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.