Half the Sky: Visualized addresses the human rights violations discussed in Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn's Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide (2010), focus of the current UConn Reads project.

 

The unique contribution of this exhibition lies in mixing work by photojournalists and fine artists.  The juxtaposition of these two modes of representation - one documentary, the other, allusive and metaphoric - opens up a visual conversation, one that highlights questions about human agency, identity, and experience.  The inclusion of works without strong markers of cultural identity, like Kiki Smith's Daisy Chain and Penny Siopis's Shame Series, widens the scope of the book, connecting the specific human rights violations it details with the oppression of women across cultures.

 

Whatever the genre or medium, all the works included here are characterized by a powerful combination of content and aesthetics.  Color, form, scale, and composition are essential to the creation of meaning.  Sound is important here, too, and a unique, multi-vocal narrative unfolds through the exhibition, as we move from hearing the voices of child brides and rape survivors to the forbidden songs that entice us toward Shirin Neshat's Pulse.  

 

Taken together, the works in Half the Sky: Visualized create a vivid sense of human suffering -- and the underlying politics that cause it - and human resilience.  These works demonstrate the powerful ways that visual images can bear witness to crimes against humanity in multiple arenas, from newspapers to art museums.