Nun, printmaker, and activist, Corita Kent developed and
used a striking Pop sensibility in her religious art. Drawing on the visual
language of advertising and the daily world, her screenprints combine images
and words to create bold messages of joy. Leading the art department at
Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles, Kent became part of an enthusiastic
community of socially engaged artists who revolutionized campus life. Her
adventurous approach in art and life unsettled many, including the Church
hierarchy; she left holy orders in 1968 and moved to Boston, where she
continued her pursuit of social justice through art until her death in 1985.
The nearly thirty prints in this exhibition chronicle her most productive
periods including the mid-1960s, when her forceful imagery and message—and her
unexpected calling as a nun—led to her greatest popularity.
Kent's screenprints combine images and words to create bold messages of joy.