MAYA LI

N

L I FE

& W

OR

K - AB

HI N

AV

WA

DH

WA

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

VIETN

AM VET

ERANS

MEMORIAL 1

982

Two

black

gra

nite w

alls

, pla

ced b

elow

gra

de, e

ngrave

d in

chro

nolog

ical

ord

er w

ith th

e nam

es o

f the

men

and

wom

en w

ho gav

e th

eir l

ives

in th

e Vie

tnam

War

.

VIETN

AM VET

ERANS

MEMORIAL 1

982

At the

apex

wher

e th

e tw

o w

alls

mee

t, th

e dat

es 1

959 and

1973 (mar

king th

e beg

innin

g and e

nd of t

he w

ar) "

mee

t"

thus

clos

ing th

e ci

rcle

of t

he tim

e sp

an o

f the

war

.

VIETN

AM VET

ERANS

MEMORIAL 1

982

A retu

rnin

g vet

eran

can

find h

is o

r her

ow

n tim

e upon

the

wal

l, m

akin

g eac

h one'

s ex

perie

nce o

f the

mem

oria

l ver

y

perso

nal a

nd indiv

idual

.

VIETN

AM VET

ERANS

MEMORIAL 1

982

The

sitin

g of t

he pie

ce is

dire

ctly

rela

ted to

the

prese

nce

of b

oth th

e Li

ncoln

Mon

umen

t and W

ashin

gton M

emor

ial,

tyin

g it p

hysic

ally

and h

isto

rical

ly to

the

site

.

INPU

T 2004

Since

May

a Li

n was

bor

n and ra

ised

in A

then

s an

d bot

h of

her p

aren

ts w

ere

profe

ssor

s at

Ohio

Univ

ersi

ty, a

n

artw

ork

for t

he Univ

ersi

ty h

olds

a per

sonal

his

tory

and

connec

tion fo

r her

.

INPU

T 2004

The

place

men

t of t

he te

xt is

bas

ed u

pon re

ctan

gular "

punch c

ards"

set i

nto th

e ea

rth. A

s a

junio

r and s

enio

r in h

igh s

choo

l, th

e ar

tist

studie

d Cob

alt a

nd For

tran

com

puter l

anguag

e at

the

Univer

sity

,

spen

ding m

any

hours

pro

gram

min

g at t

he Clip

pinger

Lab

s.

INPU

T 2004

Her m

emor

y of

the

hours

spen

t punch

ing o

ut thos

e dat

a

input c

ards

at O

hio U

niver

sity

has

led to

the

over

all s

hape

of th

is p

iece

.

ABOVE AND B

ELOW

2007

The

first o

f the

perm

anen

t wire

landsc

ape

inst

alla

tions.

ABOVE AND B

ELOW

2007

The

form

is b

ased

on th

e to

pogra

phy of

the

undergro

und

river

sys

tem

, the

White

Riv

er, w

hich fl

ows

under th

e st

ate

of In

diana

and is

the

seco

nd longes

t under

ground ri

ver

syst

em in

the

countr

y.

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 ONE

Which of these is Maya Lins best known sculpture around the world today?

a) Vietnam Veterans Memorial

b) Civil Rights Memorial

c) The Wave Field

d) Input

ANSWER TO QUESTION ONE

Which of these is Maya Lins best known sculpture around the world today?

a) Vietnam Veterans Memorial

b) Civil Rights Memorial

c) The Wave Field

d) Input

QUESTION TWO

Where was Maya Lin born?

a) Ohio

b) Taiwan

c) Tokyo

ANSWER TO QUESTION TWO

Where was Maya Lin born?

a) Ohio

b) Taiwan

c) Tokyo

QUESTION THREE

What 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 THREE

What 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.