On June 20th David Normal opened the Institute of Crazyology at 1000 Van Ness. The “Crazyology Inaugural Ball” celebrated the installation of the Cathenge Burning Man installation, and was a reunion and respite from the restrictions of the pandemic for the SF BMan and Cacophony Society crowd.
The photo gallery below are photos taken by San Francisco society/art photographer, Herman Privette, who did a fabulous job of documenting that evening’s proceedings.
This 3D printed Catolith prototype “Kittolith”. Printed by Christopher Christensen. This prototype features motion activated interactive purring by Theremin Barney. Ultimately, we settled on touch sensitivity through “Capacitive Sensing” as the mechanism of interactivity for the large Catoliths at Cathenge, Black Rock City 2019.
Los Angeles photographers, Dennis Helladanko and Damon Bivianos, documented Cathenge with these stunning photos.
Cat Priestess Saya dances at Cathenge!
Installation creator David Normal at Cathenge.
David Normal with Cat Priestesses at Catolith Fortuna with a cocked head.
Chinese photographer and installation artist, Suci Li, documented Cathenge 2019 at Black Rock City with these gorgeous photos.
David Normal at Cathenge, Black Rock City 2019.
Cat Priestess Saya Olivia Hayashi dances a ceremonial dance as she invoked the power of Holofelinity, Universal Cat Consciousness at Cathenge installation for Burning Man 2019.
A lone Catolith with Burn Brazier in the foreground. The Burn Braziers were created by flame effects artist, Brad Allen, using WWII era propane tanks that are spherical. Brad cut these tanks in half to create monumental hemispherical braziers that provided an “eternal flame” type effect that greatly enhanced the sacrosanct atmosphere of the Cathenge Cat Temple at Burning Man 2019. The thickly dusty atmosphere shows clearly the beams of light shooting forth from the eyes of the Catolith – an important part of the Cathenge concept; emulating the cats shooting lasers from their eyes internet meme.
A view of Cathenge at night with all the Catoliths aglow, their Cat Chakras expressing the power of Holofelinity. In the center can be seen Brad Allen’s three Burn Braziers inviting people to gather around their elegant light and their nurturing warmth.
Cathenge at Black Rock City silhouetted in the setting sun upon the playa of the Black Rock Desert. The Catoliths stand in a 100′ diameter circle around the central platform where the three mighty propane burn braziers built by Brad Allen are mounted. A scaffold for shibari (Japanese Rope Bondage) was erected by Los Angeles rope artist, Argent Lloyd. Photo by Gurps Chawla.
This 3D render was included in the proposal material for Cathenge 2019. Glowing Catolith Cat Statues shown with a whip wielding Cat Priestess in the dusty haze of the playa.
This was the initial 3D printed scale model of Cathenge. Printed by Christopher Christensen. This photo shows the model on display at Burning Man Decompression SF in the fall of 2018. My painting, “Succubus”, can be seen in the background.
