Artist 19/20: Maya Ying Lin

Ok so keeping to my promise and still hot off my feminist/homo...sim art is an artist we covered in art history today. Not only do I think she stands as a testiment to female artists, but she also represents artist of ethnicity. Despite being only a first-generation American, she claims she grew up in a predominately white community and didn't even realize she was "Chinese" until later in life. She also had very little interest in her heritage until her 30's. Without even knowing it, Maya Ying Lin was the stereotype of the smart asian girl at Yale University.

Maya Ying Lin was only 21 when her design for the Vietnam Vetrans Memorial was selected. Being very simplistic, it was meant to represent a wound or gash. There are several elements that often go noticed by visitors. One being that the monument is made from hyperpolish black granted. Because of this, viewers see their reflection behind the names carved on the memorial. Also, the names are not in alphebetical order. When searching for a specific individual, the only clue you are given is the date in which they died. So an individual has to take the time to look at all of the panels just to find the one with the right date. And, once again, the names aren't in alphabetical order so then you have to scan over all the sames on that dated panel to find the one you're looking for. This forces us to realize the number of people lost to this war without skipping over these people's names like a meaningless, ordered combination of letters but as names.

All the designs submitted for consideration were anonymous and presented without names. After her concept was selected and it was discovered that she was of Asian descent, the memorial was met with gross opposition. One veteran said that the color [black] was "the universal color of shame, sorrow, and degradation in all races, all societies worldwide." Many people felt the black granite was not suitable because of its shart contrast to the other D.C. monuments which were traditionally white. Despite one's feelings, Lin reminds us that she is not dictating how we should feel, just that we should feel.