Biographical Research - Maya Lin

Lifespan: October 5, 1959 Present

Early Family Background and Created Family Structure

- Her parents migrated to the United States from China
- Her father and her mother settled in Ohio before Maya was born
- Her father was a ceramist and a former dean of the Ohio
University College of Fine Arts
- Her mother is a poet and taught literature at Ohio University
- Maya is the niece of Lin Huiyin, who was the first female
architect in China
- Her brother, Tan Lin, is a poet
- Her home life was very close knit, receiving letters from her
ancestors living in China to living close to her parents and her
brother
Major Career/Professional Events and Accomplishments
- She created the design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in
1981
- She owns and operates her own Maya Lin Studio in New York
City
- She designed the Civil Rights Memorial in Alabama and the
Wave Field at the University of Michigan
- She served on the selection jury of the World Trade Center Site
Memorial Competition in 2003
- In 2005, Lin was elected to the American Academy of Arts and
Letters

- Many, if not all, of her designs and structures are done in

memory of those who have died and fought for others, either the
United States or a minority.

Personal Life Themes/Beliefs

- The arts have been in her family and her life forever. Her father
was a ceramist and was the dean at a college of fine arts. Also,
her mother was a poet.
- As a child, she loved school and loved to study. When she
wasnt doing work, she took courses at Ohio University
- Later on in her life, around the age of 30, she became interested
in her Chinese background and the culture
- Because of her heritage and her newly found passion for her
culture, she is easy to defend herself when in conflict among
others.
- She believes that art should be an act that says something new
and is not quite familiar
- She mentioned how she rebels against social group settings,
questioning standards and traditions

Selected Quotations
- "My work originates from a simple desire to make people aware
of their surroundings and this can include not just the physical
but the psychological world that we live in"
- "In all my work I have tried to create works that present you with
information allowing you the chance to come to your own
conclusions; they ask you to think."

- To me, the American Dream is being able to follow your own

personal calling. To be able to do what you want to do is
incredible freedom.
- To fly we have to have resistance.
- The role of art in society differs for every artist.
Awards and Recognition
- She was awarded honorary doctorate degrees from Yale
University, Harvard University, Williams College, and Smith
College
- She was the youngest at Yale University to receive an honorary
Doctorate of Fine Arts in 1987
- In 1981, she won a public design competition for the Vietnam
Veterans Memorial
- This memorial was ranked #10 on the American Institute of
Architects list of Americas Favorite Architecture
- She was the subject of the documentary Maya Lin: A Strong
Clear Vision
- In 2002, she was elected Alumni Fellow of the Yale Corporation
- Named by Time Magazine as one of its 50 for the Future