Nancy McCadden-O'Brien Artist Work and Statement "What Falls Away"

Authors

Nancy E. McCadden, Bridgewater State UniversityFollow

Abstract

Artist Statement: What Falls Away

Nancy McCadden O’Brien

Like a portrait can elevate a figure, still-life wields the power to hoist the mundane.

My charcoal still-life drawings beautify and glorify discarded natural and man-made objects and spaces, inviting the viewer to contemplate the passage of time, age, and mortality. My practice involves scavenging wooded and domestic areas, seeking materials in varying degrees of decay and disrepair—removing them from their original environment and curating them into controlled compositions. A deliberate nod is made toward the genre of Vanitas, in particular, the still-life painters of the Dutch Golden Age as objects are placed to interact and contrast with each other to reflect the tension around the desire to control the cyclical nature of life. By rendering objects at their actual size, the still lifes invite the viewer to relate to the drawings on a human scale. This collection of large still-lifes will be paired with a series of small companion drawings featuring the debris and detritus that accumulate and fall away during the process. This thesis will explore the ideas surrounding time, age, and mortality and how they can be related to and expressed visually through still life.

Note on the Author

Nancy is pursuing her Master of Art in Teaching in Visual Arts. McCadden-O'Brien's research and studio exploration were completed in the Fall of 2024 under the mentorships of Professors Amy Lovera and Leigh Craven. Her research was aided through the Jenkin's Fund for Research and Creative Projects during the Spring of 2023. Nancy is a Secondary Art Educator in Massachusetts.

Recommended Citation

McCadden, Nancy E. (2025) Nancy McCadden-O'Brien Artist Work and Statement "What Falls Away". The Graduate Review, 10.
Available at: https://vc.bridgew.edu/grad_rev/vol10/iss1/4