[Back to artist listing] MAYA LIN
What is Missing?
April 14–April 30, 2010

(April 13, New York, NY) From April 15–30, Creative Time will present multidisciplinary artist Maya Lin's What is Missing?, a series of four videos about mass extinction precipitated by the degradation of natural habitats At 44 1/2. There will be a special, expanded schedule of screenings on April 22 for Earth Day. Maya Lin is a participant in the Creative Time Global Residency Program, for which she has traveled to diverse parts of the world to connect with disappearing species for the What Is Missing project.

The four videos presented At 44 1⁄2 are part of an expansive project of the same name that is an urgent call to action intended to build awareness about disappearing species. What is Missing?, which Lin calls her "last memorial," consists of site-specific media installations, traveling art exhibitions, a printed and digital book, and other forms, linked through the project's website (whatismissing.net). By existing in multiple forms and sites simultaneously, the project challenges the notion that memorials must be singular objects. Through a broad network of collaborations with scientific institutions, environmental groups, writers, art institutions, filmmakers, photographers and artists, What is Missing? will ultimately emphasize what each individual can do to protect species and the habitats they depend on for survival.

"For her fifth and final memorial, Maya Lin is taking on what is surely one of the greatest single imperatives of our times," said Anne Pasternak, President and Artistic Director of Creative Time, "the protection of fragile habitats around the globe. Thanks, in part, to Creative Time's partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation’s New York City Cultural Innovation Fund, Maya is traveling the world to learn, build networks, and bear witness to our environmental crises. What she learns will be shared through video and sound installations in an ambitious project that demonstrates the ramifications of our everyday actions and attitudes on habitats, while bringing together environmentalists, scientists and educators from all parts of the world."

Creative Time kicked off At 44 1/2 with the overwhelmingly successful presentation of Shallow by Malcolm McLaren in June 2008, and was followed by selections from Mark Tribe's Port Huron Project; early work by the historic duo Gilbert & George; a series curated by artist Marilyn Minter; the work of acclaimed artist Steve McQueen; a mini- retrospective of the work of legendary artist Bruce Conner; and two series by young artists. Most recently, Creative Time presented the work of groundbreaking performance artist Marina Abramovic.

The larger than life, high definition 44 1/2 screen is located on Broadway between 44th and 45th Streets, directly across the street from MTV's offices and studio. At 44 1/2 is part of Creative Time's long history of presenting public art in Times Square.

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Maya Lin is the world-renowned designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., and one of the most important public artists of this century. As a 21- year-old architecture student at Yale, Lin designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial as a class project, then entered it in the largest design competition in American history. Her inspiring vision has since become the most-visited memorial in the nation's capital. Lin has gone on to pursue both art and architecture, making works that merge completely with the terrain, blurring the boundaries between two- and three-dimensional space and setting up a systematic ordering of the land tied to history, language, and time. In addition to her five memorials, Lin has created a dozen other major works across the nation, including Storm King Wavefield in Mountainville, New York, the Riggio-Lynch Chapel and Langston Hughes Library in Clinton, Tennessee, and the Museum of Chinese in America in downtown Manhattan. Her traveling exhibition Systematic Landscapes was recently shown in part at The Pace Gallery. Her life and work were detailed in the Academy Award-winning documentary film Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision. Her work reflects a strong interest in the environment—a commitment that has led her to serve as an advisor on sustainable energy use and a Board Member of the National Resources Defense Council. Lin is a member of American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2005, Lin was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame, and in 2009 she received the National Medal of Arts, the highest award given to artists and art patrons by the US government.