SISTER CORITA KENT

Sister Corita Kent is an artist, activist, and a nun, things that more often than not are on opposite sides of the spectrum. Sister Corita however was able to find a way to bring both sides of her life together and make an impact on the world.

One aspect of Sister Corita's life that I admire was her ability to resist submitting to the authority of the church and those in higher power positions. She was able to work within the system to spread her message of faith and self expression despite being a frequent target for criticism by conservative Catholics.

Her most popular medium serigraphy was the process of using a silk screen to make prints. This was a very interesting approach to art as it allowed her to make mass amounts of prints which she then sold cheep to bring art to those who could not otherwise afford it. I think this was a very smart idea, not only was her work being distributed widely but it made the purchase of one of her pieces no financial burden at all.  I know her point wasn't be become famous as the time but this was a very creative way to get her work out into the world and with a unique target market of religious people.

 

 

I really like the piece above, the image/type relationship I feel is very strong and I enjoy the contrast between the "let the sun shine in" message and the image looking like a crusty old dark picture of the pope that maybe hasn't seen sunlight in hundreds of years. I can also hear Sister Corita talking to the church telling them to let new light into this old system of the church. I don't know if this was the point but it's very powerful and I like to think of it that way.

 I'm not sure the point or message of this above poster but I LOVE the type and layout of it. The pink color gives a playful feel to an otherwise dark ominous and gloomy composition. Maybe that is the intended feeling Sister Corita was going for. It also could be an old album cover for a record, a great piece that I would like to have in my house.

 Sister Corita Kent

Type as image!! A very cool use of type for this piece called 'the juiciest tomato of all'. Corita  caused a lot of outrage with this piece. Some people thought of it as "an irreverent desegregation of a sacred symbol" and it was even prohibited from being shown until the National Catholic Reporter ran a copy of it in protest. Sister Corita's response to all the controversy was " A word like tomate, which has been distorted in some circles, is interesting to restore to a place of beauty- a lovely fruit to look at."

"Mary Mother is the juciest tomato of them all."

I've lived in Boston for my whole life and have driven past this water tower hundreds of times never knowing who had painted it or why. Knowing now that it was one of Sister Corita's works adds a whole new dimension to the tower and I'm seeing it in a brand new way. It's very cool when something so ordinary and that you've seen so many times suddenly becomes a work of art. Hmm... kind of like a lot of Sister Corita's work with advertising slogans and signage.