Maya Lin

Creative Time presented multidisciplinary artist Maya Lin’s What Is Missing?, a series of four videos about mass extinction precipitated by the degradation of natural habitats at 44 1/2. There was a special, expanded schedule of screenings on April 22 2010 for Earth Day. Maya Lin was a participant in the Creative Time Global Residency Program, for which she traveled to diverse parts of the world to connect with disappearing species for the What Is Missing? project.The four videos presented At 44 ½ were part of an expansive project of the same name that is an urgent call to action intended to build awareness about disappearing species. What is Missing?, which Lin calls her “last memorial,” consists of site-specific media installations, a traveling art exhibition, a printed and digital book, and other forms, linked through the project’s website. By existing in multiple forms and at multiple sites at once, the project challenged the notion that memorials must be singular objects. Through a broad network of collaborations with scientific institutions, environmental groups, writers, art institutions, filmmakers, photographers and artists, What is Missing? ultimately emphasized what each individual can do to protect species and the habitats they depend on for survival.What is Missing? was a collaborative project that involved the contributions of scientific institutions, environmental groups, writers, art institutions, filmmakers, photographers and artists. Media contributors included Cornell Lab of Ornithology, National Geographic Society, ARKive and BBC Earth. Groups that are contributors, advisors and collaborators included California Academy of Sciences, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Conservation International, IUCN, the Field Museum, Freedom to Roam, NRDC, World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy, Panthera, Oceana, Woodshole Oceanographic Institute, Yale School of Forestry, International League of Conservation Photographers and Wildlife Conservation Society.