by Michelle Siegel

Those who visit the University of Maryland Art Gallery by November 22 will encounter a lauded artist’s homage to the night sky — and the many lesser-known women who enabled us to understand it.

The current exhibit, “Lia Halloran: The Same Sky Overarches Us All,” features select works of Los Angeles-based artist Lia Halloran. She is represented by Luis De Jesus Los Angeles gallery and works as an associate professor for the art department at Chapman University in Orange, California.

Many of the works displayed in “Lia Halloran: The Same Sky Overarches Us All” are derived from “Your Body is a Space that Sees,” a collection of Halloran’s cyanotypes. These blue and white depictions of astral phenomena are formed not with photo negatives produced by a camera, but rather, with light passing through the top of a transparent or translucent piece of paper that has been coated with photo emulsion.

“One of my favorite parts of the project is that it’s images of stars, but it’s being made by our sun — so even the process itself actually uses astronomy,” Halloran said.

Halloran further mentioned how common scientific and historical literature often exclude discoveries made by female astronomers and fall short of recognizing the role of women outside of the family structure.

According to Smithsonian magazine, the Harvard Observatory began regularly employing women in 1881, under Director Edward Charles Pickering. However, Pickering typically restricted his female employees to the role of “computing,” which covered tedious tasks such as reducing photographs, classifying stars and copying information into tables — that remained vital to the efforts of scientists. Nonetheless, Pickering paid women half of what a man would have been paid, and often forbade them from using the telescopes. On the rare occasion that these women are remembered today, they are typically referred to collectively as “Pickering’s Harem.”

Some women in early astronomy were able to overcome the obstacles that their male-dominated era put between them and their ability to make their own scientific discoveries. Halloran was first inspired to investigate the stories of early female astronomers when she learned about astronomer Caroline Herschel. Though she worked alongside her brother, astronomer and composer William Herschel, Caroline is independently credited for discovering several comets.

“What was fascinating about her was, I wondered, ‘how many other women have, in the history of science in general, partnered or served as assistants to their brothers, their husbands, their uncles… and maybe we just don’t know about them?’” Halloran recalled.

The uniquely renowned findings of Caroline Herschel, the vital support provided by the female computers at the Harvard Observatory, and the important discoveries of countless other female scientists overshadowed by their male coworkers were, as Halloran described, “monumental for setting up the rise of astronomy in the next century.”

As such, Halloran’s work can be seen as crediting these women in a way that history has failed to do.

Patricia Ortega-Miranda, registrar and curatorial assistant at the University of Maryland Art Gallery and a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Art History and Archaeology, suggested that the perspective of female empowerment might have been the motivation for associate director Taras Matla to curate the work of Halloran, whom he met through a mutual friend.

“This year the university is celebrating … women’s suffrage,” Ortega-Miranda said.

The 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which granted women the right to vote, was passed by Congress in 1919. The year 2020 will mark a century since the amendment was ratified.

Douglas Bernal, a senior studio art major, said he appreciates the fact that Halloran’s efforts shine through the art.

“Dedication, commitment, y’know… all these tiny little dots,” Bernal said. “Very cool.”

Beyond the cyanotypes, “Lia Halloran: The Same Sky Overarches Us All” also contains “Double Horizon,” a three-channel video installation located behind black curtains in the gallery. The footage, featuring an original score by composer Allyson Newman, showcases an aerial view of Los Angeles. Halloran, who has learned how to pilot over the past several years, captured the view by attaching cameras to the exterior of a Cessna plane and flying the aircraft over the city.

“My medium that I use — sometimes I’m painting, sometimes I’m using photography, now I’m using video, I’ve created sculptures in the past — I wouldn’t say that I’m medium dependent, right?” Halloran mused. “And all my series — every new series presents an opportunity for me to work in a new and unique way.”

Halloran takes her desire to explore different mediums into her classes at Chapman University. This semester, she is putting her passion into action by teaching a course titled “The Intersection of Art and Science” in which students will be able to use visual systems and interact with professionals working on projects for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The University of Maryland Art Gallery, located in room 2202 of the Parren J. Mitchell Art-Sociology Building, is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information on Halloran’s exhibit, visit the Art Gallery’s website.