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About The Asian reporter. (Portland, Or.) 1991-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 2014)
Community December 1, 2014 THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 11 A confluence of art, architecture, and memorials By Kate Hubbard The Asian Reporter aya Lin has made waves in the world of design, architecture, and art. She is a design force to be reckoned with, as she uses her formidable energy and vision to help the rest of us see the world in new ways. During the past several years, she’s been creating something wonderful right in our own backyard. Lin was in Portland recently, speaking to a full house at the City Club of Portland’s Friday Forum. She is working on the Confluence Project — the largest public art installation in the United States — which stretches 438 miles through Washington and Oregon. One end is at the confluence of the Clearwater and Snake Rivers in Clarkston, Washington. The other end is at Cape Disappointment, where Meriwether Lewis and William Clark finally reached the Pacific Ocean in 1805. Confluence threads the story of the Lewis & Clark expedition with the history, ecology, and culture of Pacific Northwest tribes. The six sites are: Cape Disappoint- ment State Park, the Vancouver Land Bridge, the Sandy River Delta, Sacajawea State Park, Chief Timothy Park, and Celilo Park. In tandem with the sites, Confluence has a K-12 education program that is applied at the local level in a dozen communities along the Columbia River Basin. Lin was invited to become involved after tribal elders saw her design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washing- ton, D.C. Colin Fogarty, the executive director of the Confluence Project, expressed it this way: “It’s important to pay homage to the heritage of this land so it can be enjoyed for generations to come.” What better person to design the project than a cutting-edge, world-renowned artist who burst onto the scene in 1981 as an undergraduate, winning our hearts with a memorial that is beloved and visited by millions. As a monument that has stood the test of time, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial design earned Lin the Twenty- five Year Award by the American Institute of Architects. We’ve all seen images of veterans and their families at the memorial, and heard how it impacts the hearts of many. The Confluence Project is a multi-faceted, intricately layered design challenge that needed this kind of touch. Lin describes herself as an incredibly committed environmentalist, and it shows. Her body of work displays a rich understanding of the natural world around us, united with modern tools and technology. She admits to being fixated on water and rivers, and she knew the designs for this project needed to be deeply committed to the cultural significance of the sites. With her expertise in site- specific design, and a strong team of committed people, Lin is transforming these locations into beautiful, heart- warming places to connect with the world Photo courtesy of Maya Lin Studio M EPIC UNDERTAKING. Maya Lin (bottom photo) visited Portland recently, speaking to a full house at the City Club of Portland’s Friday Forum. Lin is working on the Confluence Project — the largest public art installation in the United States — which stretches 438 miles through Washington and Oregon. One end is at the confluence of the Clearwater and Snake Rivers in Clarkston, Washington. The other end is at Cape Disappointment, where Meriwether Lewis and William Clark finally reached the Pacific Ocean in 1805. Pictured above is the current design of the site at Celilo Park. “Confluence is not about loss; these are memory works. If we don’t actively remember our history, we can’t learn from it.” around us. Four sites are finished, with two more slated for completion in the next two years. “Try to think like a child. When we’re kids we look because we’ve not seen it before. As adults we’ve seen it and may not look,” says Lin. As part of the project, Lin was tasked with the delicate assignment of creating a piece for Celilo Falls, which is an emotionally laden location for Pacific Northwest tribes. The falls were flooded in 1957, and the cultural memory remains strong, still capable of evoking deep grief for the loss. Until a dam was built, Celilo Falls was the most continuously occupied settlement in North America for more than 10,000 years. Tribes from California to as far away as British Columbia and the Great Plains would gather at the location to fish, trade, socialize, and enjoy the spectacular beauty of the falls. As such, any art installed at the location would need to be much more than functional, more than simply symbolic. In fact, tribal elders were so concerned about the design that they didn’t think anyone should touch it for seven generations. Lin was more than up to the challenge. The design for Celilo Park is planned for completion in 2016, and it’s brilliant. A simple curve of beautiful materials will arc out over the water, evoking the image of fishing platforms. The story of Celilo Falls is told along the arc, through the words of Lewis and Clark, contemporary tribal members, and oral histories. Only Maya Lin could design such a simple trajectory to inspire, heal, and help us connect with the history of the place. It took a master designer to meld park restoration, ecology, and cultural sensitivity into a graceful art installation. AR Photo/Jan Landis -- Maya Lin Many of Lin’s works try to connect the viewer with what lies underneath. Whether it’s carefully crafted enormous folds of earth, a massive hanging diorama of a waterway, or topographical carvings, Lin uses her skills to encourage people to really think about and connect with the natural world around us. She expressed concern for what she calls “landscape amnesia” and cultural forgetfulness about how much is changing, even in our lifetimes. “Confluence is not about loss; these are memory works. If we don’t actively remember our history, we can’t learn from Think you’re an organ and tissue donor? Not if you haven’t told your family. Talk to your family about organ and tissue donation. Talk to your family about donating life. it,” Lin says. Lin’s grasp of environmentalism shows in her choice of materials, her under- standing of ecology, and her devotion to sustainable design. With the Confluence Project, Lin has gifted our region with an environmentally aware body of work that will be enjoyed for generations. The accompanying educational aspect means the cultural heritage and community identity of Pacific Northwest tribes will be honored, and not lost, in history. 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