printable version

These are shapes you can cut out of corrugated cardboard and send in to us to be included in the upper layers of the temple. Please do this as a group (it’s more fun that way!). We will use these shapes to create flourishes and designs throughout the space.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. print out the attached pdf of the templates and dimensions (or study them here)

2. trace out the shapes onto corrugated cardboard (the thick stuff) using the included dimensions

3. make as few or as many as you want. the more the better!

4. write your inscriptions on each piece (odes to loved ones who have passed, wishes, hopes, dreams, and desires, pain, loss, grief, rage, love, hate, and joy. write from the bottom of your heart!). please do not paint them or decorate them with color: paint doesn’t burn well and we need some homogeneity to work with multiple pieces at once.
5. gather them together and send them to us at the following address:

Basura Sagrada BM Temple Project

c/o American Steel

1960 Mandela Parkway, Bay 6
Oakland, CA 94607

Basura Sagrada is a temple constructed entirely from burnable trash, recycled materials, and the tossed-off detritus of American society. Meticulously detailed, the temple will be a precious space created from non-precious materials. By replacing the gold and marble surfaces of traditional temples with aluminum can adornments and cardboard spires, we hope to inspire others to see everyday trash as beautiful, to save everyday trash and use it—not because it is responsible or right or necessary to recycle (although that is certainly important), but because people are excited about the materials and medium.

We believe that the material itself has an inherent value that can be unlocked in the right hands. We will attempt to unlock unprecedented levels of beauty, and do it on a scale that will blow people’s minds and function as a sufficient vessel for the hopes, dreams, memories, and losses of our community. We welcome intrepid visitors to this space to be a part of this grand experiment in trash alchemy.

We will soon have an explorable 3D model of Basura Sagrada. Check back to see the temple in action!

Shrine’s Original Sketch of Basura Sagrada 

Concept Sketch by Andrew Jones 

Some Stills from Joebot’s Basura Sagrada Animation (check out the youtube video here!) 

The temple will incorporate a number of structures made of various materials, including four outlying buildings, a central nave, and a number of stylized firepits that will burn throughout the week.

DRIFTWOOD STRUCTURES

The outermost houses will be constructed primarily of driftwood, and shall be intimate, providing a place to take shelter and stock in a close and personal space. As a metaphor, driftwood speaks to uncertainties and happenstance of multiple elements combining to form something entirely new

GLASS HOUSES

The structures between the driftwood houses and the central nave will be constructed on a stepped platform of old doors that support a room walled in painted windows, similar to the lower level of last year’s Tasseograph. Visitors will be able to see out, but their vista will also be obstructed by the detailed painting on the windows themselves. These structures will also include a beautiful flame effect from the pinnacle of the structure.

CENTRAL NAVE

The central structure shall incorporate a multitude of materials, from adorned cardboard spires, stacked wooden spindles, stained glass windows, structural lumber, as well as a large chandelier overlooking a central shrine that will hold the majority of people’s offerings. The base of the structure at each corner will be constructed of flattened cars and baled steel, a modular materials created during the recycling process. These modular blocks serve both as a platform for offerings and as ballast for the structure itself, pinioning it to the playa. After the event, these modular steel blocks-cum-vestibules will be sent to the foundry to make new steel. The spacious central chamber will reach up to another level that will support a number of spires constructed of refashioned cardboard, wooden spindles, organically reformed sheet metal, etc. Four of these spires will also include flame effects. A huge central spire shall reach celestially upwards and will be viewable from below, funneling the community’s prayers and offerings towards the heavens.

HERE’S HOW YOU CAN HELP MAKE IT HAPPEN:

-MAKE SOME TEMPLATES!

-VOLUNTEER

-GIVE US YOUR JUNK

-DONATE MONEY

There are a number of different materials we like. Please check this list to see specific items we are looking for at the moment.

LARGE JUNK a.k.a. “OBJETS D’ART”

Got an old car you want to get rid of? An ancient barn that is falling in on itself? A ton of windows, doors, or perhaps a giant victorian clock/chandelier/toilet? Well we want it.* We are working on our website but should soon have the ability to allow you to post up your stuff and see if we can use it. Meanwhile, go ahead and send on your junk offerings to basurasagrada@gmail.com

*…maybe. it will depend on whether you can get it to our workplace and whether it will fit into the overall design.

SMALL JUNK a.k.a. “OFFERINGS”

Perhaps you don’t have an old stained glass window or church steeple lurking in your garage. No worries: You can still offer something deeply personal to the temple project. In the past inscriptions were written on the lower levels of the temple during the event. That will still happen, but we would like to take that a step further, and give the citizens of Black Rock the opportunity to contribute both physically and emotionally to every level of the piece.

Much of Shrine’s work consists of repeated shapes that create an impact from the accumulated whole. To that end, we will be publishing a series of templates that can be cut out of cardboard, inscribed with your prayers, blessings, dreams and losses, and sent in over the coming months. These pieces will be used to form design elements and flourishes throughout the temple. We would love it if people could come together and create these shapes as groups and mail or hand-deliver them to us. Check back in a bit for examples of these templates, and for instructions on how to use them.

- solid core doors

-windows (clear or stained glass)

-plywood and quality lumber

-wrought iron fencing or wooden fencing

-industrial cardboard and large cardboard boxes (refrigerator boxes, etc)

-moving trucks/semis

-tools (framing guns, drills, hammers, sawzalls, etc.)

-sheet metal

-ornate broken wooden furniture (dressers, chairs, tables, etc)

-brass chandeliers, lamps, sconces, etc.

-driftwood

-root balls

-cedar and willow branches

-wooden drawer pulls

-cabinet doors

-wooden bed frames/cribs

-wood trim

-rope

-wooden spindles