Maya Lin Vietnam Vets War Memorial Analysis

584 Words2 Pages

Art is expression in the fastest form, novels taking hundreds of pages to draw emotion, while a single drawing can bring out the rawest feelings and personal experiences in seconds. There are many other things that can be achieved in art but for one artist Maya Lin, the art she does is made to convey emotion, show a universal truth, and create a spiritual atmosphere in her art. “Artists give form to the immaterial–hidden or universal truths, spiritual forces, and personal feelings” the attributes listed are found in her artwork. As every piece, she makes always exudes these same properties mentioned above to an extent.
Markedly Vietnam Vets War Memorial is the main example that shows Maya Lins what elements she uses primarily in her art pieces. Expressly the memorial ends up being a testament to individual sorrow and loss that those who visit will look at, the list of the gone, an overall minimalistic creation in memory of those gone. described with a diamond and just a name leads to a person viewing to be left with just the emotions embedded in the words. Specifically, the minimalistic intention is to drive attention to the names of the dead which provokes a personal response to the scene. This result was sought by Maya Lin in creating the memorial. In Maya Lin words “it …show more content…

The memorial is the center of a whirlwind of fear, sorrow, agony, and then after experiencing the overwhelming emotions, end up leaving with the feeling of acceptance, this forced confrontation is a demonstration of the core ideas implied with the design of the wall, imposing, defiant, and unforgettable. The memorial ends up forcing a person to understand and accept the situation. This idea is supported by Maya Lin herself who states “it is up to each individual to come to terms with this

Open Document