Maya Lin the Silent Author

One of the most interesting topics posed in the documentary is the purpose of the “silent author”. Maya Lin uses this phrase as she speaks at the tenth anniversary of the Vietnam Memorial. She speaks of how that she, as the mind behind the design, must remain silent and let her work speak for itself. She is merely a conduit through which the emotions of the veterans could flow. This particularly resonates with the Civil Rights Memorial that she designed years after her success with the Vietnam Memorial. By incorporating a quote by Martin Luther King Jr. she decides to highlight the work of a notable Civil Rights activist instead of drawing attention to her design. Although the work is hers, the true author or inspiration behind the work is the Civil Rights Movement itself.

The documentarian also highlights this “silent author” aura with the incorporation of a reoccurring scene in which Maya Lin works on an unnamed project. Years after Lin completed her Vietnam and Civil Rights Memorials, she continues on with other projects. By coming back to the same scene with a hardworking present day Lin, the director emphasizes that out of necessity all of her pieces have the implied author of the people to which they are dedicated. While she may or may not be personally attached to the things she commemorates, her artisanship is rightfully not the center of attention but rather the ideas and emotions evoked while examining her works.