User:Jokerridd101/Corita Kent

Corita Kent is an American artist and designer. She was an artist known for her artistry and she was a big in Social Justice. She was a remarkable person who dedicated her life to God in some of the strangest ways possible. While she was a nun her artwork brought God to the mainstream public. She was inspired by Andy Warhol. She was also a teacher at the Immaculate Heart College where she taught her artistry to the world.

Biography
Corita Kent was a artist known for her artistry and she was a big in Social Justice. When she became 18 years of age she entered a religious order and became a nun. She was the head of the art department at Immaculate heart college. Where she also taught a wide variety of different painting styles. Her artwork contained her own spiritual expression and love for her God. Sister Corita realized that she could bring her love for her religion to the people of the world in the medium of pop art. Instead of having to read from the bible, go to church, or attend sunday school the people of the world could see God and learn about him and the catholic religion in her artwork. This was a very futuristic approach to art and religion. Sister Corita Kent lived in a climate where there was much social turmoil and cries for radical change along with social justice. It was the 1960's revolution when people where looking for answers and sister Corita Kent hoped that through her artwork God can be her answer. Using everyday consumer bought items, like Wonderbread, she was able to bring words and thoughts about her religion to a familiar product that people saw and used everyday. This way of expression in her artwork she was able to connect with the young and old. Unfortunately, she did not have the backing of the traditional art world as well as the traditional catholic church. Thankfully sister Corita Kent did not succumb to there criticism and dislike for her and her artwork and the message she was trying to relay. Sister Corita Kent eventually left the religious order she loved because she felt what she was doing was much more important then the label of "Sister" that she held. She continued creating her paintings and her artwork until the day she died. Sister Corita Kent was born in 1918 and therefore at the time of all this upheavel that she created within the Catholic Church and the traditional art world she was in her 40's. Sister Corita Kent was determined to bring the word of God and his love for his world to as many people as humanly possible because of her determination to do this sister Corita Kent became famous and most recognizable to the people of the day. Sister Corita Kent also embraced the many different revolutions going on in the world at this time. These revolutions where the Vietnam War, Civil Rights, and Women rights. Ironically, as I am writing this it just hit me that today November 20th is sister Corita Kent's birthday, which she was originally born as Frances Elizabeth Kent and also known as sister Mary Corita Kent. Sister Corita Kent's main artwork was almost always silk screen, also known as Serigraphy. Her innovative methods pushed back the limitations of two-dimensional mediums of the times. Her ultimate goal and wish was to produce artwork that could be affordable and enjoyed by all people. Her artwork dealt with love and peace which was particularly appreciated during the social and civil movements of the 1960s and 70s. She was diagnosed with cancer in the early 1970's. From that period on she became well known for to particular famous pieces. She created the Rainbow Swash logo on the LNG storage tank in Boston and the 1985 version of the Love Stamp that is used by the United States Postal Service still today, and that was just a year before her death.



Awards
- 1966 Woman of the year LA times

-1967 on the cover of Newsweek

-2016 she was awarded American Institute of Graphic Arts Medal

Legacy
She has solo exhibitions at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. She has an archive dedicated to her at the Immaculate Heart High School in Los Feliz, LA. Some of Sister Corita's papers and early artwork are in Schlesinger Library, in the Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University. Her artwork is shown in several art museums with some including the Whitney, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art as well as private collectors.