Study for Joan Portrait (Puberty)
Bunny Rogers
Fine Art Print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag
edition 1/3
70 × 58 × 4 cm
2016
Acquisition 2016
Inv. No. 0325
The figure holds its hands crossed over its legs. She wears gray socks and has long hair, but individual markings, even a face, are missing. Her forehead is cut off like a bowl. Her slender body sits puny, like a shy doll in 3D. With this beige figure, Rogers refers to Joan of Arc from the cartoon series "Clone High," which aired on MTV between 2002 and 2003. The U.S. Army put genetic copies into the world to make use of their characteristics. Among them is the historical Jean d'Arc, who turns out to be a prickly teenager. The humor of the series develops through the contrast of the personality of the clones in high school with the values of the historical namesakes. Bunny Rogers was 13 when the series aired. The cartoon character has since become her alter ego. Faced with multiple transmissions, the question arises as to who Joan of Arc really is/was: the historical figure, Joan of Arc, who sacrifices herself for her beliefs, the Joan of Arc of the series, who takes charge of her life and rejects her suitors, or Bunny Rogers, who outsources her selfhood in these contrasting characters.
Thomas D. Trummer, 2021 (translation: Virginia Dellenbaugh)
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