Maya Lin my hero
A few months ago, The Museum Contemporary Arts in downtown San Diego, had a Maya Lin show called Systematic Landscapes. In conjunction with the show, we had the rare honor to watch the Academy Award® winning feature documentary, Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision and met the filmmaker Frieda Lee Mock.
The 90-minute film was truly remarkable, with tears shedding down my cheeks the entire time. I watched with great intent, feeling inspired in every way possible; as a Chinese woman, as a minority, as an artist and mostly as a female architect. In the last 11 years living in the U.S, I’ve had my fair share of “colorful” episodes while working as a designer in the field of architecture and design. You name it; I’ve seen it all. I’ve had peers and clients discrediting my work because I was considered “too young”, not American, even a terrorist (just because I was born in a different country), the list goes on and on. But after watching that documentary, Maya inspired me to face challenges and discrimination with clarity, poise, dignity and most of all integrity.
Watching her cut through all the politics involved in the controversial Vietnam Veterans Memorial when she was only 21, her years of personal criticism and attacks on her designs, how she survived thousands of threats, pounds of hate mail, moved me so deeply that after the documentary ended, I looked at my husband Joe, and said, “Bring on the pink hard hat! I no longer fear!” Thank you Miss Maya Lin, you are one true hero to me. – Mel Lim
