Joyce J. Scott

Joyce J. Scott
Born	1948 Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Nationality	American
Education	Maryland Institute College of Art, Instituto Allende Mexico
Parent(s)	Charlie Scott Jr., Elizabeth Talford Scott

Joyce J. Scott (born 1948) is an African-American artist, sculptor, quilter, performance artist, installation artist, lecturer and educator. Best known for her figurative sculptures and jewelry using free form, off-loom bead weaving techniques, similar to a peyote stitch. One piece may be constructed with thousands of glass seed or pony beads, and incorporate various other found objects and materials such as glass, quilting, and leather. Scott is influenced by a variety of diverse cultures, including Native American and African traditions,illustration and comic books, and pop culture.^[1]

Scott is renowned for her social commentary on issues such as racism, sexism, violence and stereotypes.^[2] as well as themes of spiritual healing.^[3]

Life and work

"I make jewelry to be worn. And if it tells about scary, icky subjects, then so much the better for the person who has the cojones to wear it in public."^[4]

Scott was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1948, the daughter of Charlie Scott Jr. and noted quilt maker Elizabeth Talford Scott.^[5] She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art (graduated 1970), and an Masters of Fine Arts from the Instituto Allende in Mexico.^[6] Later, Scott pursued further education at Rochester Institute of Technology in New York and Haystack Mountain School of crafts in Maine.^[1] Scott's own mother was an artist who both taught Scott appliqué quilting techniques and encouraged her to pursue her career as an artist as well.^[7]

Scott is also influenced by craft traditions in her extended family of "quilters, woodworkers, basketweavers, chair caners, planters and blacksmiths", where people developed skills in more than one craft so that they could survive.^[5]

Scott's African influences are manifested in her use of intricate and elaborate decoration. According to scholar Leslie King-Hammond, African arts and tradition functioned to transform every day objects into beautiful decorations.^[1]

Scott's practice includes performance in addition to sculpture. Her unapologetically critical and humorous personality is often employed in her performances to critique issues such as feminism, sexism, and racism.^[1]

Scott's work

Her Solo Exhibits include:^[8]

1981 Something Got a Hold on Me

Washington Project for the Arts, Washington, DC

1985 Dreamweaver

The Cultural Center, Chicago Public Library, Illinois

1988 Thru the Veil-

Textile Center for the Arts, Chicago, Illinois

1992 Dimensional Objects and Jewelry, Politics of the Body

Esther Saks Fine Art, Ltd, Chicago, Illinois

1999 Lithographs and Monoprints

Goya-Girls Press, Baltimore, Maryland

Scott's works are held by the Baltimore Museum of Art, Detroit Institute of Arts, Michigan, the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, St. Louis, Missouri, the Mint Museum of Art, North Carolina, the Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas, and the Smithsonian Institution.^[9]

Selected Honors and Awards

Below are a few selected awards, honors and fellowships Scott has received so far in her career:^[10]

• Masters of the Medium, James Renwick Alliance, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC (2006)
• Governor's Arts Award at Artsalute: Maryland Citizens for the Arts Foundation, Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD (2002)
• Fellow, American Craft Council, New York, NY (2001)
• National Living Treasure Award, Maryland Nominee (1996)
• Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Award (1994)
• Pace Roberts Fellowship (1994)
• National Printing Fellowship (1992)
• Mid Atlantic Consortium Award (1990)
• Maryland State Arts Council Fellowship (1987, 1981)
• Fellowship, National Endowment of the Arts (1980)

Museum collections

• Voices, 1993. Museum of Arts and Design ^[11]
• Lovers, 2002. Museum of Arts and Design ^[12]
• Water Mammy 1, 2012. Museum of Arts and Design ^[13]
• Three Graces Oblivious While Los Angeles Burns, 1992. The Corning Museum of Glass ^[14]
• Joyce J. Scott. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, Maryland
• Rodney King's Head Was Squashed Like a Watermelon, 1991. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Flaming Skeleton #3, 1993. Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Michigan
• The Sneak, 1989. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas
• Sixteen Days in His Life, 1997-99. Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, St. Louis, Missouri
• Joyce J. Scott. Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina
• Necklace, 1994. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington D.C. ,
• Africa, ca. 1980. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington D.C.
• Caffeine, 1994-99. Spencer Museum of Art, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas
• Beaded Necklace. Racine Art Museum, Racine, Wisconsin

Further reading

• Joyce J. Scott: Kickin’ It with the Old Masters. Baltimore, MD: Baltimore Museum of Art : Maryland Institute, College of Art. 2000. pp. 108 p. ISBN 0912298723.
• Stankard, Paul J. "Burning Embers." Glass Quarterly, no. 136 (Autumn 2014): 26-34.

References

1. "U.S. Department of State - Art in Embassies". art.state.gov. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
2. "Joyce J. Scott: U.S Department of State – Art in Embassies".
3. Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture (2011). Material Girls: Contemporary Black Women Artists (1st ed.). Baltimore, Md: Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture. p. 30. ISBN 9780615436142.
4. "Joyce Scott". Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Renwick Gallery. Retrieved 2014-02-01.
5. Maria Gallagher, "The Scotts Reap What they Sew: Artists are Influenced by Slavery, African-American Themes," Daily News (September 8, 1989).
6. Stankard, Paul J. (Autumn 2014). "Burning Embers". Glass Quarterly.
7. http://art.state.gov/artistdetail.aspx?id=159616
8. Scott, Joyce (2000). Kickin' It with the Old Masters - Catalog. Baltimore, MD: Baltimore Museum of Art. pp. 95–96. ISBN 978-0912298726.
9. "Joyce J. Scott Online". Art Cyclopedia. Retrieved 2014-02-01.
10. Oldknow, Tina (2014). Collecting Contemporary Glass. Corning, New York: The Corning Museum of Glass. p. 276. ISBN 978-0-87290-201-5.
11. "Museum of Arts and Design Collection Database". collections.madmuseum.org. Retrieved 2016-03-03.
12. "Museum of Arts and Design Collection Database". collections.madmuseum.org. Retrieved 2016-03-03.
13. "Museum of Arts and Design Collection Database". collections.madmuseum.org. Retrieved 2016-03-03.
14. "Collection Search | Corning Museum of Glass". www.cmog.org. Retrieved 2016-03-03.

External links

• Oral history interview with Joyce J. Scott, 2009 July 22, from The Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, Archives of American Art.
• Craft in America, Joyce J. Scott PBS Documentary
• Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass, Joyce J. Scott, Artist of the Month July 2010 -
• Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass, Joyce J. Scott, Short Resume
• Interview with Curtia James, from Sources: Multicultural Influences on Contemporary African American Sculptors, February 2 - April 11, 1994, The Art Gallery at the University of Maryland at College Park
• Joyce J. Scott Kickin' It with the Old Masters exhibition, Prints, Drawings and Photographs Department Records finding aid, Archives and Manuscripts Collections, The Baltimore Museum of Art
• Joyce J. Scott: Painful Death / Painless Life, November 15, 2008 - January 23, 2009, Goya Contemporary - Goya Girl Press, Baltimore, MD
• Joyce J. Scott: Images Concealed, February 9 - March 19, 1995, San Francisco Art Institute
• Breathe: Joyce J. Scott, February 23 - April 20, 2007, Goya Contemporary - Goya Girl Press, Baltimore, MD
• On Kilter: Joyce J. Scott, September 12 - November 10, 2012, Goya Contemporary - Goya Girl Press, Baltimore, MD
• Talking Shop: Craft + Defiance November 17, 2015 at Baltimore School for the Arts, The Contemporary, Baltimore, MD