Maya Ying Lin is an American artist who is known for her work in
sculptureSculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
and
landscape artLandscape art is a term that covers the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, and especially art where the main subject is a wide view, with its elements arranged into a coherent composition. In other works landscape backgrounds for figures can still...
. She is the designer of the
Vietnam Veterans MemorialThe Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a national memorial in Washington, D.C. It honors U.S. service members of the U.S. armed forces who fought in the Vietnam War, service members who died in service in Vietnam/South East Asia, and those service members who were unaccounted for during the War.Its...
in Washington, D.C.
Personal life
Maya Lin, a
Chinese AmericanChinese Americans represent Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans...
, was born in
Athens, OhioAthens is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Athens County, Ohio, United States. It is located along the Hocking River in the southeastern part of Ohio. A historic college town, Athens is home to Ohio University and is the principal city of the Athens, Ohio Micropolitan Statistical Area. ...
. 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 UniversityOhio University is a public university located in the Midwestern United States in Athens, Ohio, situated on an campus...
College of Fine Arts. She is the niece of
Lin HuiyinLin Huiyin was a noted 20th century Chinese architect and writer. She is said to be the first female architect in China. Her niece is Maya Lin.-Biography:...
, who is said to be the first female architect in China. Lin studied at
Yale UniversityYale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1981 and a
Master of ArchitectureThe Master of Architecture is a professional degree in architecture, qualifying the graduate to move through the various stages of professional accreditation that result in receiving a license.-Overview:...
degree in 1986. She has also been awarded honorary doctorate degrees from Yale University,
Harvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
,
Williams CollegeWilliams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...
, and
Smith CollegeSmith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
. 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. Also in 2000, she agreed to act as the artist and architect for the
Confluence ProjectThe Confluence Project is a series of outdoor installations and interpretive artworks located in public parks along the Columbia River and its tributaries in the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. Works underway may include both building and landscape designs as well as integrated artwork...
, a series of outdoor installations at historical points along the
Columbia RiverThe Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
and
Snake RiverThe Snake is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean...
in the states of Washington and
OregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. This is the largest and longest project that she has undertaken so far.
In 2002, Lin was elected Alumni Fellow of the
Yale CorporationThe Yale Corporation, sometimes, and more formally, known as The President and Fellows of Yale College, is the governing body of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.The Corporation comprises 19 members:...
, the governing body of
Yale UniversityYale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
(upon whose campus sits another of Lin's designs: the Women's Table - designed to commemorate the role of women at Yale University), in an unusually public contest. Her opponent was W. David Lee, a local New Haven minister and graduate of the
Yale Divinity SchoolYale Divinity School is a professional school at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. preparing students for ordained or lay ministry, or for the academy...
who was running on a platform to build ties to the community with the support of Yale's unionized employees. Lin was supported by Yale's President Richard Levin, other members of the Yale Corporation, and was the officially endorsed candidate of the Association of Yale Alumni.
In 2003, Lin served on the selection jury of the
World Trade Center Site Memorial CompetitionThe World Trade Center Site Memorial Competition was an open, international memorial contest, initiated by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation , as per the specifications of architect Daniel Libeskind, to design a World Trade Center Site Memorial on a portion of the World Trade Center site...
. A trend toward
minimalismMinimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts...
and
abstractionAbstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
was noted among the entrants, finalists, and current
World Trade Center Memorial- Fundraising :The Foundation has fundraising responsibilities because of the tasks assigned to it by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation...
.
In 2005, Lin was elected to
The American Academy of Arts and LettersThe American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 250-member honor society; its goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Located in Washington Heights, a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan in New York, it shares Audubon Terrace, its Beaux Arts campus on...
, as well as the
National Women's Hall of FameThe National Women's Hall of Fame is an American institution. It was created in 1969 by a group of people in Seneca Falls, New York, the location of the 1848 Women's Rights Convention...
in
Seneca FallsSeneca Falls is a town in Seneca County, New York, United States. The population was 9,347 at the 2000 census.The Town of Seneca Falls contains a village also called Seneca Falls...
, New York.
Lin was commissioned by
Ohio UniversityOhio University is a public university located in the Midwestern United States in Athens, Ohio, situated on an campus...
to design what is known as punch card park in that institution's Bicentennial Park, a landscape literally designed to resemble a
punched cardA punched card, punch card, IBM card, or Hollerith card is a piece of stiff paper that contains digital information represented by the presence or absence of holes in predefined positions...
, supposedly based on Lin's memories of their early use in universities. The park is a large open space with rectangular mounds and voids on the ground.
photo At first the park was criticized for being relatively uninviting (with punched card pits promoting mosquito infestation and preventing safe active recreation) and lacked trees or structures to shade students from the sun. In addition, from the ground level, it is difficult to tell what the park is supposed to look like, though from an aerial view it does resemble a punched card. Although the university since planted trees around the park's perimeter in an attempt to make it a more popular place for students to gather, this has been unsuccessful.
In 2007, Lin installed "
Above and BelowAbove and Below is a installation by American artist Maya Lin, best known for her design of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. It is on display at and owned by the Indianapolis Museum of Art located in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States...
", an outdoor sculpture at the
Indianapolis Museum of ArtThe Indianapolis Museum of Art is an encyclopedic art museum located in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The museum, which underwent a $74 million expansion in 2005, is located on a campus on the near northwest area outside downtown Indianapolis, northwest of Crown Hill Cemetery.The...
in Indiana. "
Above and BelowAbove and Below is a installation by American artist Maya Lin, best known for her design of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. It is on display at and owned by the Indianapolis Museum of Art located in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States...
" is made of aluminum tubing that has been electrolytically colored during the anodization process.
In 2008, Lin completed a 30-ton sculpture called "2 x 4 Landscape," which is on exhibit at the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum in San Francisco, California. Her current projects include an installation at the
Storm King Art CenterThe Storm King Art Center in Mountainville, New York is an open air museum which has extended the concept of a "sculpture garden" to become a "sculpture landscape." Founded in 1960 by Ralph E. Ogden as a museum for Hudson Valley painters, it soon expanded into a major sculpture venue with the...
.
In 2009, Lin completed "Silver River," her first work of art in
Las VegasThe Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
, which is part of a public fine art collection at
MGM Mirage'sNot to be confused with the Las Vegas, Nevada based casino/resort operator Resorts International Holdings.MGM Resorts International is a Paradise, Nevada based corporation that brands itself as a global hospitality company. It is the second largest gaming company in the world by revenue - about...
CityCenter, which opened December 2009. Lin created an 84 feet (25.6 m) cast of the
Colorado RiverThe Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...
made entirely of reclaimed silver. With the sculpture, Lin wanted to make a statement about water conservation and the importance of the Colorado River to Nevada in terms of energy and water. The sculpture is displayed behind the front desk of the
Aria Resort & CasinoAria Resort & Casino is a luxury resort and casino located within the CityCenter complex on the Las Vegas Strip. Aria consists of two curved glass and steel highrise towers adjoined at the center. It opened on December 16, 2009 as a joint venture between MGM Resorts International and Infinity World...
.
In 2009, Maya Lin was awarded the
National Medal of ArtsThe National Medal of Arts is an award and title created by the United States Congress in 1984, for the purpose of honoring artists and patrons of the arts. It is the highest honor conferred to an individual artist on behalf of the people. Honorees are selected by the National Endowment for the...
by President
Barack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
.
Maya Lin is represented by The
Pace GalleryThe Pace Gallery is a New York City-based exhibition space. It was founded in 1960 in Boston by Arne Glimcher.-PaceWildenstein:From 1993 until April 1, 2010, the gallery became "PaceWildenstein," a joint business venture between the Pace Gallery and Wildenstein & Co....
in New York.
Chronological order of Works
Maya Lin is one of the most prominent architectural designers in the 21st century. Although she started out in the 20th century, her vision and focus was always on how the space needed to be in the future and what it meant to the people. She tried to focus less on how politics influenced design but more on what emotions the space would create and what it would symbolize to the user. Her belief in a space being connected and the transition from inside to outside being fluid, coupled with what a space means, has led her to create some very memorable designs. Along with architectural projects, Maya Lin also worked on several sculptures. Below is a list of Maya Lin's most significant works.
- Vietnam Veterans Memorial
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a national memorial in Washington, D.C. It honors U.S. service members of the U.S. armed forces who fought in the Vietnam War, service members who died in service in Vietnam/South East Asia, and those service members who were unaccounted for during the War.Its...
(VVM) (1980-82), Washington, D.C.
- Aligning Reeds (1985), New Haven, Connecticut
- Civil Rights Memorial
The Civil Rights Memorial is a memorial in Montgomery, Alabama to 40 people who died in the struggle for the equal and integrated treatment of all people, regardless of race, during the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. The memorial is sponsored by the Southern Poverty Law Center.The...
(1988-89), Montgomery, Alabama
- Open-Air Peace Chapel (1988-89), Juniata College, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania
- Topo (1989-91), Charlotte Sports Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina
- Eclipsed Time(1989-95), Pennsylvania Station, New York, New York
- Women's Table (1990-93), Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
- Weber House (1991-93), Williamstown, Massachusetts
- Groundswell (1992-93), Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, Ohio
- Museum for African Art
The Museum for African Art is located in the neighborhood of Long Island City in the borough of Queens in New York City, United States. Founded in 1984, the museum is "dedicated to increasing public understanding and appreciation of African art and culture." The Museum is also well known for its...
(1992-93), New York, New York.
- Wave Field (1993-95), FXB Aerospace Engineering Building, Ann Arbor, Michigan
- 10 Degrees North (1993-96), Rockefeller Foundation Headquarters, New York, New York
- A Shift in the Stream (1995-97), Principal Financial Group Headquarters, Des Moines, Iowa
- Reading a Garden (1996-98), Cleveland Public Library, Cleveland, Ohio
- Private Duplex Apartment, New York City (1996-98), New York
- Topographic Landscape (1997) (Portable sculpture)
- Phases of the Moon (1998) (Portable sculpture)
- Avalanche (1998) (Portable sculpture)
- Langston Hughes Library
The Langston Hughes Library is a private non-circulating library designed by Maya Lin, and located on the Haley Farm in Clinton, TN. It contains a 5,000-volume reference collection focusing on works by African-American authors and illustrator, and books focused on the Black experience .-Location...
(1999), Clinton, Tennessee
- Timetable (2000), Stanford University, Stanford, California
- The character of a hill, under glass (2000-01), American Express Client Services Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Ecliptic (2001), Grand Rapids, Michigan
- Input (2004), Bicentennial Park, Athens, Ohio
External links
- Mayalin.com, Main site for Maya Lin Studio.
- The Pace Gallery
- Biography, interviews, essays, artwork images and video clips from PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
series Art:21 -- Art in the Twenty-First Century Season 1 (2001).
- Peace Chapel at Juniata College
Juniata College is a private liberal arts college located in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. It is named after the Juniata River — one of the principal tributaries of the Susquehanna River. In 1876 it became the first college founded by the Church of the Brethren and has been co-educational since...
in Huntingdon, PAHuntingdon is a borough in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. It is the county seat of Huntingdon County. It is located along the Juniata River, west of Harrisburg, about halfway between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, in an agricultural and fruit-growing region, with valuable forests and deposits of...
- Lin's Earth Day Message of Hope on Earth Day
Earth Day is a day that is intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's natural environment. The name and concept of Earth Day was allegedly pioneered by John McConnell in 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco. The first Proclamation of Earth Day was by San Francisco, the...
2006 at The Nature ConservancyThe Nature Conservancy is a US charitable environmental organization that works to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive....
- Confluence Project located at sites in both Washington and Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
- Thompson Gale Publishers, Review of her work.
- Maya Lin's public artwork at Penn Station, commissioned by MTA Arts for Transit.
- Maya Lin on Universal Loss and Vietnam Veterans Memorial on Fora.tv
- Maya Lin video profile in the New York Times