Some of your teachers are actually closer in age to you than you think. Maya Lin on age
I try to give people a different way of looking at their surroundings. That's art to me. Maya Lin on architecture
Warmth isn't what minimalists are thought to have. Maya Lin on architecture
Even though I build buildings and I pursue my architecture, I pursue it as an artist. I deliberately keep a tiny studio. I don't want to be an architectural firm. I want to remain an artist. Maya Lin on architecture
I probably spent the first 20 years of my life wanting to be as American as possible. Through my 20s, and into my 30s, I began to become aware of how so much of my art and architecture has a decidedly Eastern character. Maya Lin on architecture
I left science, then I went into art, but I approach things very analytically. I choose to pursue both art and architecture as completely separate fields rather than merging them. Maya Lin on architecture
The process I go through in the art and the architecture, I actually want it to be almost childlike. Sometimes I think it's magical. Maya Lin on architecture
In art or architecture your project is only done when you say it's done. If you want to rip it apart at the eleventh hour and start all over again, you never finish. I was one of those crazy creatures. Maya Lin on architecture
I loved logic, math, computer programming. I loved systems and logic approaches. And so I just figured architecture is this perfect combination. Maya Lin on architecture
Art is very tricky because it's what you do for yourself. It's much harder for me to make those works than the monuments or the architecture. Maya Lin on architecture
I try to give people a different way of looking at their surroundings. That's art to me. Maya Lin on art
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 Lin on business
My dad was dean of fine arts at the university. I was casting bronzes in the school foundry. I was using the university as a playground. Maya Lin on dad
If we can't face death, we'll never overcome it. You have to look it straight in the eye. Then you can turn around and walk back out into the light. Maya Lin on death
When I was very little, we would get letters from China, in Chinese, and they' be censored. We were a very insular little family. Maya Lin on family
To me, the American Dream is being able to follow your own personal calling. To be able to do what you want to do is incredible freedom. Maya Lin on freedom
It's funny, as you live through something you're not aware of it. Maya Lin on funny
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 Lin on home
The only thing that mattered was what you were to do in life, and it wasn't about money. It was about teaching, or learning. Maya Lin on learning
You should be having more fun in high school, exploring things because you want to explore them and learning because you love learning-not worrying about competition. Maya Lin on learning