Larry Harvey
{{Short description|American artist, co-founder of Burning Man (1948–2018)}}
{{otherpeople}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Larry Harvey
| image = Larry Harvey wdydwyd.jpg
| birth_date = {{birth date|1948|1|11}}
| birth_place = San Francisco, California, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2018|4|28|1948|1|11}}
| death_place = San Francisco, California, U.S.
| occupation = Artist, philanthropist, activist
| years_active = 1986–2018
| known_for = Co-founding Burning Man
| alma_mater = Portland State University
}}
Larry Harvey (January 11, 1948 – April 28, 2018) was an American artist, philanthropist and activist. He was the main co-founder of the Burning Man event, along with his friend Jerry James.{{cite news|last1=Jacques|first1=Adam|title=Larry Harvey: The founder of the Burning Man event on adoption, uncontrollable rage - and how Freud became a father figure|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/larry-harvey-the-founder-of-the-burning-man-festival-on-adoption-uncontrollable-rage--and-how-freud-became-a-father-figure-9083511.html|work=The Independent|date=23 August 2014}}
Early life
Born in San Francisco, Harvey grew up in Portland, Oregon, where he was raised in the Parkrose neighborhood.{{cite web |title=My Brother Larry |url=https://journal.burningman.org/2018/04/opinion/serious-stuff/my-brother-larry-a-photo-essay/ |accessdate=11 June 2018}} He graduated from Parkrose High School in 1966.{{cite web |title=Parkrose High (PHS) Class of 1966 Alumni List |url=http://parkrosehighschool.org/class-of-1966.html |accessdate=11 June 2018}} After high School, he joined the army and served as a clerk stationed in Germany.Whiting, Sam. [https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Larry-Harvey-founder-Burning-Man-dead-after-stroke-12871983.php "Larry Harvey, founder and leader of Burning Man, dies in SF"], SFGATE.com, April 30, 2018. Retrieved May 15, 2021. He later attended Portland State University.{{Cite news|work=KGW-TV|title=Burning Man festival co-founder Larry Harvey dead at 70, had ties to Portland|url-status=live|url=https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/burning-man-festival-co-founder-larry-harvey-dead-at-70-had-ties-to-portland/283-547054488|author1=Rogers, John|author2=Har, Janie|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210516194836/https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/burning-man-festival-co-founder-larry-harvey-dead-at-70-had-ties-to-portland/283-547054488|archive-date=May 16, 2021}}
Burning Man
{{Main|Burning Man}}
Burning Man started in 1986 on the evening of the summer solstice. An effigy of a man was taken to San Francisco's Baker Beach and set on fire. A small crowd gathered and soon the burning of the man became an annual event. Over the next four years the attendees grew to more than 800 people. In 1990, in collaboration with the SF Cacophony Society, the event moved to the Black Rock Desert, Nevada, and took place over Labor Day weekend. From a three-day, 80-person "zone trip," Burning Man became an eight-day counter culture event with 70,000 participants from all over the world.
In 1997, six of the main organizers formed Black Rock City LLC to manage the event, with Harvey as the executive director, a position he held until his death. Harvey was also the president of the Black Rock Arts Foundation, a non-profit art grant foundation for promoting interactive collaborative public art installations in communities outside of Black Rock City.
Philosophy and activities
Larry Harvey was a voracious reader and was heavily influenced by works such as Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community by Robert Putnam, The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James, and the writings of Sigmund Freud.{{Cite web |title=Larry Harvey Obituary (1948 - 2018) - San Francisco, CA - The Oregonian |url=https://obits.oregonlive.com/us/obituaries/oregon/name/larry-harvey-obituary?id=14691940 |access-date=2023-10-06 |website=Legacy.com}}
He scripted and co-chaired/curated the Burning Man art department and its annual event theme. Harvey was the main spokesperson and political strategist for the Burning Man organization. He had been featured in such engagements as San Francisco's Grace Cathedral "Radical Ritual" with Alan Jones, the Oxford Student Union, Cooper Union in New York City,{{cite web |title=The Jackrabbit Speaks: Volume #7 Issue #6 |url=https://burningman.org/news/jrs/archive/vol07/jrs_v07_i06/ |website=burningman.org |publisher=BURNING MAN PROJECT |access-date=7 September 2022 |quote=In the spring of 2002, Larry Harvey and several Burning Man staff members visited New York City, where Larry delivered a speech at Cooper Union...}} Harvard's International Conference on Internet and Society as a panelist,{{Cite web |title=Second Int'l Harvard Conference on Internet & Society |url=https://cyber.harvard.edu/cybercon98/people/partic_main.html#harvey |access-date=2023-10-06 |website=cyber.harvard.edu}} and the San Francisco Commonwealth Club.{{Cite web |date=2011-07-20 |title=Larry Harvey: Burning Man, A Conversation with the Founder (7/19/11) |url=https://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/archive/podcast/larry-harvey-burning-man-conversation-founder-71911 |access-date=2023-10-06 |website=www.commonwealthclub.org |language=en}}
Death
Harvey died on April 28, 2018, due to complications related to a stroke he had suffered earlier in the same month.{{cite web|url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Burning-Man-founder-Larry-Harvey-hospitalized-12821088.php|title=Burning Man founder Larry Harvey in critical condition after massive stroke|publisher=San Francisco Gate|accessdate=April 13, 2018|date=April 11, 2018}}{{cite news|title=Burning Man founder Larry Harvey dies after massive stroke|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/04/28/burning-man-founder-larry-harvey-dies-after-massive-stroke/561649002/|accessdate=28 April 2018|work=USA TODAY|language=en}} He was 70 years old.
References
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External links
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- [http://annualreport2016.burningman.org/financial-report/ Burning Man 2016 Financial Highlights]
- [http://www.burningman.com/whatisburningman/people/1_harvey_bio.html Biography of Larry Harvey]
- [http://www.burningman.com/whatisburningman/lectures/ Speeches and Lectures by Larry Harvey]
- [http://www.zpub.com/burn/burn-lh.html Zpub - Larry Harvey quotes]
- [http://rusiriusradio.com/show-121-weekend-edition-counterculture-burning-man-commerce-with-larry-harvey/ Larry Harvey addresses 2007 Burning Man controversy]
- [http://www.personallifemedia.com/podcasts/living-green/episode011-larry-harvey-burning-man.html Larry Harvey talks about 2007 Burning Man aka Green Man]
- [http://burncast.blogspot.com/2010/03/burncast-2-part-1-talk-with-black-rock.html BURNcast - Talk with Black Rock City LLC principles: Larry Harvey, Maid Marian and Danger Ranger]
- [http://www.burningman.com/whatisburningman/1986_1996/firstyears.html The First Year in the Desert, by Louis Brill]
- ABC News Video: [http://beta.nameless.tv/video/see-what-burning-man-was-like-in-the-90s-77993 "See What Burning Man Was Like in the 90’s,"] interview with Larry Harvey
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Category:Artists from Portland, Oregon
Category:Artists from San Francisco
Category:Portland State University alumni