Lin Ying said that he grew up.

About my growing up in Ohio, it is actually quite special. Although as the only non-white residents there, our life has not been affected, but my parents still like to live a life away from the hubbub. Therefore, we almost grew up in a simple family of four. They are all university teachers, and my mother is an English professor, so I have been exposed to a quite academic environment since I was a child. My parents, both from China, immigrated to the United States in the middle and late 1940s. My father majored in ceramics and later became the director of the art department of Ohio University. I used to go to his school when I was very young. I think I have learned a lot from my parents, and their critical eyes have had a lot of influence on our growth. Then I went to school at my age. I like school life very much and I love learning very much. It's really the kind of kid who goes home and does his homework every day and then watches TV.

Although Lin Ying felt that she grew up in an environment where she almost forgot the tradition of China, she felt more and more strongly the preserved remains of the mixed eastern and western cultures in her works. She regards her works as the voice of two cultures, which are deeply dependent on her Chinese-American nature.

"The influence of Asian culture on me"

Lin Ying: Parents never tell us directly what we should do, and always let us choose for ourselves. In order not to be suspected of being imposed, but to draw their own conclusions by presenting the facts, what they said, although I sometimes don't understand, conveyed a subtle teaching space and confirmed the influence of Asian culture on me. This influence has created some works with experimental color and educational significance; They are a way of self-knowledge, which my mother described as "Tao" in Taoism. And "Tao" is a process of self-awareness and self-awakening. These are the reflections I got when I was growing up.

This oriental aesthetic consciousness is also expressed in form through many of my designs. However, I think the most influential thing is the stable and pleasant environment brought by my family. It seems that there is always an unspeakable force pushing you to do something ... the idea that no one has ever worked hard for money. Although we have been encouraged to get good grades since childhood, it is not for any benefit. On the contrary, this idea will be considered very wrong. You do something because it is important to you, even if it doesn't make you rich. So we have been infected by such a creative idea since childhood. The power of example is enormous. As a child, you will inadvertently inherit the words and deeds of your parents. If you respect and love your parents very much, you will take them as role models.

childhood

I spent my childhood surrounded by a forest. It is a kind of seclusion and beauty that I miss very much. Our backyard is a large mountain forest, or a large mountain forest composed of several trees. The ground rises and falls between every ridge, which is a paradise for children. Among them, there is a ridge, which we call "the wizard's back mountain".

school days

Since I was a student, I have been more interested in oriental architecture than European architecture, such as Italian Renaissance works, French symmetrical gardens or those classical architectural languages. I used to be very surprised at the subtle connection between myself and the architecture in China. It was not until my family and I went back to Fujian, China, and saw my father's old house where he spent his childhood, that we found a simple courtyard, finely carved wood, and a small lake scene that could be photographed at will around the whole courtyard. Obviously, my father, who grew up between this house and his grandfather's Chinese calligraphy and painting collection, was also deeply influenced by them. My father's work has said it all.

"My parents are both engaged in art."

Growing up, I was always surrounded by all kinds of artworks and furniture made by my father, from porcelain dishes and bowls for eating to screens for tables and chairs. And just as he was influenced from childhood, I was deeply influenced by him. I am very grateful to my parents, and I feel very lucky. My brother is a poet now, and I am between architecture and art.

My parents are engaged in art; My father is a ceramist and my mother is a poet. Both of them chose art education. Maybe that's why I always like to start with research when I start a new project. Whether it is the study of American aviation engineering, flight history, civil rights movement or charity, every job has become a way for me to explore new fields. Maybe I won't become an expert, but whenever I devote myself to a project, I will be completely immersed in the history or cultural atmosphere of that place.

Although I am more and more aware of the integration of two cultures in my works, I can often feel the feeling of standing on either side. This isolation and remoteness are also affecting my creation. Sometimes I feel that those works, especially some emotional works, were created by another person. That man is always staring at me from a distance.

"The place where we live is not home."

I have always known that for parents, the place where we live is not home, and their real home, China, has become a thing of the past. They seldom talk about the past and always keep a certain distance from real life.

A few years ago, I asked my mother why she never mentioned her past. She said it was because I never asked her.

I don't think it's her fault. In fact, I never thought to ask her. Because those are no longer a part of their lives-leaving China to come to the United States has isolated them from now on, not only physically, but also culturally and emotionally-they used to be a part of China under political turmoil, and that era has turned irreversibly.

This made me realize in my childhood that time belongs to the present, not Ohio, but a family of four-father, mother and brother. I have never met my grandparents, uncles or aunts. I never ask other people's families, parents, their past and history.

I think my father first mentioned family history to me on my 2 1 birthday. When we were in Washington, he mentioned his sister Lin Yin Hui, my menstruation, an architect.

I was deeply attracted by her story. She and her husband, Liang Sicheng, participated in the design of Tiananmen Square, sorting out many documents and historical materials of ancient buildings in China. When she came to the University of Pennsylvania to study architecture, the school refused to accept her because she was a girl, so she had to stay in the faculty for one year first.

Father respects his sister. I think it is because of this admiration that he has always wanted a daughter.

Because my mother, my aunt and, of course, my father have always played a very good role in cohesion, I have never felt any gender difference between myself and my brother.

Looking back on my childhood, it was a very lonely time. Most of the time I like to stay at home and concentrate on my studies and do my own thing, or just sit quietly in the yard and train my rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks and raccoons. When animals are playing in the house, I concentrate on making all kinds of fringed lace, wax silver and so on. Going to my father's pottery studio or the art school of his university after school every day has become the most familiar part of my life. This also isolates me from what is happening in Ohio and the whole world to some extent. In my opinion, the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement happened on another planet.

Maybe out of boredom, maybe I prefer to regard it as a way to return to myself. Now I feel that on the one hand, it is not easy for me to get along with my friends, and on the other hand, it is because I never thought about it.

I have always been naive about my China ancestry.

Ultimate success

Before I won the design competition of Vietnam War Memorial, I never thought that race was not a problem. I remember at the first press conference, a reporter asked, "Don't you think this is ridiculous? The Vietnam War happened in Asia, and you happen to be an Asian? " At that time, I thought it was a completely racist question, which had nothing to do with my design. In the past six months, those Vietnam veterans tried their best to control the situation. It was not until an article titled "Asian Monument to the Asian War" appeared in Washington post that I began to realize that we were in trouble. No matter how reasonable the background of the "Zen" or "Tao" of the monument mentioned by the reporter, it is still not an Asian work. In my opinion, that reporter is more interested in Buddhism than my design. Finally, I couldn't help but want to know their true thoughts from the veterans who worked together, but they seemed a little at a loss ... At that time, I finally knew that the truth of the matter was that people could not accept that an "Asian" designed this monument.

I feel left out for the first time.

Sometimes a stranger, such as a taxi driver, will ask me where I come from. I often instinctively say to myself, "Look, here we go again." Or, "from Ohio." Then that person will say, "no, no, no, I mean where are you from?" ..... I really don't like being treated as a "foreigner" all the time-it doesn't belong here, it's not American, so where can it be? So naturally, I will argue with each other and insist that I am from Ohio. At this point, these disputes will only make me more and more calm about my bloodline. Now, out of the experience of avoiding conflicts, I will say, "I am from Ohio, but my mother is from Shanghai and my father is from Beijing."

This makes the questioner feel more satisfied.

But this unintentional question reveals a true attitude. This really made me realize that for some people, I really shouldn't be "from here" or "American"

Perhaps it is this experience of being regarded as another race that constantly affects the formation of my world view and becomes a distant observer and a bystander.

It was not until my father died that I began to realize his great influence on my career. His sensitivity to beauty pervades every corner of our lives: from the furniture we use to the pottery pots for eating and drinking; From the place where we built our house-deep in the Woods where we lived alone, although we were in the city, we were isolated from the city and surrounded by nature all the time-until he used coarse pottery glaze of the same color as the land.

However, the most common facts are often the most easily overlooked. When I stared at my dead father, one thing I found was his hand. He has a pair of delicate and beautiful hands, and he gave me the same ones. These hands gave him the skill of working with clay, and he could use them to pull out clay pots as slender as arms. Maybe I will never know why he, as a Potter, has such a profound influence on my career, because I have never succeeded in making decent pottery pots; No matter how hard I try, I can't control the ball made of clay.

Every day after school, my brother and I will go to my father's studio. I don't know how many hours, we quietly watched my father pinch clay, beat it, pull it, and then cut them with steel wire; Clay is as obedient as liquid and plastic in his hands. He always pulls out a shape at will, and then ends or starts a shape with a light touch.

I didn't expect my professor at Yale University to think it was strange to make a building out of plasticine and paint it shiny black. Or maybe the original shape of the Vietnam War Memorial comes from mashed potatoes on the dining table ... who knows. Many of my works start with plasticine, which is a kind of clay that is kept soft with oil. It is like soil; The passion for shaping this land seems to linger forever. It is in my heart, in the life of all my works.