American Jewelry and the Counterculture

Thu, Nov 19, 2020

In celebration of the forthcoming publication In Flux: American Jewelry and the Counterculture, join the book's coauthor and MFA Houston's Sara and Bill Morgan Curator of Decorative Arts, Craft, and Design Cindi Strauss for a conversation on Zoom with artists Harriete Estel Berman and Joyce J. Scott. The artists, whose works are currently on view in 45 Stories in Jewelry: 1947 to Now, will discuss their early experiences as makers in the turbulent and politically exciting period of the 1970s and early 1980s.

This event is presented as part of New York City Jewelry Week in partnership with Art Jewelry Forum, who are fiscal sponsors of In Flux: American Jewelry and the Counterculture.

The event is free for MAD Members and Art Jewelry Forum members. MAD Members, please email membership@madmuseum.org to receive your promo code for free tickets. AJF Members may email yvonne@artjewelryforum.org.

About the panelists

Harriete Estel Berman received her BFA from Syracuse University in 1974 and a MFA from Tyler School of Art, Temple University in 1980. Since then she has exhibited regularly in the United States and Europe, including seven solo exhibitions. Her work is in the permanent collections of sixteen museum and featured in over forty-two books. In addition to giving workshops and lectures, Berman is the author of the Professional Guidelines and ASK Harriete, offering professional development advice and information to the arts and crafts community. Berman also does repair and restorations of sterling silver and silver plate for her business, Berman Fine Silverwork.

Cindi Strauss is the Sara and Bill Morgan Curator of Decorative Arts, Craft, and Design and Assistant Director, Programming at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. She received her B.A. with honors in art history from Hamilton College and her M.A. in the history of decorative arts from Cooper Hewitt/Parsons School of Design. At the MFAH, Cindi is responsible for the acquisition, research, publication, and exhibition of post-1900 decorative arts, design, and craft with a specialty in contemporary jewelry. She has authored or contributed to catalogues and journals on decorative arts and design topics and has been a frequent lecturer at museums nationwide.

MacArthur “Genius” Fellow, Joyce J. Scott is best known for her figurative sculpture and jewelry using bead weaving techniques, as well as blown glass and found objects.  As an African-American, feminist artist, Scott unapologetically confronts difficult themes as diverse as her subjects, which include race, misogyny, sexuality, stereotypes, gender inequality, economic disparity, history, politics, rape, and discrimination. Over the past 50 years, Scott has also established herself as an innovative fiber artist, print maker, installation artist, vocalist, and  performer. She earned her BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art, and an MFA from the Instituto Allende in Mexico.  In 2018, she was awarded an honorary fellowship from NYU, and an honorary doctorate from The Maryland Institute College of Art and The California Institute of the Arts.  Scott currently lives and works in Baltimore, Maryland.

Please review our health and safety protocols before you arrive. MAD strongly recommends all visitors six months and older are vaccinated against Covid-19 and visitors ages two and up wear face coverings, even if vaccinated. Thank you for your cooperation.

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