The woman born in 1918 Idaho as Francis Elizabeth Kent led an extraordinary life — more than one life, you might say. After her typical childhood came a move out West, joining the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary nunnery straight from high school. Now known as Sister Mary Corita, she studied art, graduating from first the church college and then the University of Southern California with an MA in art history. Next came years of teaching and the development of her own practice. Initially she was an abstract expressionist artist, but during the 1960s she became increasingly interested in Pop Art and began introducing text elements to her work. In 1968, Sister Mary Corita was dispensed from her vows and rejoined the mainstream as Corita Kent, continuing to practice and teach on a broader basis than cloisters had allowed.
Someday is Now: The Art of Corita Kent is a full-career retrospective being held in her adopted SoCal homeland. Pasadena Museum of California Art is the host, and has gathered an impressive selection of her work from throughout her career, spanning over 30 years. The works display a mastery of textual manipulation, drawing inspiration from her Christian faith but also the writings of secular literary figures such as Albert Camus, Samuel Beckett and John Lennon. There are also a number of rarely-seen photographs from the Sister Mary Corita years included in the exhibition, and a programme of events running for the duration. The show is up and running and will continue until 1 November.
Immaculate Heart College Silkscreen Room.
Courtesy of the Corita Art Center, Los Angeles.
mary does laugh, 1964
Silkscreen print on paper
29 ¾ x 39 ¼ inches
Private Collection
Photograph by Arthur Evans, courtesy of the Tang Museum at Skidmore College
the sure one, 1966
Silkscreen print on Pellon
29 3/4 x 36 inches
Collection: Corita Art Center, Immaculate Heart Community, Los Angeles, CA.
Photograph by Arthur Evans, courtesy of the Tang Museum at Skidmore College.
a passion for the possible, 1969
Silkscreen print on paper
23 1/8 x 12 inches
Collection: Corita Art Center, Immaculate Heart Community, Los Angeles, CA.
Photograph by Arthur Evans, courtesy of the Tang Museum at Skidmore College.
Corita, Immaculate Heart College, Los Angeles, 1964.
Courtesy of the Corita Art Center, Los Angeles.
for eleanor, 1964
Serigraph on Pellon
30 x 36 inches
Collection of Juliette Bellocq.
Photograph by Arthur Evans, courtesy of the Tang Museum at Skidmore College.
wet and wild, 1967
Silkscreen print on paper
18 1/8 x 23 inches
Collection: Corita Art Center, Immaculate Heart Community, Los Angeles, CA.
Photograph by Arthur Evans, courtesy of the Tang Museum at Skidmore College.
yobel, 1963
Silkscreen print on paper
30 5/8 x 25 5/8 inches
Collection: Corita Art Center, Immaculate Heart Community, Los Angeles, CA.
Photograph by Arthur Evans, courtesy of the Tang Museum at Skidmore College.
Corita, Immaculate Heart College Art Department, Los Angeles, 1957.
Courtesy of the Corita Art Center, Los Angeles.
harness the sun, 1967
Silkscreen print on paper
20 ½ x 23 inches
Collection: Corita Art Center, Immaculate Heart Community, Los Angeles, CA.
Photograph by Arthur Evans, courtesy of the Tang Museum at Skidmore College.
E eye love, 1968
Silkscreen print on paper
23 x 23 inches
Collection: Corita Art Center, Immaculate Heart Community, Los Angeles, CA.
Photograph by Arthur Evans, courtesy of the Tang Museum at Skidmore College.
