The second installment examines the ways in which four artists use their work to picture war, express outrage and empathize with the suffering of others: Nancy Spero, An-My Lê, Alfredo Jaar and Jenny Holzer.

The second installment examines the ways in which four artists use their work to picture war, express outrage and empathize with the suffering of others. Politics and the brutality of war underscore many of Nancy Spero's paintings. A pioneer of feminist art, she creates easily read yet complicated work that makes an unapologetic statement against, and generates discussion about, the abuse of power, privilege and male dominance. Landscape photographer An-My Lê's black-and-white images examine the impact, representation and meaning of war, as well as the relationship between military activity and the surrounding terrain. Lê draws on her own childhood experience as a refugee of the Vietnam War to capture compelling photographs reflecting current American involvement in the Middle East. Basing his work on research, reflection and response to horrific events, Alfredo Jaar's installations, films and community-based projects communicate a specific experience to his audience, capturing beauty but also confronting horror. Jaar identifies the gap between reality and its representation, and his work explores the limits of art to accurately represent tragic world events, from genocide to poverty and famine. Jenny Holzer, well-known for her subversive use of text and poetry, focuses on cruelty, devastation, consumerist impulses, death and disease in order to provoke a critical response from the viewer. Whether in an installation of declassified war documents or a large-scale projection of text from provocative essays, Holzer presents words in ways that are overwhelming, exacting and illustrate the power of language to harm or heal, expose or conceal.