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

Actors can have a fair amount of hate for each other, so when another actor says, 'You did your thing,' or 'That was inspiring,' you can't really ask for more than that.
Chadwick BosemanRead
The most important thing about creativity is that you honor your creativity and you don't ever ignore it or go against what that creative image is telling you.
Lady GagaRead
Draw the art you want to see, start the business you want to run, play the music you want to hear, write the books you want to read, build the products you want to use – do the work you want to see done.
Austin KleonRead
It's important that a film is loud and I hope many people agree. You should be inside of a film when you go into a theater. It should surround you, envelope you, so you can live inside a dream.
David LynchRead
Dialogue should simply be a sound among other sounds, just something that comes out of the mouths of people whose eyes tell the story in visual terms.
Alfred HitchcockRead
There is nothing harder to learn than painting and nothing which most people take less trouble about learning. An art school is a place where about three people work with feverish energy and everybody else idles to a degree that I should have conceived unattainable by human nature.
Gilbert K. ChestertonRead

A little wisdom, now and then

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

Quote by Maya Lin | QuoteProject