In Paris, an exhibition presents Corita Kent, pop art star nun

Name: Corita Kent. Profession: good sister and… artist! It is an unusual journey highlighted, until December 21, by the Collège des Bernardins, a former Cistercian college classified as a historic monument which hosts meetings, discussions and exhibitions of contemporary art: that of Sister Coritaan American nun who became a cantor of pop art, but also a teacher of revolutionary pedagogy and an experienced activist, committed to social justice and human rights.

Born in 1918 in Fort Dodge, Iowa, young Frances Elizabeth Kent grew up in Los Angeles in a religious environment. Entry at age 18 in the order of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Hollywood, she studied art history and became interested in Byzantine art, which influenced her first steps as an artist marked by a figurative approach tinged with expressionism. She began engraving in the early 1950sparticularly in screen printing, devoting himself first to religious subjects before making a radical graphic turning point.

Inspired by Warhol and Duchamp

In 1962, she discovered the work of a certain Andy Warhol, who exhibited for the first time his famous series of Campbell’s Soup Cans in a gallery in Los Angeles, before visiting the Marcel Duchamp retrospective at the Pasadena Museum of Art a few months later. Their approach, consisting of revealing the artistic significance of everyday objects, left a lasting mark on Corita Kent, who then embarks on the path of pop art. Popular by nature, screen printing remains his preferred medium. His works are then adorned with shimmering colors, patterns and heterogeneous typographies drawn in particular from newspapers.

In addition to biblical verses, Sister Corita’s art is nourished by pop culture references : advertising images and slogans, lyrics of popular songs… It relies on quotes borrowed from the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel or Gertrude Stein to deliver universal messages in which it is no longer just a question of faith. The social and political events that shook the United States in this decade inspired him. His art then echoes the struggles for civil rightsthe emancipation of youth or even feminist movements. “Stop the bombing,” she urges in a 1967 screen print in reaction to the Vietnam War. “Why not give a damn about your fellow man? », she harangues, in 1969, in the hijacking of a cover of the magazine Life showing a crying black girl photographed by Gordon Parks.

A revolutionary teacher

Corita Kent’s pedagogy can be summed up in 9 main principles: “Everything is experience”, “Error does not exist. There is no victory or defeat. There is only action”…

Religious, artist and teacher, therefore. From 1946, Corita Kent taught screen printing in the Art department of Immaculate Heart College, which she also eventually headed. She there defends a revolutionary pedagogybased on daily observation and experimentation, summarized in nine main principles written for the attention of its students: “Everything is experience”, “Error does not exist. There is no victory or defeat. There is only action”… His friend John Cage adds a tenth: “We break all the rules. Even our own rules. How do we get there? By giving us the latitude to do so. » In addition to the famous composer, other legendary artists invited by Sister Corita will take part in her classes: designers Charles et Ray Eamesthe graphic designer Saul Bassthe filmmaker Jean Renoir…

Weary! The commitment and revolutionary pedagogy of this extraordinary personality are far from unanimous within the Church… In conflict with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the nun asks to be exempted from her vows. His new secular life began at the dawn of the 1970s, in Boston. But if Corita Kent has abandoned her nun’s habit, she has not turned her back on her artistic career. It thus responds to numerous private and public orders, notably carrying out a monumental frieze for the Boston gas company and a bell for the US Postal Service, which is among the most popular. She died in 1986 after a long battle with cancer, leaving behind a dizzying body of work that counts approximately 800 screen prints and hundreds of watercolors – the transmitters of unwavering joy and optimism, which our world sorely needs.