Monday, November 14, 2011

Maya Lin





The first photo is of Maya Lin's book "Boundaries." The second photo is a picture of the "Vietnam Veterans Memorial."





Maya Lin is one of the most prominent architectural designers of the 21st century. She was born October 5, 1959. She is a Chinese-American artist who is known for her sculpture and landscape art, designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC. In 1981at age 21 while still an undergraduate, Lin won a public design competition for the Veterans Memorial, beating out 1441 other competition submissions. Lin’s conception was to create an opening or a wound in the earth to symbolize the gravity of the loss of the soldiers. The design was initially controversial for what was an unconventional and non-traditional design for a war memorial.
Work after the Vietnam Memorial:
Lin, who now owns and operates Maya Lin Studio in New York City, went onto design other structures, including the Civil Rights Memorial, and the Wave Field.
According to Maya Lin, art should be an act of every individual willing to say something new and that which is not quite familiar. When a project comes her way, she tries to “understand the definition (of the site) in a verbal before finding the form.” To understand what a piece is conceptually and what its nature should be even before visiting the site.
In 2000, Lin emerged with a book titled “Boundaries.” During this time she also agreed to act as the artist and architect for the Confluence Project, a series of outdoor installations at historical parts along Columbia River and Snake River. The largest and longest project she has taken on yet.
In 2007, she installed “Above and Below,” an outdoor sculpture at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. This is made of aluminum tubing that has been electrolytically colored during the anodization process.
In 2008, Lin completed a 30-ton sculpture called “2X4 Landscape,” which is on exhibit at the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum. Her current projects include an installation at the Storm Kind Art Center.
2009 was a big year for Maya Lin. First, she completed “Silver River” her first work of art in Las Vegas. Lin created an 84-foot cast of the Colorado River made entirely of reclaimed silver. She wanted to make a statement about water conservation and the importance of the Colorado River to Nevada in terms of energy and water. She was also awarded the National Medal of Arts by Barack Obama.
Maya Lin is represented by the Pace Gallery in New York.

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