Maya Lin: Systematic Landscapes

by Richard Andrews, John Beardsley, Lawrence Weschler

Publisher: Henry Art Gallery, Yale University Press

Publication Date: August 19, 2008

http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/book.asp?isbn=9780300121209

$40.00

“Utilizing the way in which scientists and computers see our world, drawing on images based on sonar views of the ocean floor, to aerial and satellite views of the land, I have started to create artworks that translate that technological view into sculptural forms.” (Maya Lin)

One of the most celebrated artists working in the United States, Maya Lin came to prominence in 1981 with her design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Generously illustrated and beautifully designed, Systematic Landscapes traces her continued fascination with geologic phenomena and topography, integrating natural contours and materials into evocative landscape sculptures such as Character of a Hill Under Glass (2002) and 11 Minute Line (2004).

As the book reveals, Lin’s earthworks and public sculptures have always developed alongside small-scale, exploratory sculptures and monumental temporary installations, through which Lin evokes the physical processes that shape the earth. This volume also introduces three major new installation works created for the Henry’s Systematic Landscapes exhibition, along with a series of related drawings and reliefs demonstrating the expanding scope of Lin’s creative process.