For my final project, I have decided to create an art piece showcasing the haunting, yet beautiful, chilling ruins left behind from the first world war. My project was inspired by the movie “1917” which was loosely based on real life events. The movie tells a story of two British soldiers who must deliver a message across no man’s land, to stop an attack on the Germans, that would lose entire platoons if attempted. The story itself moved me, however in the final scenes of the film, it shows a soldier running through a series of ruins that are being lit up by flares and other weaponry fire (such as grenades and machine guns). The scene told a story of bravery and fear, running through a battlefield of destroyed architecture, fallen soldiers around every turn, while the sky is lit up by enemy fire, as this soldier races against time to deliver a message to save his comrades. The artwork I decided to create is an abandoned building, ransacked by German forces. As you may know, and as depicted in the film, German’s knew that after you left a place, you destroyed a place, so it could not be used by any enemies who followed behind. The artwork I am creating will show rubble from grenade and gunfire, as well as burning walls, an attempt to showcase the German style of military I mentioned above. If you pay close attention to detail, you will notice that I attempted to add details to this piece that you would perhaps find in a true battlefield, such as fallen soldiers, rats eating away at dead or wounded men, helmets left behind, bullet holes in the architecture and cracks in the foundation. I chose to use dark colors to attempt to capture the idea of a smoke-filled room, and I researched French military uniforms of the time, since the battlefield I created is set to take place in France. I also researched French architecture during that time to try to accurately represent what a real battle scene might have looked like during this time. I also watched videos of French and British soldiers describing their time serving during World War One, to somewhat put myself into their shoes, and gain a more mindful perspective before I created this piece. I also watched videos of French battlefields “then and now” to get a better idea of what France looked like during the war. These videos showed a lot of grass and hill like land, however there were a few buildings which were extremely helpful and even a few images of soldiers during that time. While researching this project, I tried to envision what it would be like to be a soldier during WW1. I learned a lot about courage, bravery, and pride. These men were called to war for their country, not knowing when (or if) they would return, and yet they sprung to action to defend their country. Some of these men would even lie down their lives for their cause, and that is something I do not know if I would have been able to do. Young men with lives yet to live and older men with families to care for, all came together to fight for their country. I also learned a lot about respect while researching this project. Learning what I now know about courage, I have gained a lot of respect for the men and women who have fought, and continue to fight, for my country. Although I did most of my research on Europe (France) during the first world war, I was able to develop a new perspective for the veterans of my own country as well.