Research notes for project planning
What the project record tells us
West Oakland fabrication and Burning Man art vehicle, 2008
Golden Mean: a collaboratively fabricated art vehicle
The artist's Golden Mean page credits the 2008 snail car to Kyrsten Mate, Jon Sarriugarte and the Empire of Dirt artists working at West Oakland's Kraftworks building. It describes a 1966 Volkswagen chassis, an antiqued finish and flame effects in the eyestalks. This is a documented collaboration combining vehicle mechanics, metal fabrication and theatrical appearance. The page also preserves early design proposals, so preliminary dimensions and materials should not be treated as a current technical specification.
Jon Sarriugarte / Oilpunk — Golden Mean ↗ · Reviewed 2026-10-10
For your project briefWould a presentation require a stationary sculpture, a moving vehicle or flame effects, and which of those functions would the site actually authorize?
Big Art Partners planning prompt Burning Man; historical artist interview published 2023
Serpent Twins: mechanical puppetry with responsive lighting
In Burning Man's 2023 interview, Sarriugarte and Kyrsten Mate describe the Serpent Twins as two 50-foot dragons built from 55-gallon barrels in 2011. Their movement was choreographed as mechanical puppetry. An accelerometer in a head could trigger a ripple of colored light, and the team developed custom electronics with collaborators. The account also describes the demands of transport, drivers and maintenance in desert conditions. This is evidence of a combined performance and fabrication practice rather than an unattended sculpture specification.
Burning Man Journal — Project: EMPIRE and mutant vehicles ↗ · Reviewed 2026-10-10
For your project briefWhat crew, movement area, control system support and operating responsibilities would a host need for a choreographed vehicle presentation?
Big Art Partners planning prompt Metal workshop practice and a documented 2016 international performance
Form & Reform: metal craft across functional and sculptural work
Form & Reform describes Sarriugarte's practice as combining traditional blacksmithing with modern processes to shape iron furniture, lighting and accessories. Its account connects that workshop practice with the Boiler Bar Theater, Golden Mean and other sculptural vehicles. It also records the Serpent Twins traveling to France to perform with La Machine in 2016. The useful production precedent is a practice crossing fabrication, functional design and performance; the biography does not establish current workshop capacity or a schedule for commissioning.
Form & Reform — About Jon Sarriugarte ↗ · Reviewed 2026-10-10
For your project briefShould the brief request a functional metal commission, a sculptural object or a performance-based installation, and what specialist collaborators would each require?
Big Art Partners planning prompt 
