Planet Green
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Maya Lin is one of the most celebrated artists of her generation. Her acclaimed series of memorials, which include the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC, have been praised as masterpieces of contemporary art. Growing up in the Sixties and Seventies, Lin was profoundly influenced by the decades’ social and environmental movements. Her artworks have dealt with key points in American history - from war to civil rights to women’s rights, and the environment – a subject she has been committed to throughout her career. Lin draws her inspiration from the natural world. Her large-scale artworks are embedded within the landscape. The goal of her works is to inspire people to look at the world differently, to appreciate the beauty of our planet, and understand that by working as a group we can preserve and protect our environment.
More About Maya
Maya Lin was catapulted into the public eye when she submitted the winning design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to be built in Washington, D.C. as an undergraduate at Yale University. Completed in 1982, the memorial has been praised as a masterpiece of modern design. Lin went on to earn her Master’s degree in Architecture from Yale in 1986.
A dedicated environmentalist, Maya has been committed to focusing attention on the natural world and has incorporated sustainable and recycled materials into many of her artworks. Her last memorial ‘What is Missing?’ debuted at the California Academy of Sciences in September 2009. The installation focuses on bringing awareness to the current crisis in biodiversity and habitat loss. Once again reinventing what a monument can be, ‘What is Missing?’ is a multi-sited work existing in select scientific institutions, online as a website, and as a book.
Throughout her career, Maya has maintained a careful balance between art and architecture, creating a remarkable body of work that includes large-scale site-specific installations, intimate studio artworks, architectural works and memorials. Maya’s artwork has been profiled in publications such as the New York Times, Time Magazine, Art in America, National Geographic and the Smithsonian, among others. In addition to numerous prizes and awards, Maya has received honorary doctorates from Yale, Harvard, and Smith College.
