The Traveling Wall: Vietnam Memorial

The Vietnam Memorial Wall was created to acknowledge the soldiers who lost their lives during the Vietnam War. Our book tells us that this wall was designed by an undergraduate architecture student at Yale University named Maya Lin. Lin explains that when thinking of the design of the wall, she “imagined taking a knife and cutting into the earth and opening it up, an initial violence and pain that in time would heal. The grass would grow back, but the initial cut would remain a pure flat surface in the earth with a polished, mirrored surface, much like the surface of the geode when you cut it and polish the edge.” While researching, I found the motivation behind the Traveling Vietnam Wall was from John Devitt. Devitt visited the original wall in Washington D.C. and it had a huge impact on him. He wanted to be able to share experience it with everyone. He wanted to share the breathtaking experience with those that were not able to travel to D.C. themselves to see it in person. Even though the moving wall is only a 3/5 of the size of the original one, it still comes with the same experience as the original wall. The focal point of the wall is the highest point in the middle of the wall. It is the focal point because it is where our eyes are automatically drawn when we first look at it, and also because the flags grab your attention. Throughout the work of art, you can see patterns such as repetition and rhythm; you can also see texture and contrast. Repetition occurs with the names written over and over which creates a rhythm on the wall. The wall has texture because you can run your fingers over it and feel the smoothness of the wall and then the roughness of the engraving of the names. Not only does the wall have repetition, rhythm, and texture, it also has contrast. The contrast comes from the white names against the black glossy background. This contrast allows the names to be seen with ease.