: artist profile: Bob Hofmann

What was your first year attending Burning Man and how did you get involved?
My first year at Burning Man was 1996. I was part of Polka-Dot Camp. In '97 we did Hedonia. In 1998 we were Circus Pyrosis and in '99 we were Technomania Circus, part of Illumination Village, which had a strong connection to the fire arts.

When did you start getting involved in flame art?
'99 was my first fire performance when more than 100 "Illuminarians" strolled out of the Village onto the playa spinning poi. After the event that year, I was talking with a friend of mine who'd attended a discussion about flame shooters at Cell Space in San Francisco. That inspired me and I built my first flame thrower using stuff I had around the house, including a steam whistle valve.

It wasn't very fancy and what I really wanted was something that looked good even when it wasn't shooting flame, so I started work on the "Tri-Psycho" - a red and gold adult tricycle with flashing lights. I'll never forget Tuesday night, just before dark, riding along the Esplanade toward Center Camp, being cheered by so many people. It was the first time in my life that I was the focus of attention of so many people.

Where'd the idea for Bonefires come from?
In addition to the Tri-Psycho, I also brought out my first attempt at a portable flame thrower. The only problem was that it weighed 45 lbs. and was 9' tall. It wasn't much fun to carry around so it didn't get used as much as I had hoped.

I came home thinking about building a huge flame thrower that would shoot a ball of flame 100' into the sky. Then a friend called and said he found a whistle valve at the Santa Cruz flea market and that it was mine if I wanted it. It was smaller than the others I'd been using and I went to work building my first lightweight recreational flame thrower.

How'd it go?
I knew instantly that I was on to something good the first time I fired it up. It still weighed more than 10 pounds and was a little bulky to handle one-handed, so I ordered some aluminum pipe and began refining the concept. At last! A cool flamethrower weighing in at under five pounds!

I took several of them out to the playa on July 4, 2002 where some of Burning Man's senior staff got to play with them. They liked them so much that I was invited to be part of the Saturday night burn ceremony. Being inside the Great Circle with 20 of my campmates, the burning art cars and hundreds of fire performers raised the fun level several notches.

How'd you get interested in building stuff?
I built models and skateboards as a kid, go carts, hot rods and surfboards as a teenager and houses and restaurants as an adult. Building and modifying have always been part of my life. I've worked on everything from drag racers to turbine helicopters. My father owned an auto parts rebuilding factory where I spent my summers rebuilding alternators, generators, starters etc.

How'd you come up with the name "Bonefire"?
At one time in my life I was having a full moon beach party/ bonfire every month of the year, rain or shine. I live in the SC mountains and always have plenty of firewood so it was no problem to have a good sized-bonfire at these events. I became aka Bonfire Bob after a while which led to the original term "Bonefire" that I just liked the sound of.

Where'd the idea for the Mothtrap come from?
One evening back home in the Santa Cruz mountains, I started playing the release cable instead of just squeezing the trigger of one of the flame throwers, which I'd now started calling Bonefires. Playing the cable gave the Bonefire a percussive sound and I knew i was on to something. That set me to working on a fire-belching drum set I call Pyrocussion. I built a mobile performance stage in time for Burning Man 2003 and named the whole thing Mothtrap.

What'd you do for 2003?
In addition to Mothtrap, which was played by XXXXXXXXXX (person's name), Burning Man invited the Bonefire group to play again as part of the Saturday night ceremony - we were the start of the show. Waiting for Crimson Rose to give me the signal to start blasting was one of the most exciting times of my life.

What are you planning for 2004?
Due to time constraints, the Mothtrap wasn't totally dialed. It was a lot of fun but was also a lot of work. Everyone loved it, so I'm already working on it to make it easier to use. I'm also leading a lightweight recreational flamethrower workshop for Burning Silicon and would like to do the same for other regional burner groups.

How had Burning Man changed for you over the years?
BM '04 will be my ninth year as a part of Black Rock City. I think the first four years were mostly about just having fun but as the years progress and more relationships are formed it seems to put some structure into life there. Getting 25 people to a meeting or rehearsal on the other side of the playa can be challenging and making the daily trip to Gerlach to refill the propane tanks takes up a lot of time.

What's the experience meant for you?
My Burning Man experiences have changed my life in so many ways it would take a couple of chapters to relate them all. From the loneliness of having a passion that is not supported by a local retail outlet or trade magazine to the joy of building a new community of other pyro-enthused, folks this has been a very exciting time in my life. I think the rest of the world is just about ready for Pyrocussion, which is what I plan on devoting my life to for the immediate future. I'd like to envite all of you pyro-wannabees to get your flame on and create your own brand of flaming primal television. It really doesn't matter how big or small, the flame will attract lots of new experience to your life.

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