It accounts for the fact that anti-war demonstrators and ex-military men both lost relatives and friends. It presents us with an invitation to reflect and respond. Rather, by honoring those who sacrificed, we hope to provide a symbol of national unity and reconciliation." In relation to a war that was wildly unpopular both at home and abroad, Lin's memorial was a barometer of these sentiments. It echoes the sentiments of Vietnam veteran Jan Scruggs, who raised the money for the project, and stated in his open call for submissions: "We do not seek to make any statement about the correctness of the war. A unique pull away from the traditional memorial design with realistic forms, her design contrasted with all other memorials in Washington D.C. In the process, he sees his own face reflected in the polished stone. The names of over 58,000 soldiers who were killed or pronounced missing in action are listed, in the order of death or disappearance, rather than alphabetically because Lin wanted it to be read "like an epic Greek poem." A Vietnam veteran can go to Maya Lin's memorial and search for the names of his fallen comrades. Its ends point towards the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument, respectively. Two simple walls of polished granite fall ten feet below grade and meet at a 130-degree angle in a V-shape. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, one of the most controversial works of the 1980s, lies on the northwest corner of the National Mall in Washington D.C. In placing greater emphasis on the viewer, and giving more power to the audience, Lin's work rests on the shoulders of a long line of conceptual artists from Marcel Duchamp to Yoko Ono, and is part of a widespread transformation taking place in public art at the end of the 20 th century. Despite the radicalism of her ideas, they did not emerge from a vacuum.In her obsessive planning, scientific calculation, investigation, and measurement in preparation for each work, however, she is a throwback to the Italian Renaissance, when science and art were of a piece. Her stated aim is for her work to become a private conversation for each person who views it. As an artist, Lin strikes an unusual balance between open-ended concepts, and scientific precision.Among them are some skeptics, including hardened veterans, who often find themselves moved to tears. Far from diminishing the memory of these individuals, however, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is now the most visited monument in Washington, D.C. Critics initially misinterpreted her style as a literal effort to minimize the importance of a historic event and the individuals who served their country. Lin's ideas were so far ahead of her time it took most of the world a little while to catch up with her.Lin's work, however, harnesses the power of this austere aesthetic to steer us toward grasping the impact of historic events in a personal way. The older, mostly male minimalists to whom she is visibly indebted ( Donald Judd, Dan Flavin, Michael Heizer, Richard Serra) steered clear of references to history, even in their large-scale public works. Lin brought an unprecedented degree of humanity to Minimalism.Her work invites us to reflect on what cannot be summarized in a single representation, a truly revolutionary idea. Her spare, linear aesthetic uses blank space as a metaphor for thought. Gone are the men on horseback, obelisks and allegorical nudes that once defined the monument. While still a college student, Lin transformed one of the oldest and most conservative art forms in America.In a career that began with controversy, Lin's 35-year record of public and private art successfully merges the conceptual and natural world. The indoor sculptures on which she has focused recently maintain an implicit environmental focus, ideologically and visually evoking the rolling contours of remote geographic locations. Swells of earth interrupt the grassy terrain ever so slightly in her outdoor installations, so that if one is not viewing the work from high above or far away, one might not even notice them. Her minimalist approach to public art is to add something that looks like it was not originally there, but somehow belongs. Her use of a spare, low-slung wall to trace the line of the natural landscape became her trademark. Her Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., a city known for its imposing monuments, is now one of the most iconic sights. Even if she had designed nothing else, Maya Lin's first commission would make her one of the most innovative artists of the 20 th century.
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