I’m not sure where the inspiration for this piece of artwork came from. One evening it burst into my thoughts and it intrigued me so much I had to see what I could do with the idea.

The Complexity: First and foremost this design is intended to be confusing at first. It is actually an interactive piece of art. Clarity of this design is only revealed when the image is illuminated from behind.

Representation of War: The image is made up of criss-crossing black, gray, and silver lines. The intent is to represent the lines of flying bullets and incoming shells. It is meant to cause a sense of anxiety and confusion. Yet, when you turn on the light behind the artwork you can clearly see the true image, the iconic image of the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima.

Honoring Fallen Soldiers: This image is made up of 1,789 last names of U.S. soldiers who lost their life in World War II. Each name is only used once to represent any soldier who had that same last name. For example, Johnson is a very common last name, but it is included only once in the design. My regret is that the size of the image was too small to include every last name.

The Underlying Message: The intended message of this piece of art is that war is confusing, scary, and cold, but when light is added we clearly see brave individuals stepping forward to defend life, liberty and freedom from those who wish to suppress such intrinsic human rights.

By virtue of creating this design with the last names of soldiers who lost their lives, the design also convey’s the cost of war. Freedom is not free. For those who have freedom it comes at the cost of all those who lost their time, limbs, minds, and lives in the effort.