My parents are both college professors, and it made me want to question authority, standards and traditions.
Maya LinRead
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects a journey of self-discovery and understanding one's cultural identity in relation to art.
Maya Lin expresses a realization that her early aspiration to conform to American ideals overshadowed her inherent Eastern influences in her artistic work. As she matured, she recognized the importance of her heritage and how it uniquely shaped her perspective in art and architecture, highlighting the significance of cultural identity in creative expression.
Themes
IdentityArtCultureSelf-DiscoveryHeritage
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used during an art seminar to discuss cultural influences in creativity.
More from Maya Lin
All quotes →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
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