Mae Govannen!

At my school, you have to complete a “Senior Research Project” in order to graduate. This entails three different aspects: a presentation, an essay, and a product. I have always been profoundly impacted by that of Tolkien’s writings and of course Peter Jackson’s theatrical interpretations since I grew up watching them, therefore I wanted to make my research project reflect Tolkien and his works.

When asked what a Senior Research Project was, my teacher told us that it demonstrates a senior's ability to apply knowledge and skills, speak, write, problem-solve and practice the life skills of time management, organization and risk-taking. And by doing something Tolkien related, I would be taking a major risk.

I am very involved in art and graphic design so this was my idea... The Visual Representations of the Work of J.R.R. Tolkien: Who Has Done It Best?

I could analyze the competing styles of some of the major artists who made illustrations, animations, and live-action films of Tolkien's work (including Tolkien himself). A presentation could be a Powerpoint and talk analyzing some of the artwork by style and accuracy side-by-side with Tolkien's text. A 20-page report could delve deeper and include Tolkien's own evaluations of the various artists who have drawn his work, as well as a more philosophical question of what it means to "best create" art inspired by text. And the product could be my own original visual representation of Tolkien's work (an illustration, map, even an infographic...), which I'm sure I could create with my design aptitude. (This idea was shared to me from a fellow on Reddit and I really appreciate their help).

Please leave some constructive criticism in the comments and if you have any other ideas, let me know!