changing size and proportion as they merge into the center, creating an illusion of harmonic motion. The lighting sequence will mark the time every hour on the hour with unique lighting sequence.

Below is a video covering an installation at Coachella called ‘Gateway’.

Gateway Art Installation @ Coachella Music and Arts Festival

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