1) the key essential questions you’ve identified that are driving your inquiry.

Currently, my questions are all over the place because I am still trying to decide what makes sense for me to do as my project based on where I will be. While I could try to combine some of these questions as I refine my idea I think it’s important to note that all of the questions probably won’t fit together in one perfect project so I will end up getting rid of some of them in the end.

How can I use art to tell a story? (could be of people, places, animals, etc.)

• how do photographers use camera angles, shadows, etc to tell people’s stories and convey emotions?
  • Similarly, how do artists in different mediums do this?

how can I combine my interest in business and art?

What does it take to build something from the ground up? (whether that be a business or something else)

2) why these essential questions matter to you?

These essential questions matter to me because they overlap with my interests and also things that I could feasibly explore for my senior project. I think that the questions that matter most to me are those questions revolving around art and then I would also like to do something with business. Art in particular matters to me because throughout my time in LREI this is an interest of mine that has grown a lot, particularly in photography and 3D art. I think that business would also be interesting to explore in some format because this is ultimately what I plan to study in college. For the most part, these questions are just a jumble of multiple things that I could do and I don’t need to try to combine them all. For me personally, I think it will be easier to narrow down my questions once we come back from winter break and I have an even clearer idea of what things are available to me.

3) what you see yourself doing during the experiential portion of the project to address these questions?

I would maybe like to do something centered around art, however, I am not particular about the medium that I use. I was thinking if I decided to pursue this route that photography would be the easiest because I already have cameras that I could use so the materials that I need would be minimal. At the same time though I could also pursue the business-focused route in some way. If I am being honest currently I am not in the position to pick one project idea since right now I am in Montana and while I plan to go back to New York that could change. However, in terms of the experiential portion, the thing that I know would be easiest to do would be something that I could do on my own and does not require me to be in one specific place all the time. Lastly, I think that the plan that I can fall back on would be to make a video, documentary, etc. about my uncle who is a cattle rancher on a remote ranch in Montana. This would be easy to accomplish since all I would need is his permission and it wouldn’t be impacted by any covid restrictions.

4) the feasibility of what you see yourself doing (i.e., is what I want to do actually doable and if it is not doable how can I refine my idea so that it is doable?).

One thing that I identified early on as something that I need to make my project doable for me is flexibility. With these often uncertain times, it doesn’t make sense to have a project that I can do from only one location since my situation could change. This defiantly rules out anything in-person centered around New York for example but based on the thinking that I have already done about what is doable and what makes sense for me this would not be a kind of project that I would peruse anyway. Additionally when thinking about what is something that I could easily do I have been thinking about doing an art project or just something that I could do alone. Lastly, I think that after the break when I see where things are I will probably be in a better place to make a decision on what specifically I want my project to be.

 

Update: 

After coming back from break I have had more time to think about what I want to do for my senior project and I have decided to make my backup plan idea into my senior project plan idea. To recap, this idea would entail creating a documentary/short documentary series following my uncle about his life/business as a cattle rancher in a remote part of Montana. This project will be able to combine both of my essential questions allowing me to focus on aspects of art, business, and storytelling. I know that it is something that I will be able to do regardless of the situation with COVID. Most likely I will already be in Montana over spring break and I can stay with my uncle during the filming portion of this project. There are still some details that I need to work out at this point but I also plan to meet with my uncle to discuss my project with him.