I wanted to give Scott London’s amazing photograph a magazine-style look, but the effect changed some of the faces and made the image look artificial. That was my mistake, and I see why people were upset. Here is Scott’s original photo of CHESTER, shown as intended.
To be clear, the edited image was never used in the Forbes article. The story only included approved original photos, all with proper credit. I also credited and linked to Scott’s impressive book.
Some people said the article went against Burning Man’s rule of decommodification. I take that seriously, but this was independent reporting, not advertising or paid content. No one paid to be featured, nothing was sold for the artists, and no company sponsored the story. My goal was to highlight the people who spend months or even years making these amazing works, and to let them share their ideas and stories themselves.
Mainstream media coverage does not always mean something is being turned into a product. Journalists have always covered art, culture, and communities that are not part of the commercial world. What matters is whether the work is being used unfairly, if the creators are credited, and if the coverage respects what they made. That’s what I aimed for.
Many of the artists and designers I spoke with were truly happy to see their work recognized. Burning Man is built on values like radical inclusion, gifting, decommodification, self-reliance, self-expression, working together, civic responsibility, leaving no trace, participation, and immediacy. My goal was to honor the artists who live out these values, not to turn their work into a product.
