Editing Maya Lin (section)

{{Short description|American designer and artist (born 1959)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox artist
| name             = Maya Lin
| image            = Maya Lin at Crystal Awards Ceremony (2023) 02.png
| imagesize        = 
| caption          = Lin in 2023
| birth_name       = Maya Ying Lin
| birth_date       = {{birth date and age|1959|10|05}}
| birth_place      = [[Athens, Ohio]], U.S.
| nationality      = American
| field            = Land art, architecture, memorials
| training         = [[Yale University]] ([[B. A.|BA]], [[MArch]])
| movement         = 
| works            = [[Vietnam Veterans Memorial]] (1982)<br>[[Civil Rights Memorial]] (1989)
| patrons          = 
| influenced by    = 
| influenced       = 
| awards           = [[National Medal of Arts]]
[[Presidential Medal of Freedom]]
| website          = {{URL|mayalin.com}}
| spouse           = {{marriage|Daniel Wolf|1985|2021|end=died}}
| children         = 2
}}
{{infobox Chinese
| t = 林瓔
| s = 林璎
| p = Lín Yīng
}}

'''Maya Ying Lin''' (Chinese: 林瓔; born October 5, 1959) is an American [[architect]], [[designer]] and [[Sculpture|sculptor]]. Born in [[Athens, Ohio]] to Chinese immigrants, she attended [[Yale University]] to study [[architecture]]. In 1981, while still an [[Undergraduate education|undergraduate]] at Yale she achieved national recognition when she won a national design competition for the planned [[Vietnam Veterans Memorial]] in [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/11/books/review/james-reston-jr-a-rift-in-the-earth.html|title=The Right Way to Memorialize an Unpopular War|last=Lewis|first=Michael J.|work=The New York Times|date=September 12, 2017|access-date=September 26, 2020|archive-date=November 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111185955/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/11/books/review/james-reston-jr-a-rift-in-the-earth.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The memorial was designed in the [[Minimalism|minimalist]] architectural style, and it attracted controversy upon its release but went on to become influential.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Kimmelman |first=Michael |date=2002-01-13 |title=ART/ARCHITECTURE; Out of Minimalism, Monuments to Memory |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/13/arts/art-architecture-out-of-minimalism-monuments-to-memory.html |access-date=2024-03-29 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329114227/https://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/13/arts/art-architecture-out-of-minimalism-monuments-to-memory.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Lin has since designed numerous [[memorial]]s, public and private buildings, [[landscape]]s, and [[sculpture]]s. In 1989, she designed the [[Civil Rights Memorial]] in [[Montgomery, Alabama]]. She has an older brother, the poet [[Tan Lin]].

Although best known for historical memorials, she is also known for environmentally themed works, which often address environmental decline. According to Lin, she draws inspiration from the architecture of nature but believes that nothing she creates can match its beauty. She also draws inspirations from "culturally diverse sources, including Japanese gardens, Hopewell Indian earthen mounds, and works by American earthworks artists of the 1960s and the 1970s".<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Maya Lin |url=https://art21.org/artist/maya-lin/ |access-date=2024-03-05 |website=Art21 |language=en |archive-date=December 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231209092507/https://art21.org/artist/maya-lin/ |url-status=live }}</ref>