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Disappearing Bodies of WaterMaya Lin
Maya Lin discusses her marble sculpture series, Disappearing Bodies of Water, shown in progress at her Manhattan studio. Lin’s collective process of researching, drawing, model making, and mechanized fabrication led to these forms that highlight the erosion of Lake Chad, the Aral Sea, and the Arctic Ice Shelf.
Growing up in Athens, Ohio, Lin staged protests against environmental crimes and cruelties. She continues to be an activist today, using her art to encourage closer examination of the natural world.
More information and creditsCredits
Producer: Ian Forster. Interview: Ian Forster. Camera: Rafael Salazar Moreno & Ava Wiland. Sound: Ava Wiland. Editor: Morgan Riles. Additional Graphics Courtesy: National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado, Boulder. Artwork Courtesy: Maya Lin.
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Maya Lin was born in 1959 in Athens, Ohio, and currently lives and works in New York City. She attended Yale University, where she received her bachelor’s degree in 1981 in art and architecture and her M.Arch. in 1986. Trained as an architect and an artist, Lin’s work encompasses memorial designs, architectural works, and large-scale environmental installations. Using water and natural landscapes as a throughline between her disparate practices, Lin’s work touches on themes of memory and time, exploring how we experience and relate to our environment and surroundings.
Maya Lin
Preview
The discussion was out of how much damage we were doing, as a species, to the rest of the planet. It’s really personal, and I love the environment. I love the world around us.
Maya Lin
Artwork Survey: 1980s
On the Environment
Mark Dion