QuoteProject
I saw the Vietnam Veterans Memorial not as an object placed into the earth but as a cut in the earth that has then been polished, like a geode.
Maya Lin
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is seen as a natural part of the earth, symbolizing both loss and beauty.

Maya Lin perceives the Vietnam Veterans Memorial as more than just a physical structure; she views it as an integral part of the landscape, a polished cut that reflects the emotional weight of sacrifice and remembrance. This metaphor highlights the memorial's intention to blend with nature while serving as a poignant reminder of those who have served in the Vietnam War.

Themes

VietnamMemorialArtLossBeautyRemembrance

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used during a memorial service to honor veterans.

More from Maya Lin

My parents are both college professors, and it made me want to question authority, standards and traditions.
Maya LinRead
I try to give people a different way of looking at their surroundings. That's art to me.
Maya LinRead
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.
Maya LinRead
Sometimes you have to stop thinking. Sometimes you shut down completely. I think that's true in any creative field.
Maya LinRead
A lot of my works deal with a passage, which is about time. I don't see anything that I do as a static object in space. It has to exist as a journey in time.
Maya LinRead
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.
Maya LinRead

Similar quotes

My restaurant is an expression of myself - my fantasies. Where I've been, and where I want to be. I think of my cooking as very emotional.
Dominique CrennRead
The glory of a good tale is that it is limitless and fluid; a good tale belongs to each reader in its own particular way.
Stephen KingRead
Someone said to me, early on in film school... if you can photograph the human face you can photograph anything, because that is the most difficult and most interesting thing to photograph.
Roger DeakinsRead
I always try to keep that feeling of being on the edge. I'm afraid of knowing too well and seeming mechanical.
Catherine DeneuveRead
That's all there was in our house: poetry and choir rehearsal and duets and so forth; I listened to Dad and Mother discuss things about poetry and delivery and voice and diction - I don't think anyone could know how much it really means.
Chuck BerryRead
You are going to have to give and give and give, or there's no reason for you to be writing. You have to give from the deepest part of yourself, and you are going to have to go on giving, and the giving is going to have to be its own reward. There is no cosmic importance to your getting something published, but there is in learning to be a giver.
Anne LamottRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.

Quote by Maya Lin | QuoteProject