Burning Man Festival 2016: Vitruvian Man Stuck Upside Ahead Of Burn Date

This year's Burning Man festival is already off to a rough start, artistically speaking.

The annual event, which kicked off Sunday, brings about 70,000 people to Nevada’s Black Rock Desert to gather around a 40-foot-tall centerpiece built of wood. According to the Reno Gazette-Journal (RGJ), this year’s sculpture — which is inspired by the Vitruvian Man — is stuck upside-down.

The work of art originally sketched by Leonardo da Vinci in 1490 features a man with perfect proportions. This image combines mathematics and art that reflects Da Vinci's thoughts on human portion and how he understood it. Pieces from the artist will be on display throughout Burning Man because da Vinci’s workshop is the theme for this year.

But things went south when it came to putting the large sculpture on display Monday. When crews raised the piece of art, they discovered the gear to rotate it, similar to a Ferris wheel, was broken. The man was also missing his head.

The art work was designed by Andrew Johnstone, an Oakland-based Scottish artist who has previously contributed to the creation of several Burning Man effigies over the past decade. The Vitruvian Man is expected to burn Sept. 4.

The Vitruvian Man was expected to be up and running by Tuesday when the public square is expected to open. Crews were scheduled to work through the night to fix the project. Typically the sculpture is hoisted upright on the opening day of Burning Man.

Several other projects have been delayed at the festival due to a scattered rainfall and dust storms. The year’s art theme was inspired by the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries during the time of the Italian Renaissance. Da Vinci’s workshop will focus on the rediscovery of science, humanist ideals and more historical happenings that shaped the republic of Florence.

The Burning Man festival will run until Sept. 5.