Photographers look at 'War on Terror'

Stacy Pearsall photographs a soldier sitting on a cot, reflecting on a lethal firefight that killed some of his comrades earlier that day. Eight thousand miles away, Christopher Sims snaps a picture of an actor dressed as an Iraqi insurgent in the backwoods of Louisiana.

The two separate viewpoints highlighted by Pearsall and Sims will be showcased in the "War on Terror" art exhibition at the College of Charleston's Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art.

Pearsall hopes that her photographs will change the way people view the military.

"Every moment a soldier is deployed, they are doing something, whether that be hunting down the enemy, fighting in combat or consoling another soldier," said Pearsall, a freelance photographer and part-time director of the Charleston Center for Photography, 654 King St. "I hope my pictures reflect what these guys are seeing and feeling."

Pearsall began her career at 17 as an Air Force photographer. After 10 years of service, she retired from the military when an insurgent attack severely injured her neck and back.

"I went from going 100 miles an hour to 50 miles an hour," Pearsall said. "When I was in the military, every day was a very intense, life- or-death situation. Now, I worry about keeping appointments and doing my daily chores."

After retiring in 2007, Pearsall won the National Press Photographers Association's Military Photographer of the Year award. She is one of two women to win the award and the only woman to win twice.

"The amount of female photographers has been growing by leaps and bounds. I just wish that the same could be said for the amount of female photographers on the front line," Pearsall said. "I think that people should be more accepting of what a woman wants to be, whether that is a stay-at-home mom or a war correspondent."

The art exhibition juxtaposes the work of two artists focused on different aspects of the war on terror, said Mark Sloan, director of the Halsey Institute.

While Pearsall's work shows American troops in combat, Sims' photographs capture simulated Iraqi and Afghan villages in North Carolina, Louisiana and California. The military uses war simulations to train soldiers.

"It is kind of strange because on one hand, the simulations have a real fidelity to them, but at the same time, you are surrounded by pine trees in the middle of a forest," said Sims, a professor at Duke University.

The exhibition will be on display until Feb. 27, closing with the screening of "Full Battle Rattle." The gallery is at 54 St. Philip St. in downtown Charleston, and its hours are 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Saturday.

For more information about this event, visit www.halsey.cofc.edu.