Semester Project Two

Art Studio: The Artist’s Perspective: Multimedia Assignment Form for ARTS-235			Date: 3/3/2010 Name: Michael Widener Major: MMDD Specialization: Computing Year: Senior
Type of assignment √ Semester project [ ] Blog entry / Reading response [ ] Technical evaluation [ ] Exhibition			Title of the assignment: Semester Project Two “Rotunda Voice”
A brief description of the assignment requirement. Students are required to create multimedia projects and present for class critique and discussion.
Content of the assignment. The Katzen Rotunda marks the beginning of an ambitious vision to bring Art back to the forefront of American education. Thanks to the generosity of Cyrus and Myrtle Katzen, we can live Art history in the present and journey into its future as new artists hone their craft and bring reinvigorated meaning to Art at AU. In this piece, I take the listener on a walking tour of the rotunda sharing the distant conversations of visitors past and present, art issues the art world discusses, and the real construction sounds that made it all possible. It continues through various art discussions and social gatherings culminating in a repeat of construction sounds. It is a temporal journey through the construction of the Katzen Arts Center and its art-fueled social life. If asked why construction continues at the end of the piece instead of finishing, I would answer with a tale: A master door carver in Rome was once asked How do you know when your door is finished. He responded with "It's never finished. They just come and take it away."
	Biography of the author.	Michael Widener was born and raised in Berkeley, California. He is a thoughtful, quality-focused web programmer with accomplishments in computer problem solving and Internet business start-ups. He produces mix CDs which can be previewed on his Internet radio station or website.