“I loved logic, math, computer programming. I loved systems and logic approaches. And so I just figured architecture is this perfect combination.”
Architecture
“When I was very little, we would get letters from China, in Chinese, and they' be censored. We were a very insular little family.”
FamilyAll Quotes by Maya Lin
“Some of your teachers are actually closer in age to you than you think.”
Age“It was a requirement by the veterans to list the 57,000 names. We're reaching a time that we'll acknowledge the individual in a war on a national level.”
War“I left science, then I went into art, but I approach things very analytically. I choose to pursue both art and architecture as completely separate fields rather than merging them.”
Architecture“Art is very tricky because it's what you do for yourself. It's much harder for me to make those works than the monuments or the architecture.”
Architecture“In art or architecture your project is only done when you say it's done. If you want to rip it apart at the eleventh hour and start all over again, you never finish. I was one of those crazy creatures.”
Architecture“Warmth isn't what minimalists are thought to have.”
Architecture“Even though I build buildings and I pursue my architecture, I pursue it as an artist. I deliberately keep a tiny studio. I don't want to be an architectural firm. I want to remain an artist.”
Architecture“When I was very little, we would get letters from China, in Chinese, and they' be censored. We were a very insular little family.”
Family“How we are using up our home, how we are living and polluting the planet is frightening. It was evident when I was a child. It's more evident now.”
Home“I really enjoyed hanging out with some of the teachers. This one chemistry teacher, she liked hanging out. I liked making explosives. We would stay after school and blow things up.”
Teacher“The role of art in society differs for every artist.”
Society“To me, the American Dream is being able to follow your own personal calling. To be able to do what you want to do is incredible freedom.”
Freedom“I try to give people a different way of looking at their surroundings. That's art to me.”
Architecture“My dad was dean of fine arts at the university. I was casting bronzes in the school foundry. I was using the university as a playground.”
Dad“The process I go through in the art and the architecture, I actually want it to be almost childlike. Sometimes I think it's magical.”
Architecture“The definition of a modern approach to war is the acknowledgement of individual lives lost.”
War“It's funny, as you live through something you're not aware of it.”
Funny“When I was building the Vietnam Memorial, I never once asked the veterans what it was like in the war, because from my point of view, you don't pry into other people's business.”
Business“If we can't face death, we'll never overcome it. You have to look it straight in the eye. Then you can turn around and walk back out into the light.”
Death