Maya Lin's Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Maya Lin, a sculptor of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, asserts through her art that the main way to pay respect to soldiers is by picturing yourself in their shoes and understanding their sad predicament. She supports this claim by making her memorial/sculpture reflective like a mirror and having it slope downward to depict sadness. Her purpose is to make people get into the heads of the soldiers who fought in Vietnam. She builds a close relationship with the viewers by making the sculpture reflective and personal with the addition of all the names of lost veterans.

1. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial contains lists of lost soldiers and an interesting design, which adds a deeper level to what the memorial embodies. It may seem odd that Lin chose to list all 52,000 names, but I think this is what makes it so personal. People who have lost relatives now have a connection to the memorial. They now have a place to remember, grieve, and celebrate their loved ones. The names add to the sculpture, rather than detract. Also, the reflective nature of the memorial adds a deeper level of personal attachment. One can see themselves in the memorial and imagine what these soldiers had to go through. It seems that Maya Lin’s main goal was to create a sense of closeness and realness between the dead and the living.

2. This memorial sends out a very important message regarding the army and armed forces. By listing each name of every soldier, Maya Lin depicts how each life had meaning. There wasn’t a collective bunch of people that perished, but rather 52,000 individuals that lived lives outside of Vietnam. When they died, their lives were cut off, and many families felt the massive loss of one person. Maya Lin pays respect to the individual by including every name. She shows how in the American Army, they value each soldier and how important one life can be. The viewers of this memorial get the message that life has value, and that the army stands by this ideal as well.