The Irreducible

This lovely art car was built by our campmates Bill Bonner and Nancy Panitch expressly for Burning Man. They brought it to the playa in 2003 and 2004, but unfortunately Bill has died and Nancy is unable to come back to Burning Man. I have inherited the vehicle and pledged to bring it back to the Playa, which I have done in 2008-2011.

You can read DMV application info below.

The vehicle suggests to many the skeleton of some ancient graceful creature. Creationists, in their misguided opposition to evolution, think that many organisms are "irreducibly complex," which means they could not have evolved step by step. The Irreducible is an example of something that was truly intelligently designed.

Here it is by night in 2011. The vehicle also has a front headlight while driving.

Plans for 2013 include more lighting along the new roof ribs and arches.

Here it is by day in 2011 from the front. The old roof, roof supports, windshield (though non-original and mutated,) man sculpture, black lights and sound system from 2010 were removed and replaced with a new arched roof structure. In addition the seats were removed and replaced with custom built seats curved in the elliptical motif of the car, and new covers for the rear wheels were added. Interior surfaces of the base vehicle in the passenger compartment were covered with fabric. While it may not be clear immediately, the side wall is not part of the original vehicle, nor is the rear behind the seats. All of the original vehicle that can bee seen are the front wheels, the steering wheel, and some dashboard and footwell area. All else is covered.

From close to the vehicle you can see into the passenger compartment where original vehicle equipment (floor, dash, pedals, seat support) art visible. At very close range a few small areas of the original can be seen behind the frame. (The back, behind the seats, is covered in wood in the mutation.)

Here is a full gallery of photos though note that many of the night shots are longer exposures. Photos are tagged with date and sometimes this is in the caption.

The vehicle comes on a 12' long car carrier, which has been modified with the addition of a wooden deck to support the narrower vehicle. The vehicle itself has an internal cart about 7' long with 5' wooden structures fore and aft. On the trailer it sticks forward and back about 3'.

History at Burning Man

2003-4: Brought to the playa by Bill Bonner and Nancy Panitch under the name "The Illuminated Mystic Transport"
2008: Restored and brought to the playa by Brad Templeton
2009: Lighting fully replaced to run off 12v instead of generator. Named "The Irreducible" after theme of evolution.
2010: Original roof covered. Roof support struts used to mount custom-printed and cut photos of the man. Fabric wheel covers and new headlight.
2011: Major changes -- roof structure removed and replaced with new beams. Seats replaced with custom wooden forms and newly made cushions. Seatwell and dash covered with fabric. New permanent wheel hiders. New 12v LED headlight for better safety. Base vehicle entirely hidden from most angles.
2012: The car was loaned to another party, but I did not attend that year.
2013: Planned: More lighting on new roof structure.

It was a gas golf cart. There are no flame effects and there is no sound system. The vehicle only has 2 seats though a lightweight person can sit on the rear area (the golf-bag well is covered by a wooden panel.)

Base vehicle

Here is what a normal Yamaha G-1 looks like.

While based on the much-deprecated golf cart, this vehicle has been called one of the best cart based mutant vehicles by photographers Steven Fritz and Lenny Jones on the Burning Man web site.