Artist Inspirations: Seven of Nine (2000)

This is the first in a new series where we will be looking at Hallmark Star Trek Keepsake ornaments and the images that likely inspired the artist’s sculpts, a topic that spawned from this recent Top 10 article.

2000’s Seven of Nine ornament was crafted by Anita Marra Rogers and depicts Seven donning a silver Borg Exoplating Emulation Suit (read: catsuit) with her left hand on her stomach and her right hand on her thigh. It is an iconic pose that was taken from Jeri Ryan’s publicity shoot which preceded her 1997 Voyager fourth-season debut.

In the first image (above left) we see the familiar blue bodysuit that also appears on the ornament (above middle). Rogers seems to have gotten her inspiration for the ornament from the pose in the silver bodysuit (above right). The feet, legs, arms and hands are all identical and only the head position and shoulder angle are not in alignment. Looking at a second image from the same photo shoot we find a perfect match. Comparing the ornament and the second publicity shot (below), everything seems to match up with the exception of her right pinky finger.

So, why did Rogers change Seven’s clothing from silver to blue? John Orquiola explains the production issues with the silver suit:

“Ryan wore the silver suit for a few episodes, but it was retired because of the many issues it caused for the actress. The catsuit, with its corset complete with molded breasts, was so restrictively tight that Ryan had trouble breathing. In fact, nurses with oxygen tanks were present on the set and Ryan passed out four times during production. In addition, not only did the corset prevent Ryan from bending but it took her 20 minutes to go to the bathroom, and production would need to be halted just so the actress could relieve herself.

The silver catsuit with the high collar, of course, is what Ryan wore as Seven of Nine in publicity photos for Star Trek: Voyager, but the actress spoke up about her discomfort and her uniform was changed. Less restrictive (but no less form-fitting) alternate costumes were designed in various colors. A brown costume had no collar, which allowed Ryan to turn her neck, and throughout the four seasons she starred in, Seven rotated between cobalt blue, grey-blue, and plum-colored versions of her catsuit.”

ScreenRant

Jeri Ryan had not worn the silver bodysuit for over a year when Rogers would have likely begun the design process for the 2000 ornament. It stands to reason that the artist liked Seven’s pose from the publicity shoot but made the bodysuit color change to match what Ryan was wearing on screen…likely from the direction of CBS.

6 thoughts on “Artist Inspirations: Seven of Nine (2000)

  1. Marina Teramond @ NMPL

    Art is a special type of human activity that creates figurative and symbolic structures. And I really like this idea to create an ornament because It is extremely fascinating to make a prototype of a real person. Frankly, I couldn’t even think that the motivation of Anita Marra Rogers to change the clothing from silver to blue was the actress’s discomfort on the set. It is a really interesting artist’s solution to embody this thing into reality and a lot of other details because not any person will be able not only to do it, but do it professionally. The fact that the constitution of the body and all body movements of Rayan Voyager’s are truly identical to the real person amazes me. I think that this work can’t leave anyone indifferent, but needs to inspire.

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