Artist Entry #25 Maya Lin

Artist Entry #25 Maya Lin

In my Art 108 class we watched a video on the women who created the Vietnam memorial, Maya Lin. I thought the video was very interesting, it showed how she conceived the idea and how she won the artist contest of creating the Vietnam Memorial. After it was announced that her idea won, there was a public outrage because first off she was of Asian descent and the wall was black marble signifying that the war was a black eye for the United States. Her intentions were just to create a simplistic piece that could send powerful message and she used black because it is a very respectful color. After watching the video it showed me that basic shapes or forms can make a huge impact on society and a single piece could represent an entire cause.

The 2nd image is of a round black granite table in Montgomery, Alabama. This piece represents the civil rights movements of the 1960's and all the key contributors to it. On the top of the table are names and dates of important people and the things they did like Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks and other various civil rights contributors. On top of the table a small pool of water sits barely flowing representing that water "flows like justice".

Her work to me represents that one person can make a difference and can stand up for what is right. Her work conveys such a powerful message and I think every artist should use their art to send positive messages sometimes.