Ornament is the leading magazine celebrating wearable art. Explore jewelry, fashion, beads; contemporary, ancient and ethnographic.
Issue link: http://ornamentmagazine.epubxp.com/i/476566
T he question of how stories come into being is not something we tend to consider; indeed, our predilection is for enjoying them, not questioning how they came about. But the DNA strands of the narrative wind themselves together from happenstance and memory, chance encounters and relationships between people, objects and ideas. If one were to see this ephemeral process translated into physical form, there is no need to look any further than the complicated web of connections created by master beadworker Joyce J. Scott. Including both new directions and traditional (for her) work, Scott's jewelry and glass sculptures are the sole subject of "Maryland to Murano: Neckpieces and Sculptures by Joyce J. Scott," recently shown at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York. The marriage of retrospective with new art, derived from Scott's collaboration with Murano glassblowers, creates a depth of content that made the exhibition a holistic and powerful experience. Indeed, the inclusion of these large glasswork sculptures is a necessary keystone to understanding how the African-American artist expresses her most passionate interest, the art of storymaking. The genesis lies in the beads, though. Scott distinguished herself from the many jewelers who utilized seed beads by making work that was not solely aesthetic but figural and representational. They are collages of imagery, like a scrapbook but with a central point in mind, left to the viewer's interpretation but orchestrated in order to achieve a certain effect. COBALT, YELLOW CIRCLES CLOSEUP of glass beads, thread, 2010. Collection of Joanna Gold and Andrew Stern. Courtesy of Goya Contemporary. Photographs by Carolyn L. E. Benesh/Ornament except where noted. glass arts Patrick R. Benesh-Liu MARYLAND T O MURANO