projects and information for david best's temple building crew

The Temple of Grace

Image (c) 2014 Rod Hoekstra

Drawing by David Best


Description

David Best and we the temple crew returned again to build the Temple of Grace for the Burning Man festival in August-September of 2014.

The Temple of Grace was a spiritual and sacred space for memorials, reflection, celebration, and to commemorate life transitions. It was the latest in a long line of temples going back to 2000, which started the tradition of the temple built as a spiritual center for this art festival. It was a special work of art given to the community, and is a spiritual refuge where thousands gather, each to engage with it in his or her own way. The community comes to write their memorials and place tokens of their transitions, and it was burned at the end of the festival in a tradition of releasing them by the immolation of the temple.

It was finished on August 24th and burned one week later.

The temple was 70+' high, and had a footprint of 80'x80'; it sat in a courtyard approximately 150'x150'. The structure incorporated a central interior dome within a graceful curved body made of wood and steel. It again had intricately cut wooden panels for the exterior and interior skin. 8 altars surrounded the temple inside a low-walled courtyard, creating a large exterior grounds for the community.

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