Corita Kent (1918–1986), born Frances Elizabeth Kent and also known as Sister Mary Corita Kent, was an American artist, designer and educator, and former religious sister. She taught at the Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles, and her artwork thematics frequently referenced social justice. Kent became increasingly political throughout the 1960s, and was particularly concerned with urgent issues of poverty and racism. Kent produced a large body of graphically powerful serigraphs that often incorporated song lyrics, biblical verses, literature, advertising imagery, and slogans. After Kent began printmaking in the early 1950s, her work was widely exhibited, at more than 230 exhibitions across the country by the late 1960s, and she completed commissions for the 1964 New York World's Fair, IBM, and Westinghouse. Her work was acquired by prestigious museums, such as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and the Museum of Modern Art, New York; and the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles.
Corita Kent, parable of the artichoke, 1964, serigraph on paper. SFU Art Collection. Purchase, 1970.
Title
parable of the artichoke
Artist
Corita Kent
Year
1964
Medium
Serigraph on paper
Collection
SFU Art Collection
Year Acquired
1970
Artists
Corita Kent (1918–1986) was an artist, educator, and advocate for social justice. Her work evolved from figurative and religious to incorporating advertising images and slogans, popular song lyrics, biblical verses, and literature. Throughout the 1960s, her work became increasingly political, urging viewers to consider poverty, racism, and injustice. She remained active in political causes until her death in 1986. At the time of her passing, she had created almost 800 serigraph editions, thousands of watercolours, and innumerable public and private commissions.