The Naked Woman of Burning Man

Hidden in plain sight on Treasure Island is Bliss Dance, a forty-foot-tall steel-mesh sculpture of a nude woman, joyfully celebrating being free. What could be more inspiring, set against the illuminated skyline of San Francisco, arguably one of the most civilly liberated cities in the world? The artist-sculptor, Marco Cochrane, is Italian by birth but was raised in California. Having realized his passion for the empowerment of women, Cochrane created the naked colossus for the 2010 Burning Man, a social-experiment-special-event hybrid that takes place once a year on a dry lake bed in Nevada. Burning Man is attended by over 48,000 people who, when the party ends, leave no trace that they were every there at all. However, Bliss Dance obviously left quite a bit more than a trace; she weighs 7,000 pounds! Miss Bliss needed a permanent home, which she found on Treasure Island. How appropriate! Treasure Island is a man-made island that was created in the middle of San Francisco Bay in order to host the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition, an art-themed world’s fair. The fair was a financial flop, but the art that was created for it lives on. What better place for Bliss Dance to take up residence?