Art, Architecture and Memorials

Maya Lin lectures in the Nelson Mandela Auditorium in the FedEx Global CenterArtist Maya Lin described her approach to art, architecture and design, and her desire to make audiences consider climate change during the 2022 Frey Lecture on April 12 at Carolina’s FedEx Global Education Center. Lin is best known for winning the 1982 design competition for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., while still an undergraduate at Yale. Lin outlined how she sees her work as a tripod of art, architecture and memorials.

Lin’s work takes inspiration from natural forms, such as her three “wave fields”. These fields are three disconnected projects exploring different scales but all taking inspiration from waves. “As an artist, I work in series,” Lin said. “Maybe it’s because I range a bit in my medium. … An iteration, a series, allows me to explore an idea and change scale, change subtle ideas about it, and then go on, because I’m very site specific. I’m also relating to the site.”

The Frey Foundation Distinguished Visiting Professorship is one of the highest honors bestowed by the College of Arts & Sciences to distinguished public leaders. Established in 1989, this free public lecture brings to campus renowned speakers from a variety of fields, including government, public policy, international affairs and the arts and sciences.

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