Joyce J. Scott

Joyce J. Scott’s necklace Run Down on the Highway of Love presents a complex visual narrative using meticulous beadwork, sewn leather, and small sculptural forms to explore themes of trauma, intimacy, and identity. Made in 1986, the piece is emblematic of Scott’s signature style of using traditional bead weaving techniques to craft figurative compositions that address deeply embedded cultural and political issues.

The necklace is composed of brightly colored, beaded figures entangled in a chaotic string of forms that stretch across the structure. Rendered in expressive gestures and bold hues, the figures appear mid-fall or mid-chase, suggesting both motion and disorientation. Their contorted bodies are juxtaposed with architectural and symbolic fragments, including a window, suggesting moments of entrapment or escape. Scott uses these forms to comment on the psychological and physical consequences of violence, often with specific attention to the Black female body.

The title, Run Down on the Highway of Love, invites multiple interpretations. On one level, it evokes a road metaphor, a literal journey or a fatal collision, with “love” positioned not as safe haven but as a volatile terrain. This emotional and metaphorical charge is intensified by the medium itself. Scott’s use of glass seed beads, objects associated with embellishment or domestic craft, becomes a subversive tool, contrasting fragility with the weight of social commentary.

Scott’s formal training in fine arts and her background in African-American craft traditions converge in this piece, underscoring her larger project: to unsettle assumptions about both race and medium. She has described her work as a way of “messing with stereotypes,” and Run Down on the Highway of Love exemplifies this strategy by engaging viewers with its dazzling surface while embedding a darker undercurrent beneath.

Now held in several major public collections, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Baltimore Museum of Art, Scott’s work remains influential in the fields of contemporary jewelry, sculpture, and socially engaged art. Run Down on the Highway of Love captures both the technical precision and the emotional insight that characterize Scott’s broader practice.

References

Craft in America. “Joyce J. Scott.” Accessed July 8, 2025. https://www.craftinamerica.org/artist/joyce-j-scott/.

The Baltimore Museum of Art. “Joyce J. Scott: Walk a Mile in My Dreams.” Accessed July 8, 2025. https://artbma.org/exhibition/joyce-j-scott-walk-a-mile-in-my-dreams.

Smithsonian American Art Museum. “Joyce J. Scott.” Accessed July 8, 2025. https://americanart.si.edu/artist/joyce-scott-7088.

Peter Blum Gallery. “Joyce J. Scott.” Accessed July 8, 2025. https://www.peterblumgallery.com/artists/joyce-j-scott.

Artnet. “Joyce J. Scott.” Accessed July 8, 2025. https://www.artnet.com/artists/joyce-j-scott/.