Joyce J. Scott

Family
Now On View

Maker

Joyce J. Scott (American, b. 1948 in Baltimore)

Title

Family

Year

2009

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Dimensions

33 x 22.9 cm (13 x 9 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Georgianna Sayles Aldrich Fund

Object Number

2019.37

Type

Publications

  • Journal

Manual / Issue 14: Shadows

The RISD Museum’s fourteenth issue of Manual shines a light on the shadow, centering the black body as a site of possibility, liberatory self-awareness, radical non-conformity, and joyful defiance. This issue serves as a companion to the exhibition Defying the Shadow.

Manual 14: Shadows opens with an excerpt on the shadow from W. E. B. Du Bois’s The Souls of Black Folk, followed by an introduction by Dr. Anita N. Bateman, who elucidates: “Operating in the shadow comes with a legacy of resistance, both in spiritual and ideological forms.”

Articles

Jewelry from the Decorative Arts and Design Collection

The American and European jewelry collection at the RISD Museum, part of the Decorative Arts and Design Department, is made up of more than 800 works, including necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and rings from the medieval period to present day.

Exhibition History

Art and Design from 1900 to Now
Jun 04, 2022 – Dec 01, 2030

Label copy

The title of this work conjures up many meanings, from the families we’re born into to those we choose. Joyce J. Scott uses swirling blue glass beads to represent water, linking together a family with different skin tones as both sides meet in the center. To make this necklace, Scott employed the peyote stitch- also known as gourd stitch-a method of weaving beads that has had a pervasive global presence, especially among Native North Americans. Scott’s process explores jewelry beyond its function as adornment, examining topics such as racism, sexism, and stories from her African American heritage in each piece of wearable art.

- Emily Banas, Assistant Curator of Decorative Arts and Design

Image use

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In copyright This object is in copyright

Tombstone

Joyce J. Scott (American, b. 1948 in Baltimore)
Family, 2009
Glass beads
33 x 22.9 cm (13 x 9 inches)
Georgianna Sayles Aldrich Fund 2019.37

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