Research Guides: Maya Lin: Biography

Maya Lin (Born October 5, 1959)

Lin sought anonymity by returning to academia, beginning graduate studies in architecture at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. In early 1983 she left Harvard to work for a Boston architect, and in 1986 she completed a master's degree in architecture at Yale. In 1988 Lin agreed to design a monument for the civil rights movement on behalf of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Her design consisted of two elements: a curved black granite wall inscribed with a quotation from Martin Luther King, Jr., and a 12-foot- (3.7-metre-) diameter disk bearing the dates of the major events of the civil rights era and the names of 40 people who were martyrs to the cause. Water flows gently over both parts of the memorial. The Civil Rights Memorial was dedicated in Montgomery, Ala., in November 1989. Continue . . .

Source: “Lin, Maya.” Britannica Biographies, Mar. 2012, p. 1. From Academic Search Complete database.

Book Collection

Resources

Maya Lin Studio Artist, designer and environmentalist, Maya Lin interprets the natural world through science, history, politics, and culture, creating a remarkable and highly acclaimed body of work in art and architecture. Her works merge the physical and psychological environment, presenting a new way of seeing the world around us.
Art 21: Maya Lin Born in 1959 in Athens, Ohio, Maya Lin catapulted into the public eye when, as a senior at Yale University, she submitted the winning design in a national competition for a Vietnam Veterans Memorial to be built in Washington, DC. She was trained as an artist and architect, and her sculptures, parks, monuments, and architectural projects are linked by her ideal of making a place for individuals within the landscape.
Maya Lin - Artist and Architect Maya Lin is the world-renowned architect of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, and one of the most important public artists of this century. Her parents fled China just before the Communist takeover in 1949, eventually settling in Athens, Ohio, where both became professors at Ohio University. Her mother wrote poetry and taught literature; her father, a ceramic artist, became the Dean of Fine Arts.
Maya Lin, Vietnam Veterans Memorial SmartHistory presents Architecture and Design.
One Life: Maya Lin, National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery Past Exhibit. “One Life: Maya Lin,” is the first biographical exhibition dedicated to the architect, sculptor, environmentalist, and designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. September 30, 2022 - April 16, 2023.
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I feel I exist on the boundaries, somewhere between science and art, art and architecture, public and private, East and West. I am always trying to find a balance between these opposing forces, the place where opposites meet. —Maya Ying Lin

From Films On Demand Database:

World of Ideas: Maya Lin One of the rare few who have managed to excel in both art and architecture, Maya Lin creates places of refuge and contemplation in highly public spaces. Constructed on an intimate human scale, they invite visitors to touch, feel, respond, and reflect. In this program, the acclaimed sculptor and architect talks with Bill Moyers about a life and a career that have been shaped by her Asian-American heritage and a profound respect and love for the natural environment. (54 minutes)
Maya Lin At the age of 21, Lin designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C.; critics attacked her design through her youth, gender, and ethnicity. She grew up in Ohio and attended funerary architecture at Yale University. Distributed by PBS Distribution.
A Personal Journey with Maya Lin, Artist and Architect Sculptor, architect, and designer Maya Lin catapulted to prominence when, as a senior at Yale University, she was chosen to design the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. In this program, Bill Moyers talks with her about her upbringing and multifaceted career. (27 minutes)