Sister Corita

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Sister Corita

                Sister Mary Corita Kent was born on the 20^th November, 1918 in Fort Dodge, Iowa. ⁽¹⁾ It wasn’t until the 1960’s where her serigraph and silkscreen pieces became well known internationally. ⁽²⁾ These pieces are believed to have reached such fame due to the messages of love and peace which were weaved into them. ⁽¹⁾

                After graduating from high school, Corita joined the ‘Roman Catholic order of Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary’. ⁽²⁾ Four years later, she received her BA from the Immaculate Heart College. ⁽¹⁾ Following this graduation, Corita taught in British Columbia at grade school before returning to Immaculate Heart College in 1946 to teach art classes. Corita received a degree in art history in 1951, the same year she exhibited her first silkscreen print. ⁽²⁾

Early Print

This is an example of one of Corita’s early silkscreen prints. These works were known as ‘neo-gothic’ as they included phrases and imagery presented in the Bible. ⁽²⁾ I like the simple colour pallet used on this print, and how each colour and element has its own layer as this adds depth and intrigue to the piece. I also like the Biblical references as it includes a part of who Sister Corita is as a person. I like the symbolic use of the eye and the letter ‘E’ as this maintains interest from audiences.

                During the 1960’s, Sister Corita began to include more typography in her work; the majority of typography used was relevant to the Pop-Culture phase of the decade. This is due to how song lyrics or advertising slogans became a part of her imagery, along with undertone themes of love and peace. ⁽²⁾ Her serigraphs have been used for designs, books, posters and murals; most of which were done whilst she was based in Boston, where she moved in 1968. ⁽¹⁾

Love Stamp, 1985                                     This piece is Corita’s most well-known print of her career. ⁽³⁾ I like the hand-written appearance of it because it feels more personal from her point of view of delivering the message, as well as more personal for whoever receives it. It makes the whole meaning of the print more sincere. In this sense, I think this print may have been to do with issues in the country in terms of social differences between different areas or other countries. The rainbow seems to add a sense of togetherness, harmony and accepting differenced. This is quite clever on Corita’s part because rainbows are made from two opposites (rain and sun), so this print seems to tell society to embrace differences and learn to love each other.

                Whilst Corita’s work reached international fame, it was not always initially well received. For example, her ‘Peace on Earth’ Christmas exhibition regarding the conflict in Vietnam was deemed ‘too subversive.’ ⁽²⁾  From 1968 to 1986, Corita created over 400 freelance prints and serigraphs, whilst simultaneously doing various commissions. ⁽²⁾  Towards the end of her career, Sister Corita’s work still included splashes of colour, but generally had more spiritual atmospheres; soon her silkscreens began including floral elements. ⁽²⁾  She died of cancer in 1986. ⁽¹⁾

Prints, 1964

 The large type and bright colours coupled with the words themselves gives an inspirational and peppy atmosphere for the viewer. I like how the colour has been split between different frames and letters as it is quirky and unusual. I like the fact that the inspiration and positive attitude makes the random changes of colour to be a good thing, that being different can be encouraged.

 I really like all of the different sections of type on this print. It has a quirky character and life to it because of the uneven lines and shapes. The handwritten type isn’t that legible, but looks good contrasted with the main, printed type. I like how the word ‘hope’ is backwards as it has undertone messages that doing something differently isn’t a bad thing. I could influence Sister Corita by doing polyfusion with backwards type or strange shapes and blocks of colour, as I think this looks good and adds new dynamics to her work. I also like how she layers elements as seen in the first print.

References:

(1): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corita_Kent

(2): https://www.corita.org/coritadb/index.php?id=5&option=com_content&task=view

(3): http://dreamciclejourneys.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/jubilee-for-corita.html