Maya Lin’s parents, Julia and Henry Lin, both immigrated from China and met in the United States. Upon Maya's birth in 1959, they settled down in Athens, Ohio, where they both became professors at Ohio University. Her mother wrote poetry and taught literature, while her father was a ceramist and eventually became the Dean of Fine Arts at the university.
Following in her parents’ footsteps and sharing their passion for art, Lin pursued architecture at Yale University. When she was twenty-one years old and a senior in college, Lin designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Initially, her idea started off only as a project for one of her classes, but then she entered it into what became one of the largest design competitions in United States history, with 1,420 contestants. The first of Lin’s creations, the Vietnam Memorial, is the most-visited monument in the United States.
After graduating from Yale, Lin created at least a dozen other major works including: The Peace Chapel at Juniata College; the Civil Rights Memorial; Women’s Table; Langston Hughes Library for the Children’s Defense Fund; Rockefeller Foundation; New Federal Courthouse in Manhattan; the Asian Pacific American Studies Institute at New York University; and the Confluence Project; and has artwork in museums around the world.
In 1994, a documentary focusing on Lin’s life and architectural achievements, Maya Lin: A Strong, Clear Vision, premiered and won the Oscar for Best Documentary. In 2000, Lin published a book, Boundaries, which explores her blueprints and architectural ideas and details how she faced the challenges from her opposition. Further achievements of Lin’s include consulting as a jury member for the World Trade Center Memorial site.
While in school, Lin wanted to combine sculpture with architecture, but that was not possible at her university. Instead, she chose architecture as her focus but attended sculpting classes on the side. She ended up combining the two in her professional career. Lin also has a strong interest in environmental preservation. Not only is she an advisor on sustainable energy use, but she is also a board member of the National Resources Defense. Her interest in the environment is illustrated through her use of the landscape surrounding the Peace Chapel.
The Peace Chapel is a fourteen-acre environmental landmark at Juniata College that incorporates the “contemplative setting” within the beautiful hills of Central Pennsylvania. The monument was constructed between 1988 and 1989. The site consists of two circles located a short walk from one another that are constructed out of granite, making it a two-part structure. The larger circle, intended for gatherings or group meditation, is forty feet in diameter and formed by a ring of granite blocks. The smaller circle, intended for one person, is a granite disc, formed by a single, polished stone four feet in diameter.
Lin’s documentary stated that once the “grass grew in [the site]”, the stone pathway leading up to the Peace Chapel would not be noticeable. However, once seated, visitors would then notice the stones stepping up towards the second site. Lin designed the Peace Chapel so that it was simple and in-line with the earth so visitors would absorb and appreciate nature. She did not want the site to have a “manicured look,” but instead wanted to highlight the “natural order... quietly resembling the implied order of man”. She designed the landmark with the environment in mind, leading guests to admire the beauty of the local landscape.
Lin is currently married to photography dealer Daniel Wolf, has two children, and lives in New York City managing her own gallery.
Kymberly Mattern ‘15
Bilbiography
Abramson, Daniel. Maya Lin and the 1960s: Monuments, Time Lines, and Minimalism. (University of Chicago Press; 1996). Vol 22 No 4. Pg 679-709.
Academy of Achievement, "Maya Lin Biography. Last modified 2010. Accessed February 6, 2013. http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/lin0bio-1.
"Juniata College - Campus Life - Spiritual Life - Excerpt from "Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision,"Juniata College - Campus Life - Spiritual Life - Excerpt from "Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision, 1994, Web, http://www.juniata.edu/life/peacechapel.html.
Juniata College, "Juniata College- Museum of Art." Accessed February 6, 2013. http://www.juniata.edu/services/museum/coll_peacech.
Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision.
Ross, Alex. Standford Presidential Lectures and Symposia in the Humanities and Arts, "Maya Lin." Last modified 2002. Accessed February 6, 2013. http://prelectur.stanford.edu/lecturers/lin/index.html.
"Women's History: Maya Lin." Last modified 2003. Accessed February 6, 2013. http://www.gale.cengage.com/free_resources/whm/bio/lin_m.htm.