From an exhibition in 2024 at the Baltimore Museum of Art of the 50 years of creation of Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948

 

 

   The Way It Is, 1998 – William Stafford, American, 1914-1993

There’s a thread you follow. It goes among
things that change. But it doesn’t change.
People wonder about what you are pursuing.
You have to explain about the thread.
But it is hard for others to see.

While you hold it you can’t get lost.

Tragedies happen; people get hurt
or die; and you suffer and get old.
Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding.
You don’t ever let go of the thread.

 

 

 

Calling Her Mother’s Name

Joyce J. Scott is the daughter of Elizabeth Talford Scott (1916-2011) who migrated to Baltimore from the Carolinas  in search of a life free from the life-threatening social and economic ills to which Black Americans had been subjected since 1619 in the Deep South.

 

Joyce F. Scott was born in Baltimore and has lived and worked there ever since.

 

Here Joyce F. Scott calls to her mother.

 

 

as below

 

Raised by her mother alone, she remained very close to her mother.  It was her mother who taught her how to quilt when she was very young; and how  to embellish textiles with beads. 

At 23 she decided to become a studio artist.  Her studio and her mother’s were in their home and they talked about work and life until her mother died.

 

 

as below

 

The Baltimore Museum of Art mounted a retrospective of 50 years of Joyce J. Scott’s work in 2024.  In this same year, her mother’s textiles have been displayed in nine simultaneous locations in and around Baltimore.

 

 

I Call Her Name; plastic and glass beads, yarn, knotted fabric, ribbon, 2023.

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948. Collection of the artist on loan to the Baltimore Art Museum in 2024

 

 

 

 Joyce J. Scott in 2017 in Baltimore.  Photo from the net

 

 

Joyce J. Scott began to expand her beadwork technique after a stint at a school of crafts in Maine in 1976. 

There a a Muscogee (Creek) American Indian, Sandy Fife Wilson, taught her the peyote stitch: one of a group of stitches which does not involve the use of a loom (off-loom beading). 

The artist has continued to expand her use of indigenous beadwork  from studies in the United States and in Africa.

 

Off-loom beading technique creates two- and three-dimensional work. 

 

From the early 1990s, Joyce J. Scott began to learn glass-blowing and to incorporate glass in her work.

 

 

Aloft, 2016-2017, blown glass, beads, thread

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948. Private loan 2024 to the Baltimore Museum of Art.  Photos from the net

 

 

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The artist has evolved a personal understanding of the Buddha as a man who set an example for self-evolution. 

 

 

Buddha Transcends Fields of Dead Fire, 2004, beads, wire, thread, wood, glass

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948. Loaned in 2024 by a private collection to the Baltimore Museum of Art from whose site this photo 

 

 

 

 

Buddha Supports Shiva Awakening the Races, 1993, beads, thread, wire, fabric

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948. Loaned in 2024 by a private collection to the Baltimore Museum of Art from whose site this photo 

 

 

Buddha Gives Basketball to the Ghetto, 1991, beads, wire thread.

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948. Loaned in 2024 by a private collection to the Baltimore Museum of Art.  Photo from the net

 

 

 

Joyce J. Scott used beading in art clothing which she made in the 1970’s and 1980s.

 

 

 

Embellished clothing made for people whom the artist knew, late 1970s-1980s. 

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948.  Various ownerships on exhibit at the Baltimore Museum of Art in 2024

 

 

 

She uses beading in flat work:

 

 

 

Blue Baby Book Redux, 2018, glass beads, thread. 

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948.  Loaned by her Baltimore gallery to the Baltimore Museum of Art in 2024

 

 

 

Nuanced Veil, 2008-2017, pearls, thread, wire. 

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948.  Toledo Museum of Art loan to the Baltimore Art Museum in 2024

 

 

 

 

Happy Holocaust IV, fabric, thread, beads

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948.  Private collection loan to the Baltimore Art Museum in 2024

 

The reference is to the fear of nuclear annihilation in the 1980s before the fall of the USSR. 

The reverse applique embellishment technique and colour palette of this work was learned from the Kuna of the Panamanian San Blas Islands whom the artist visited in 1976.

 

 

 

 

Spring to Fall (Four Seasons), 1991, yarn, fabric, beads

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948. Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, OK loan to the Baltimore Museum in 2024

The artist wove this on her own 11′ wide loom at a time when she was in transition from textile to beadwork and glass.

 

 

 

She has adapted peyote beading to sculptural creation:

 

 

Daydreaming, 1995, beads, bone, steel, glass, thread

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948. Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, OK loan to the Baltimore Museum in 2024

 

 

 

 

Swimming Lessons, 2001, beads wire thread

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948. Private collection loan to the Baltimore Museum in 2024

 

 

 

 

Spring, 2000, blown glass, glass beads, wire, thread, fabric, leather, found object

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948. Mint Museum loan to the Baltimore Museum in 2024

 

 

 

 

Big Mama, 1991, glass and plastic beads, wire, fabric, thread

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948. Weatherspoon Art Museum loan to the Baltimore Museum in 2024

 

 

 

The artist addresses certain social ills:

misogyny, rape and rape as an instrument of war;

negative racist, stereotypes and discrimination;

the treatment of albinos in many societies;

the legacy of lynching in North America;

 

In 2015 in an interview the artist said:  “I would like my art to induce people to stop raping, torturing and shooting each other.  I don’t have the ability to end violence, sexism and racism…but my art can help them look and think.”

 

 

 

Yaller Girl, 2006, beads, thread, wood, found object

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948. Chrysler Museum of Art loan to the Baltimore Museum in 2024

 

There was no explanatory text of this sculpture which I take it refers to the persistence within the African American community of colorism  (discrimination by shade of skin colour)

 

 

 

Birthing Chair, 1987, beads, thread

 

 

 

Nanny Now, Nigger Later, 1986, leather, beads, fabric. From the series Mammy/Nanny

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948. Private collection loan to the Baltimore Art Museum in 2024

The artist  was herself a latchkey child while her mother spent her working days looking after the children of others and cleaning their homes.

 

 

 

No Mammy Me II, 1991, leather, beads, laminated photographic print, thread. From the series Mammy/Nanny.

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948. Private collection loan to the Baltimore Art Museum in 2024

 

 

 

Bosnia II, 2008, glass beads, thread.  From the series The Day After Rape

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948. The artist’s Baltimore gallery loan to the Baltimore Museum in 2024 

 

 

 

Darfur I, 2008; glass beads, thread. From the series The Day After Rape

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948. Private collection loan to the Baltimore Museum in 2024

 

 

 

 

Gathering Water, 2009, glass beads, thread, glass jar, wooden pipes.  From the series The Day After Rape

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948. The artist’s Baltimore gallery loan to the Baltimore Museum of Art in 2024

 

 

 

Gatherer of Wood, 2009, glass beads, thread, wood pipes, driftwood. From the series The Day After Rape

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948. Private loan to the Baltimore Museum in 2024

 

 

 

 

Decapitated Tanzanian Albino Boy Head from the Flayed Albino Series, 2009-2011, blown glass, beads, metal, thread

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948. The artist’s gallery, Baltimore loan to the Baltimore Museum in 2024  

 

Albinos are mistreated in many cultures.  In East Africa their lives are threatened by a trade in their body parts.  These are thought to bring power and good fortune.

 

 

Dead Albino Boy for sale from the series Flayed Tanzanian Albanians, 2020-21; glass and plastic beads, thread, wire

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948. Private collection loan to the Baltimore Museum in 2024

 

 

 

 

 

Rodney King’s Head Was Squashed Like A Watermelon, 1991, beads, thread

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948. Philadelphia Museum  loan to the Baltimore Museum in 2024

 

4 Los Angeles policemen were found not guilty of beating the African-American Rodney King (1965-2012) to very close to death on March 3, 1991, 

In Los Angeles, riots broke out lasting from April to May, resulting in the death of 63 people, 2,282 injured, more than 12,000 arrested. Property damage was estimated to be over one billion dollars. 

 

 

 

 

Three Graces Oblivious While Los Angeles Burns, 1992, glass, nylon

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948. The Corning Museum of Glass loan to the Baltimore Museum in 2024

 

Predominantly African-American sections of Los Angeles were set afire in the wake of the near-murder of Rodney King by Los Angeles policemen who were subsequently acquitted.   

 

 

Cuddly Black Dick III, glass beads, porcelain doll head and hands, thread wire

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948. Private collection loan to the Baltimore Museum in 2024

 

The objectification of the sexuality of African American men in the US has long contributed to the insanity of North American racism.

 

 

 

 Man Eating Watermelon, beads and thread, 1986

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948.  Private collection loan to the Baltimore Museum of Art in 2024

Watermelon is used as a negative metaphor for African Americans in North America

 

 

 

 

Lynched Tree, 2011-2024, plastic and glass beads, blown glass, thread, wire, wood, metal, wire, found objects

Lynched Tree, 2011-2024, plastic and glass beads, blown glass, thread, wire, wood, metal, wire, found objects

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948.  Baltimore Museum of Art

 

Lynching is a form of extra-judicial murder.

The first recorded lynching of an Afro-American man in the United States dates to 1835.  It is thought that a little more than 4600 people had been lynched by 1941 when this form of murder came to an end. The majority were African American males. 

Extra-judicial killings at the hands of the forces of ‘law and order’, and of others – of African Americans and others  continue.

 

 

 

The artist calls on African archetypes for some of her creations:

 

 

 

Nkisi #2, 2017, glass, plastic and clay beads, cast glass, thread, wire, found objects

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948. Private collection loan to the Baltimore Museum in 2024

 

Nkinsi are potent spiritual entities with supernatural powers which are represented in wooden objects of all kinds by Kongo cultures.  It was and is believed that these objects summon these powers into the real world. 

 

 

 

Shhhhh!, 2012, plastic and glass beads, thread, fabric, found object

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948. Tucson Museum of Art loan to the Baltimore Museum in 2024

 

 

 

 

Trickster Savior – the Salvation of African Albinos from the series Flayed Tanzanian Albinos, 2021-2022, glass beads, thread, wire 

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948. Loaned by the artist’s Baltimore gallery to the Baltimore Museum in 2024

 

 

 

 

Mama Wadja IV. c. 1978-81, fabric, yarn, ceramic, shells

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948. Private collection loan to the Baltimore Museum in 2024

 

Mami Wata is an African diasporic water deity, half female, half fish or half serpent who symbolizes good fortune, healing and fertility.  She also carries the threat of destruction. 

This deity evolved during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and incorporates ideas which came from the meetings of peoples from different  Transatlantic cultures.

 

 

 

Probably the most widely known of Joyce J. Scott’s work is the large collection of beaded jewellery which she has created.

Some are themed.  Others are whimsy. All are highly prized.

 

 

 

Joyce’s Necklace, 1978-1985, thread, beads, silver, enamel, metal, horn, stones, ivory, charms

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948. Yale University Art Gallery loan to the Baltimore Museum in 2024

 

 

 

 

Africa, c. 1980, glass beads on synthetic thread

Joyce Scott, American born 1948.  Smithsonian Renwick Gallery, Washington, DC loan to the Baltimore Art Museum in 2024

 

 

 

 

Spanish Saint, c. 1980, beads, photographic print, thread, plastic, leather, ribbon, found objects

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948. Loaned by the Pennsylvania Convention Authority, from whose website this photo, to the Baltimore Museum in 2024

 

 

 

 

Adam and Eve Being Cast From The Garden of Eden, 1981-82; glass and metal beads, wire, leather

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston loan to the Baltimore Museum in 2024

 

 

 

 

Mulatto in South Africa, 1986, glass beads, thread, plastic, photographic prints

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948. Private loan to the Baltimore Museum in 2024

The theme dates to before the end of Apartheid when there was legal discrimination against entire categories of people including mixed-race children

 

 

 

 

Night in the City necklace, 1990, glass and metal beads, PVC, photo and laminated print, synthetic suede, nickel silver on thread, wire and monofilament

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948. Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY loan to the Baltimore Museum in 2024

 

 

 

Lynching Necklace, 1998, glass beads, thread

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948.  Baltimore Museum of Art

 

 

 

 

Untitled (Joyce J. Scott Wearing Lynching Necklace, 1998), gelatin silver print, late 1990s-2024. 

Carl Clark, 1935-2015, American. Private loan to the Baltimore Museum of Art in 2024

 

 

 

 

None Are Free Until All Are Free, 2006, glass and plastic beads, thread

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948. Yale University Art Gallery loan to the Baltimore Museum in 2024

 

 

 

What You Mean Jungle Music, 1987, beads, laminated photographic prints, thread

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948. Private loan to the Baltimore Museum in 2024

 

 

Peeping Redux, 2013, glass beads, thread wire

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948. Private loan to the Baltimore Museum in 2024 from whose website this photo

 

 

 

 

Olivia’s Necklace, 2021, glass and sterling silver beads, sapphires, sterling silver, thread and wire

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948. Private loan to the Baltimore Museum in 2024

 

 

 

 

Passion, 2023, glass beads, thread

Joyce J. Scott, American born 1948.  Loan to the Baltimore Museum in 2024 of the artists’ galleries