Find the Creator Within: My Obsession with Corita Kent
I am currently obsessed with several artists and creators, but one has my particular attention this week:
Corita Kent.
She lived from 1918 to 1986.
It sometimes takes me a few contact points until I give something or someone a closer look.
Her name and work crossed my online paths at least a couple dozen times over the last few months and then suddenly I had this immense urge to dive deeper into who she was and what legacy she left behind.
I first got inspired by this list titled Some Rules for Students and Teachers, which is attributed to John Cage, but originates from the celebrated Corita:
Then I dug into her work and life story further through Instagram, Google search, YouTube and a podcast.
Yesterday, I started reading the book Jan Steward wrote with her called Learning by Heart: Teachings to Free the Creative Spirit.
It is a collection of the teachings of Corita at the art department at Immaculate Heart College.
Now I’m in love.
“We can all talk, we can all write and if the blocks are removed, we can all draw and paint and make things. Drawing, painting, and making things are natural human activities, but in many they remain in the seed state, as potentials or wishes.”
“Creativity belongs to the artist in each of us. To create means to relate. The root meaning of the word art is to fit together and we all do this every day. Not all of us are painters but we are all artists. Each time we fit things together we are creating–whether it is to make a loaf of bread, a child, a day.”
Who was Corita Kent?
Corita was an artist, educator, and advocate for social justice. At age 18 she entered the religious order Immaculate Heart of Mary, eventually teaching in and then heading up the art department at Immaculate Heart College.
Her work evolved from figurative and religious to incorporating advertising images and slogans, popular song lyrics, biblical verses, and literature. Throughout the ‘60s, her work became increasingly political, urging viewers to consider poverty, racism, and injustice.
In 1968 she left the order and moved to Boston. After 1970, her work evolved into a sparser, introspective style, influenced by living in a new environment, a secular life, and her battles with cancer.
She remained active in social causes until her death in 1986. At the time of her death, she had created almost 800 serigraph editions, thousands of watercolors, and innumerable public and private commissions.
Corita Art Center