Maya Lin Installation Planned for Arts on the Point Sculpture Park

By Leigh DuPuy

Maya Lin, the celebrated artist, sculptor, designer, architect, and poet, who may be best known for creating the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., has agreed to design an earthwork for UMass Boston's Arts on the Point Sculpture Park.

"Of all the opportunities the sculpture park has presented, this is the most memorable and will be the longest lasting," said Paul Tucker, professor of art history, in a December 9 Art/Talks lecture, which included a showing of the documentary Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision.

Tucker has been credited with winning over Lin with his proposal that she create a permanent installation for the university. Following a discussion of available space at UMass Boston, Lin first expressed interest in designing a parking area. "She is a very nontraditional artist interested in the intersections of sculpture, art, and site planning," explained Tucker.

As the practicality of needed parking spaces ruled out this idea, Tucker asked if she would consider designing a piece for the 100-by-300 foot, grassy oval in front of the new campus center. She became increasingly enthusiastic about the idea as construction on the new building progressed and another earthwork that she had designed came to fruition.

Following the completion of her current projects, which include the design and construction of six new buildings and another earthwork, Lin will visit UMass Boston in the spring to review the site for the installation, which would be the only work of its kind in the Northeast.

Tucker points out that it may be some time before Lin finalizes plans for the work, but that she has said it will involve some subtle manipulation of the grassy area. Understatement and sensitivity to the site are her hallmarks, Tucker notes, evidenced from her first earthwork of 1995 "Wave Field," which she created for the University of Michigan. It consists of a 100-by-100 foot tract of grassy land that she transformed from a flat surface into a series of 50 small, equally spaced mounds that make the site look like frozen sound waves, the undulations of a body of water, or the swept sands of a desert.

As director of Arts on the Point and a proven fundraiser, Tucker will lead the efforts to realize this unique commission.

Image: Paul Tucker, professor of art history and director of Arts on the Point, discusses Maya Lin's plans to create a permanent installation for the university at a recent Art/Talks Lecture. (Photo by Harry Brett)

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