Maya Lin on How Art Can Encourage Climate Action

(Bloomberg) -- “I think you have to introduce people to how amazing and fantastic the world has been, and can be again.” Thinking about extinct species keeps artist and architect Maya Lin up at night. —As told to Leslie Kaufman.

I just loved animals growing up. There was this brilliant book called Witness that had photographs of all these endangered species. That's when I began to worry about extinctions.

In junior high school, I stood in the parking lot of Kroger's asking people to sign a Greenpeace petition to boycott Japan, because they were hunting whales. I began clipping articles about species going extinct.

I wanted to be a zoologist and follow in the footsteps of Jane Goodall or Dian Fossey. But when I got to Yale my adviser was like, “Our animal behavior program is neurologically based, so you'll have to do vivisections, and I don't think you're going to want to do that.”

So that's when I began my career as an architect. And then came the Vietnam memorial and the Women's Table and the Civil Rights Memorial. But I was still clipping animal extinctions. I thought, “I want my fifth and final memorial to be something that is not a commission, but something I call into being. And I want it to be about animal extinctions.” Which is how “What Is Missing?” began.

At first it was just going to be about the animals, but then I realized that the main driver of species loss is habitat degradation and loss. At the same time, climate change was beginning to really emerge as the single greatest threat to our planet.

Over the years, I've spent maybe 50% of my time setting up the website for “Missing,” and we've created like 100 videos that are about missing animals, missing places.

I think you have to introduce people to how amazing and fantastic the world has been and can be again. The earliest accounts of America are of absolute abundance. When Europeans first came to this country, they saw the rivers were pure silver, because there were so many fish in the stream and light reflected off their silvery backs. Now we are getting volunteers to give us historical accounts as well as their own personal memories of nature and what is no longer there.

“Missing” is unlike anything else I've ever done. It is both a wake-up call and about what you could do. I think as an artist that if I can change people's mindsets, I can make you wake up, be more aware.

The multisite, multimedia installation “What Is Missing?” raises awareness about the sixth extinction, a massive die-off of species. It's centered on a website that includes videos and testimonials.

With assistance from Bloomberg