Presentation/repsponse

THREE RESPONSES TO W .H . AUDEN 'S

THE UNKNOWN CITIZEN

The Unknown Citizen ' by W . H . Auden is a compelling piece of poetry that is multi-layered in thought . While it is poignant , it is also replete with tension . I have therefore decided to give three responses /presentations to this poem in the following executions : a ) An MTV , b ) A piece of Installation Art , and c ) A Short Story . We shall tackle these one by one in the following paragraphs

Although the poem was written in the late 1930 's , much of its

message still resonates today especially now that we are faced with technology that enables the quick transfer of information throughout the world . To be able to reach a broad audience , I thought of coming up with an MTV as a presentation because this medium is vastly appreciated by a wide spectrum of people . The MTV will have an instrumental piece of music as background . I am quite inclined to use 1920 's jazz as the musical genre a la the musical score for the movie `Chicago ' - mainly because jazz especially of this era reflects the moods , emotions , thoughts , etc . of the working class

The MTV 's visuals will consist of fast cuts of real people in real time doing a variety of daily chores /work . I would like to get visuals of factory workers at an industrial plant , rank and employees at a Fortune 500 company , pedestrians at a busy street in a big city , etc . These visuals will be interspersed or dissolved on a background of a clock whose hour and second hands are rotating rapidly This visual juxtaposition I think would be effective in imparting the message that we , as a workforce , have become slaves in the highly industrialized world The second presentation I would like to propose is an Installation Art . The installation will compose of different objects , articles of clothing , supplies , etc . that I will gather from different people and /or areas of work . These objects will be arranged at random to form a sculpture-like piece that can stand on its own . The objects then will be `washed ' with a gray paint or metallic finish . The rationale for this presentation is to link or remind the audience of everyday objects that we take for granted but are part of our daily life . Objects that will remind us of our daily grind or the ennui we experience at work . The finishing of the installation in gray or metallic color will further enhance the `coldness ' or routine nature of `The Unknown Citizen . The tactile nature of the installation will hopefully entice the audience to take a closer look at the piece of art Also , copies of Auden 's poem may be strewn on the floor of the exhibition area where this installation will take place

The third response will be a short story that will basically deal with a man 's isolation from the world at large . Just like in the poem the main...