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What drew you to the figure of Joan of Arc?
Fascination. After I came home after that first trip, I started
reading, researching, ordering books, and collecting things.
The more I saw, the more captivated I became, primarily
with the fact that no one ever made a picture of her during
her lifetime. She has such a presence in France, but no one
knows what she looks like. All of these artists were making
her appear the way they thought she looked. That idea
appealed to me as a concept: that there are no real pictures
of her, but there are thousands of imaginary pictures of
her. I decided I would travel and photograph the path she
traveled and transplant some of those artists’ ideas of her
into the places she actually went to give St. Joan a sense of
place. I wanted to bring her alive for people in a way no
one had before.
What is the significance of this project to you?
I didn’t set out to find a feminist heroine, but I think that
her short life and her courage were exemplary and totally
feminist. Some discredit her by saying she had migraines
or was insane and delusionary. People often try to explain
mystical things away, but not all things can be explained.
Some things are meant to be left as mysteries. I think what
appealed to me is that St. Joan of Arc was a real person who
lived—and not only lived, but was completely fearless. She
has been a role model for young women through the ages.
She wasn’t a fifty-year-old woman, she was a young girl. I
feel that makes her more appropriate as a heroine for young
girls who may be confused or having trouble growing into
strong and determined young women.
What is the biggest takeaway that you want visitors of
Searching for Jehanne — the Joan of Arc Project
to have?
I think I want visitors to feel like they know St. Joan of Arc,
like they have met her. I know that I did not really know
much about her before this project, and I think most people
do not. They know she was burned at the stake, and that
is about it. People do not understand how young she was.
She was still essentially a child when she saved France
and died. Everyone has this impression that she was this
incredibly powerful, strong woman, but she was a teenager.
I guess I want people to know the true St. Joan better, to
know more about who she was and how remarkable what
she did really was.
Is there anything else you want visitors of
Searching for
Jehanne — the Joan of Arc Project
to know about?
This exhibition is not about me, it is about Joan. I want
visitors to read the titles, which are all quotes from Joan
herself. I want them to learn something and have something
to take away. I want visitors to feel that they now know
something about Joan, that on some level they know her.
Images (left to right):
The time was right to act,
2013-2015, Susan Aurinko. Courtesy of the artist;
But for God’s grace, I could do nothing,
2013-2015
,
Susan Aurinko. Courtesy of the artist.
Artist Susan Aurinko. Image courtesy of the artist.