Impact on Innocence: Mass Incarceration

February 1 - 22, 2019
Opening Reception: Friday, February 1, 5-7 pm

 

Using a variety of materials to communicate human conditions, southern California artist Deborah McDuff offers us an unprecedented opportunity to challenge our views.  Specifically, it is our beliefs and unfortunate widespread opposition to the plight of children and families whose loved ones are incarcerated that the artist shines light upon.  The use of charcoal on canvas allows her to add, reduce, and blend the emotional impact of loss, abandonment and burdens placed upon children and caretakers. For McDuff, the black and white color scheme represents the stark reality of this American atrocity.  In other works, she records a poetic story of prisoners and mimics the sounds of anxiety.  As she says, “Children do not choose their parents.  Why should they endure a life sentence too?”

Deborah McDuff earned a BA degree in Liberals Arts from Antioch University and MFA in Visuals Arts from Lesley University, College of Art and Design. As a self-employed artist, social and cultural issues as well as materials influence her multi-layered aesthetic.  Her worked has been exhibited at festivals, galleries, museums, and universities.