Posted on Nov 12, 2022
Maya Lin doesn't like the spotlight — but the Smithsonian is shining a light on her
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https://www.npr.org/2022/11/12/ [login to see] /smithsonian-national-portrait-gallery-maya-lin-vietnam-veterans-memorial
Nearly all of the people who have received biographical exhibitions at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery — Sylvia Plath, Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King Junior, to name a few — are long dead.
But the museum's latest subject, Maya Lin, is still very much alive and at the height of her powers as an architect, designer, visual artist and environmental activist.
Lin's works include the Civil Rights Memorial in Alabama, the Langston Hughes Library in Tennessee and What Is Missing? — the massive, ongoing, environmental activism project she launched in 2009 — and of course the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial in Washington, D.C. that launched her career 40 years ago.
But despite all the attention paid to her work, Lin herself is someone who has eschewed the limelight for decades.
"I've always sort of felt my works are public, but I'm not," she said.
Nearly all of the people who have received biographical exhibitions at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery — Sylvia Plath, Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King Junior, to name a few — are long dead.
But the museum's latest subject, Maya Lin, is still very much alive and at the height of her powers as an architect, designer, visual artist and environmental activist.
Lin's works include the Civil Rights Memorial in Alabama, the Langston Hughes Library in Tennessee and What Is Missing? — the massive, ongoing, environmental activism project she launched in 2009 — and of course the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial in Washington, D.C. that launched her career 40 years ago.
But despite all the attention paid to her work, Lin herself is someone who has eschewed the limelight for decades.
"I've always sort of felt my works are public, but I'm not," she said.
Maya Lin doesn't like the spotlight — but the Smithsonian is shining a light on her
Posted from npr.org
Art
Vietnam War
Rights
Environment
Posted 2 y ago
Responses: 2
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel good day Brother William, always informational and of the most interesting. Thanks for sharing, have a blessed day!
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Brother Chip, the lady created a masterpiece when she designed the Vietnam Memorial at Arlington National Cemetary. The Wall grows out of the earth as a person walks beside it, just as the war in Vietnam grew from a few minor Viet Cong skirmishes to a major conflict that lasted ten years. From a few US casualties per month to a war that claimed hundreds of lives each week, the Wall symbolizes the growth of the conflict over the years. I’ve written elsewhere on RallyPoint how the sight of the Wall affected me. The shock of seeing the names of men I had known and served with was profound, when I hadn’t even known that some of them had been killed in action. Most of us went to Vietnam as individual replacements, rather than as members of integral fighting units. So we went over there alone, served our tour of duty and returned home alone, and kept our memories to ourselves. That’s why I appreciate RallyPoint, because it allows me to share memories with other men who served there.
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
1LT Voyle Smith As MAA to Chief of Staff Commander Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command Visited it Often, Left an Impression on Me!
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