Picture

[Avery Todd]

Hi Michael,

>I can't figure it out.  What is that ring hovering over the piano in the
>picture?

   LOL. After looking at it again, I can see how it looks that way and
besides, it IS a little unusual anyway. I'll try to explain a little and
since Michael posted this from the caut list, I'll cc my response to the
pianotech list also, in case anyone else thinks it might be something from
a Star Wars movie. :-)
   The "ring" is actually over the audience seating. It's part of a mural
by Frank Stella, commissioned (as a private donation) specifically for the
new hall. The section in the picture cost app. $450,000 - 500,000. It's
affectionately referred to as the 'doughnut' and also houses the catwalk
for the lights. The mural is concrete over steel mesh and is painted on
polyester canvas and glued onto the concrete. There are lights around it
which light the audience seating in that area. The darker section you can
see in the middle of the seating is actually caused by the hole in the
doughnut not having any lights directly above that area. The colors are
also much more intense than they appear in the picture. A little
overexposed, I guess.
   The remainder of the mural covers the ceiling in the lobby and part of
the wall on the mezzanine level. The mezzanine is done as a triptych (sp?);
three separate pieces attached to the wall. The wall was not designed to be
perfectly flat, so a laser was used on the architect's plans to ensure that
the mural would fit the wall perfectly when installed. That's the only part
of the mural which was done in New York. Everything else was done here in
Houston.
   It really is something to see. The total cost of the mural was
$1,500,000.00 (Did I get that right? One and one-half million. I don't
write that many zeroes that often.)
   I hope this clarifies things a little. Sorry I didn't explain a little
about it in my original post.

Avery

>I can't figure it out.  What is that ring hovering over the piano in the
>picture?
>
>
>At 11:09 AM 4/6/98 -0500, you wrote:
>>List,
>>
>>   Click on (or enter) my new http address in the signature to see a great
>>photograph of our new music building Opera Hall with our new 'D'.
>>
>>Avery
>>
>|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
>
>Michael J. Wathen				Email: michael.wathen@uc.edu