(picture by Eddie Codel)

The Black Rock Arts Foundation (BRAF), the non-profit arts foundation spun off from Burning Man, is beginning a program of exhibiting art that originally appeared at Burning Man in San Francisco. The first peice to be exhibited is Flock, by Oakland artist Michael Christian, pictured here. It will be exhibited for a couple months in Civic Center, starting next month. The piece really is spectacular, especially because it is huge.

It’s also great to see that BRAF is starting to bring Burning Man art to San Francisco. Burning Man and its devotees have somewhat legitimately been criticised for spending a huge amount of money, time, and energy creating a fantasy-land in the desert that is beyond reach for many people in SF. I think that Burning Man has had a much bigger influence on SF culture than many people realize (for better or worse), but I think the more official stature of this kind of exhibition is a great step forward.