Photograph by Ed Pollard, Hasselblad H4D50 - 2016.

Head Shot

Artist Joyce J. Scott (American, born 1948)

CultureAmerican

Date2008

MediumGlass beads and mold-blown glass with thread and bullet casings

Dimensions18 1/2 × 4 1/2 × 4 1/2 in., 3 lb. (47 × 11.4 × 11.4 cm, 1.4 kg)

Credit LineMuseum purchase

Object number2016.36.2

On View

Not on view

DescriptionThis sculpture is composed of a transparent green glass bottle made in the shape of a hand holding a gun, with its index finger poised on the trigger. Attached to the top of the barrel of the glass gun is a sculptural representation of a black man’s head, created by threading together mahogany, light brown, cream, and yellow glass beads. The inside of the top of the man’s head is exposed, revealing a concave beaded yellow brain with brown lines. Filling the inside of the green glass bottle are gold-colored bullet casings of various sizes.
Label TextJoyce Scott American, born 1948 Head Shot, 2008 Glass beads and mold-blown glass with thread and bullet casings 18 ½ x 4 ½ x 4 ½ inches Museum purchase 2016.36.2 ProvenanceFrom the artist to her representing gallery, the Goya Contemporary Gallery in Baltimore, Maryland. Purchased from the Goya Contemporary Gallery in December 2016 by the museum.Exhibition History"Joyce J. Scott: Harriet Tubman and Other Truths," Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton, New Jersey, October 22, 2017 - April 1, 2018. "Come Together, Right Now: The Art of Gathering," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, October 11, 2020 - January 3, 2021. “Joyce J. Scott: Walk a Mile in My Dreams,” Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD, March 24 – July 14, 2024; Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA, October 17, 2024 – January 20, 2025. Published ReferencesLowery Stokes Sims and Patterson Sims, _Joyce J. Scott: Harriet Tubman and Other Truths_, (Hamilton, New Jersey: Grounds for Sculpture, 2018), pg. 76-77, fig. 37. Catharina Manchanda and Cecilia Wichmann, eds., _Joyce J. Scott: Walk a Mile in My Dreams_ (New Haven: Yale University Press with Seattle Art Museum and Baltimore Museum of Art, 2024) 111, plate 75.