林璎：又一片人间四月天

爱思英语编者按：2010年2月25日，美籍华裔建筑师(architect)林璎被美国白宫授予2009年度美国国家艺术奖章，以表彰其作为建筑师、艺术家以及环保人士的卓著成就。这是美国官方给予艺术家的最高荣誉，而林璎的另外一个身份就是著名建筑家林徽因的侄女。

2010年2月25日，在白宫举行的国家艺术奖章授予仪式上，美国越战纪念碑的设计者林璎获此殊荣。主办方称，向林璎颁发2009年度美国国家艺术奖章是为了表彰“她作为建筑师、艺术家、环保人士的卓著成就”。“越战纪念碑的构想显示出她对于人类感知周遭途径的深刻理解。”
Maya Lin, who designed the national Vietnam Veterans Memorial (The Wall), was among the honorees, February 25, at the White House National Medal of Arts ceremonies. Lin received a 2009 National Medal of the Arts for “her profound work as an architect, artist, and environmentalist,” the official citation said. “Her vision for the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial emblemizes her deep understanding of the ways in which we respond to the world around us.”

林璎出生于俄亥俄州的阿萨森，是中国首位女建筑师林徽因的侄女。
Maya Lin was born in Athens, Ohio. She is the niece of Lin Huiyin, who is said to be the first female architect in China.

林璎曾就读于耶鲁大学，1981年获文学学士学位，1986年获建筑学硕士学位。此外，她还被耶鲁、哈佛、威廉姆斯学院以及史密斯学院授予荣誉博士学位。
Lin studied at Yale University, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1981 and a Master of Architecture degree in 1986. She has also been awarded honorary doctorate degrees from Yale, Harvard University, Williams College, and Smith College.

由于自小在白人环境中长大，她曾表示直到很晚才意识到自己的华裔身份。直到30岁时，她才强烈地想去探求自己的文化背景。在谈到自己设计位于纽约中国城附近的新美国华人博物馆时，林璎表示这是一个与中国有关的设计方案，这对于她个人来说意义非凡；因为她想让自己的两个女儿去“了解一些她们自己的传统。”
Lin, having grown up surrounded by white people, has said that she "didn"t even realize" she was Chinese until later in life, and that it was not until her 30s that she had a desire to understand her cultural background. Commenting on her design of a new home for the Museum of Chinese in America near New York City"s Chinatown, Lin attached a personal significance to the project being a Chinese-related project because she wanted her two daughters to "know that part of their heritage."

林璎的姑姑林徽因是中国著名诗人、艺术家及中国首位女建筑师。她曾参与设计中国的国徽以及天安门广场上的人民英雄纪念碑。
Lin"s aunt from father side is Lin Huiyin, a well-known Chinese poet, artist, and first female architect in China, who helped design the Chinese National Emblem, and People"s Hero Monument in Tiananmen Square.

林璎的姑姑是著名才女林徽因

1981年，当时21岁，仍就读本科专业的林璎在越战纪念碑全美设计大赛中击败其余1420个设计方案，最终脱颖而出。这座黑色石制建筑表面镌刻着58261名阵亡士兵的名字，该纪念碑于1982年10月底完工并于同年11月13日举行落成仪式。纪念碑取材自花岗岩，呈V字造型，两端分别指向林肯纪念堂和华盛顿纪念碑。
In 1981, at age 21 and while still an undergraduate, Lin won a public design competition for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, beating out 1,420 other competition submissions. The black cut-stone masonry wall, with the names of 58,261 fallen soldiers carved into its face, was completed in late October 1982 and dedicated on November 13, 1982. The wall is granite and V-shaped, with one side pointing to the Lincoln Memorial and the other to the Washington Monument.

如今，林璎拥有并执掌着自己位于纽约的工作室，继续设计其他建筑。其中包括位于亚拉巴马州蒙哥马利市的民权纪念博物馆（1989年）以及为密歇根大学设计的作品《浪涌》（1995年）。
Lin, who now owns and operates Maya Lin Studio in New York City, went on to design other structures, including the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama (1989) and the Wave Field at the University of Michigan (1995). 更多信息请访问：http://www.24en.com/

1994年，一部取材自她真实生活的纪录片《林马娅：清楚的幻想》夺得当年的奥斯卡奖。片名取自她在耶鲁的一次关于纪念碑设计流程的演说。
In 1994, she was the subject of the Academy Award-winning documentary Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision. The title comes from an address she gave at Yale in which she spoke of the monument design process.

相关词汇

architect 建筑师
 
documentary 纪录片
 
emblemize 标记,象征
 
emblem 徽标
 
granite 花岗岩
 
heritage 传统
 
monument 纪念碑
 
profound 巨大的
 
submission 提交