Joan of Arc (further research)

Joan of Arc, also known by her French name Jehanne d'Arc, is a heroine whose background and morals makes her an intriguing historical and political figure.

She was from a peasant family and was born in the early fifteenth century in a village in Northern France known as Domremy.

By the age of 12, she later explained that she began hearing the voices in her head, over her right shoulder specifically and accompanied with a bright light. She also later said that she was better able to hear them when bells rang, leading today's psychologists to believe she was suffering from mental illness symptoms, most likely schizophrenia or a gradual destruction of the brain's cognitive/perceptual abilities, and numerous others that cause hallucinations.

Interestingly, Joan of Arc was illiterate and despite this handicap she was still able to command the French army with intellect and sharp grasp of military strategy.

When the voices in her head grew stronger, she decided to seek out King Louis, the French king at the time in order to save France and bring the next king, Charles VII, to the throne.

In order to travel the distance, she dressed in a male disguise to be able to arrive at her destination without being raped or turned back for being a woman.

After successfully leading the French army against the almost invincible and powerful British army in a number of battles and sieges, most memorably the siege of Orleans, Joan was captured and tried for heresy on about seventy counts, many of which were dismissed because of certain morals she upheld.

While her devout faith was clearly seen in her determination, the court was angered at her cross-dressing and her claims that God spoke to her.

However, some defended her cross-dressing, and she herself explained that she was fully dressed in men's clothes and armor during war at all times because her virginity was often threatened, especially after she was captured in her prison cell. Others saw that it was necessary because she was after all, doing a "man's work" and she did not want to seem like a desirous woman. By cross-dressing, she eliminated men's view of her as a woman and instead as a leader.

Although she challenged the medieval expectations of women, she wasn't a feminist. She went so far as to expel female followers of the army and used force when necessary. Joan of Arc believed that extraordinary people from whatever status, if divinely chosen, can rise to the occasion.

During the trial, she was confirmed as a virgin and so could not in actuality be convicted of witchcraft. She was burned at the stake after signing a document she couldn't read that stated she would give up men's clothing, etc.

While Joan of Arc dressed as a man and cropped her hair short in a hairstyle known as the "pageboy" cut, made popular by the knights at the time, she dressed as a woman when not necessary to engage in war.

She agreed to dress as a woman during the trial, but her guards attempted to rape her so she donned men's clothing once again.

Joan of Arc died as a woman, in a dress marked with a cross.

Stilke Hermann Anton - Joan of Arc's death at the stake

The fact that she was a virgin and expelled females from the army and dressed as a man to preserve her virginity makes her a political figure of virtue and inspiration because she was a sorely needed hero during the Hundred Years' War.


Her rebellious hair (although not actually intended to be rebellious) inspired the Roaring Twenties' flappers to crop their hair short as well in a style known as the "bob," which originated in Paris in 1909.

Joan of Arc should not be considered a feminist, yet her transformation from a woman to a man in order to carry out her "God-given" duty is one that intrigues us still today because it was considered almost heretical and forbidden by the Church; yet she was a virgin. Virgins were highly regarded because they represented the ideal Medieval God-fearing woman, and so Joan of Arc possessed a sort of leadership and power because she was so devout and firm in her faith. Her cross dressing was not done to offend the Church but rather to protect her virginity - a confusing act for the court in England to interpret as heretical.

She challenges gender roles today because what defines a "man's job" ? What defines a "woman's job" ? She is still an enduring figure of interest today because of her unique traits and defiance of criticism.
Her transformation reflects the very struggles that broke down medieval society - are the established rules always right?




Sites for information

http://www.biographyonline.net/women/joan-of-arc.html

http://www.history.com/news/7-things-you-didnt-know-about-joan-of-arc

Joan of Arcadia

Joan of Arc was a simple French girl born on the countryside in the early fifteenth century.

She was a typical peasant girl who tended to the flocks and spun to earn money to help her family.

So it was only natural that people thought her insane when she spoke of the voices she heard in her head who told her to lead France’s armies against the invading English armies.

Specifically, she heard them over her right shoulder.

"The least likely of military leaders, Joan of Arc changed the course of the Hundred Years' War and of history." (New York Times)

As a female, she found herself not only resisting the lords and vassals of the French monarchy but also the established positions and standards of the woman in medieval society. She cut her hair, a powerful and shocking political statement for that time paralleled by the Roaring Twenties’ flappers’ hairstyles (which were actually inspired by Joan of Arc). She donned a sword and armor, unheard of for a Medieval French woman, let alone a peasant girl.

She eventually convinced the priests because her determination was so solid and her conviction quite fearsome and she was allowed to speak to the French King.

She was practically a child when Joan of Arc took command of the French army. She led them with a flag because while violence horrified her, her courage and bravery inspired the rest of the French soldiers who willingly gave their lives trusting the now nineteen year old girl.

The banner was 12 feet long and read "The Party of the Kingdom of Heaven."

She was a much needed hero because as the war dragged on, the people grew disillusioned and weary. She became a hero not because of an innate desire to become one, but because she knew she had to be.

However, she was captured by the English and tried for heresy – and was found guilty.

She was burned at the stake and ordered to renounce her earlier claims but she refused. Some say she saw angels as she ascended to Heaven.

Thirty years later however, Joan of Arc's case was reexamined and found that the trial was unfair and should be overturned and in 1920 she was canonized for her undying devotion. 

 Joan of Arc was a simple nineteen year old girl who has been studied and examined countless times over the last six hundred years and while psychologists deduce she had schizophrenia and other forms of mental delusions, they cannot seem to dissipate the admiration of the peasant girl who demanded even the king’s respect. 

"Joan frustrates efforts to reduce her to mortal proportions." (New York Times)

For the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/06/opinion/joan-of-arc-enduring-power.html?_r=0

The work process for the Remembered Time Project

I used the key themes of the story "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" in order to visualize my project.
It took me a LOT of time to really figure out what the heck I was doing but I really deconstructed the story into its most simplest form.

A quick sketch:




I used the spiral form because the staircase in the story really struck me as the vehicle for the princesses to move from one world to the next. The spiral is also indicative of  an illusion, an otherworldly experience that hypnotizes and confuses. I used the spiral as the base of the project.

Next, I decided that rather than using the basic polygon shape for the "steps" of the staircase, i used a more abstract shape in the form of a leaf because of the three forests that the characters walk through made of gold, silver and diamonds.

I used strings to tie every third dowel to each other because of the three forests, and the fact that the number 12 is a multiple of three. The strings to me also were a representation of the traveller's journey down the staircase because they are not as stable, as concrete as the wooden forms of the project. The strings are attached underneath the staircase because the traveller was able to elude detection under a cloak of invisibility - he is therefore unseen and undercover (literally).

The final project:

Prototype for the second project

Remembered Time

I chose the Grimm Brothers' tale "The Twelve Dancing Princesses," a little known story unless you are as obsessive reader as I was as a kid.

My storyboard:

My first project which focused on how sound can be a measurement of time:

My idea for the first project utilizes a basic gear mechanism.

http://www.mekanizmalar.com/gear_system_that_changes_direction.html
This link provides a video that displays the kind of gears i will be using in order to power my project.
One gear will have another smaller gear placed inside of it which will have grooves on the outer rim that fit into the inner groves of the larger gear.

The system will be powered manually - i will insert a dowel into the small gear so that both gears move. The gears will be held vertically by inserting another dowel through both.



The entire project will be placed on a wooden platform. I will most probably use wood to make the gears.

I will cut another piece of wood, held in place by dowels that will strike each groove of the gear to make a sound that measures time.

I was inspired by Arthur Ganson's work with gears and the rhythmic movement of the needle of sewing machines weaving stitches into fabric. I realized that this repetitive movement could be used to measure time.



























 
 Additionally, after looking at his work I became interested in the sewing machine's mechanism:










The thread is looped into certain crevices and loops in the machine and pulled out into the spool of thread so there is constant movement of the thread into the machine from an outside point. It was this feature that inspired me.