Sister Corita Kent

via Whitney Museum

After leaving her life as a nun in California, Corita Kent settled into Boston as a full-time artist. It was here that my great aunt actually met Corita and corresponded with her on a number of occasions. When talking about Corita, my aunt is always sure to mention that the former sister was quiet, modest, and, most notably, incredibly spiritual.

Signed notes to my great aunt (Eleanor) from Corita

In the Facisimle Magazine interview linked below, Corita confessed that she, ironically, had more time for her faith and religion after leaving her order of Sisters. While that life serves as the perfect form to express faith for many, it seems that Corita discovered that pursuing the life of an artist allowed for her to express her faith in the visual way she needed to.

The way in which Corita would integrate her spirituality into modern day observations is playful. With bright colors, familiar forms, and organic script, pieces like the Sunkist print above are very approachable. The scriptural content is given new context and makes the viewer contemplate the verse in a new way, one that relates to today, rather than thousands of years ago. 

Having spent a lot of time in Catholic schools growing up, I know that it can become dull and repetitive to keep seeing the same, tired depictions of religion that often only seem to relate to the time of Jesus and his Apostles. While flipping through religion text books, or sitting in church, it would have been much more engaging to see scripture in the expressive, modern, and visually relevant iterations of Corita.

In the Facsimile interview, Corita described her work as a visualization of the way words are spoken. The type always looks to be crafted by human hand and not machine. They have personality and through their form, color and juxtaposition, set mood, inflection, and feeling. Corita visualized humans' emotional connection with words and, in doing so, created wonderful pieces that have strong resonance with viewers.

(Facsimile Magazine Interview) [link broken]