MAYA LIN
L I FE &
WO R K - A
B H I NA V W
A D H W A
PERSONAL LIFE• Maya Ying Lin (born October 5, 1959) is an American artist who is known
for her work in sculpture and landscape art. She is the designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
• Maya Lin, a Chinese American, was born in Athens, Ohio. • Her parents immigrated to the United States from People's Republic of
China in 1949 and settled in Ohio in 1958, one year before Maya Lin was born.
• Her father, Henry Huan Lin, was a ceramist and former dean of the Ohio University College of Fine Arts.
• She is the niece of Lin Huiyin, who is said to be the first female architect in China.
• Lin studied at Yale University, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1981 and a Master of Architecture degree in 1986.
• She has also been awarded honorary doctorate degrees from Yale University, Harvard University, Williams College, and Smith College.
PERSONAL LIFE (CONTINUED)• She was among the youngest in Yale University when she
received an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts in 1987. • She is married to Daniel Wolf, a New York photography
dealer. • They have two daughters, India and Rachel. • Lin, having grown up as an Asian minority, has said that she
"didn't even realize" she was Chinese until later in life, and that it was not until her 30s that she had a desire to understand her cultural background.
• Commenting on her design of a new home for the Museum of Chinese in America near New York City's Chinatown, Lin attached a personal significance to the project being a Chinese-related project because she wanted her two daughters to "know that part of their heritage."
How has her life impacted her art work
VIETNAM VETE
RANS
MEMORIAL 1
982
Two b
lack g
ranite
wall
s, plac
ed belo
w grade,
engrav
ed in
chron
ologica
l ord
er with
the n
ames
of th
e men
and
women
who gav
e their
lives
in th
e Viet
nam W
ar.
VIETNAM VETE
RANS
MEMORIAL 1
982
At the a
pex w
here th
e two w
alls m
eet, t
he date
s 195
9 and
1973 (m
arking th
e beg
inning and en
d of th
e war)
"mee
t"
thus closin
g the c
ircle
of the t
ime s
pan of t
he war.
VIETNAM VETE
RANS
MEMORIAL 1
982
A return
ing veter
an ca
n find his or
her own tim
e upon
the
wall, m
aking ea
ch on
e's ex
perien
ce of
the m
emoria
l very
person
al an
d indivi
dual.
VIETNAM VETE
RANS
MEMORIAL 1
982
The s
iting of
the p
iece i
s dire
ctly r
elated
to th
e pres
ence
of both th
e Linco
ln Mon
ument a
nd Was
hington Mem
orial,
tying it
physica
lly an
d historic
ally t
o the s
ite.
INPUT 2
004
Since M
aya L
in was
born an
d raise
d in Athen
s and both
of
her pare
nts were
profes
sors
at Ohio
Universi
ty, an
artwork
for t
he Unive
rsity
holds a
person
al hist
ory an
d
connec
tion fo
r her.
INPUT 2
004
The p
lacem
ent o
f the t
ext is
based
upon re
ctangular
"punch
cards"
set in
to the e
arth. A
s a ju
nior an
d senior
in high sc
hool, t
he arti
st
studied
Cobalt
and Fo
rtran
computer
languag
e at t
he Unive
rsity,
spen
ding man
y hou
rs prog
ramming at
the C
lippinger L
abs.
INPUT 2
004
Her mem
ory of
the h
ours
spen
t punch
ing out t
hose d
ata
input card
s at O
hio Unive
rsity
has le
d to th
e ove
rall s
hape
of this
piece.
ABOVE AND BELOW 2007
The fi
rst of t
he perm
anen
t wire
landsca
pe insta
llatio
ns.
ABOVE AND BELOW 2007
The f
orm is
based
on th
e top
ograp
hy of t
he underg
round
river
syste
m, the W
hite Rive
r, which
flows u
nder the s
tate
of Indian
a and is
the s
econ
d longes
t underg
round river
syste
m in th
e country
.
STYLE AND GROWTH• Maya Lin has maintained a careful balance between art and
architecture throughout her career, creating a remarkable body of work that includes large-scale site-specific installations, intimate studio artworks, architectural works and memorials.
• Landscape is the context and the source of inspiration for Maya Lin's art.
• She peers curiously at the landscape through a twenty-first century lens, changing the way we look at things.
• Utilizing technological methods to study and visualize the natural world, Maya Lin takes micro and macro views of the earth, sonar resonance scans, aerial and satellite mapping devices and translates that information into sculptures, drawings and environmental installations.
• Her works address how we relate and respond to the environment, and presents new ways of looking at the world around us.
STYLE AND GROWTH (CONTINUED)• From recent environmental works such as Storm King
Wavefield, Where the Land Meets the Sea and Eleven Minute Line to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, where she cut open the land and polished its edges to create a history embedded in the earth, Maya Lin has consistently explored how we experience the landscape.
• She has made works that merge completely with the terrain, blurring the boundaries between two- and three-dimensional space and set up a systematic ordering of the land tied to history, language, and time.
• Many people criticized the stark, black monument, but today the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is one of the most famous monuments in the United States.
• Throughout her career, Maya Lin has continued to create powerful designs using simple shapes, natural materials, and Asian themes.
Is her work really art , what was your reaction to her work when you first saw it, did it change your understanding of art
QUESTION ONEWhich of these is Maya Lins best known sculpture around the
world today?a) Vietnam Veterans Memorialb) Civil Rights Memorialc) The Wave Fieldd) Input
ANSWER TO QUESTION ONEWhich of these is Maya Lins best known sculpture around the
world today?a) Vietnam Veterans Memorialb) Civil Rights Memorialc) The Wave Fieldd) Input
QUESTION TWOWhere was Maya Lin born?a) Ohiob) Taiwanc) Tokyo
ANSWER TO QUESTION TWOWhere was Maya Lin born?a) Ohiob) Taiwanc) Tokyo
QUESTION THREEWhat did the Vietnam Veterans Memorial display?a) Names of the men and women who gave their lives in the
Vietnam War. b) Names of Maya Lin’s children.c) Names of successful leaders that made Vietnam what it is
today.
ANSWER TO QUESTION THREEWhat did the Vietnam Veterans Memorial display?a) Names of the men and women who gave their lives in the
Vietnam War. b) Names of Maya Lin’s children.c) Names of successful leaders that made Vietnam what it is
today.