Photographic exhibition ’Daughters of India’ opens at Fowler March 29

Women in Chhattisgarh state in central India wrap their arms around one another in a harvest dance. In a country as vast and paradoxical as India, it is impossible to generalize about the role of women in society. Worshiped as (the Hindu concept of divine, feminine sacred force), oppressed as chattel ? the seeming contradictions have left many Western observers stumbling into stereotypes and misunderstanding. In "Daughters of India," on view at the Fowler Museum at UCLA from March 29 through July 26, photographer Stephen P. Huyler celebrates the resiliency and creativity of Indian women from a wide variety of backgrounds in a series of 38 works that includes both contemplative, detailed portraits and daily scenes enlivened with the bright hues of India. Notably, artistic creativity plays an important part in the lives of many of the subjects. Several of the photographs on display depict women expressing themselves and addressing others through painting, sculpture, embroidery and the creation of decorative elements in their households, including rice flower drawings, or , executed on the ground in front of their homes. In others, visitors can consider how the full force of these women's creativity is brought to bear simply in overcoming the obstacles presented by poverty, caste prejudice and other hardships.