10 Pop Art Prints from the ‘Rebel Nun’ Who Was Inspired By Andy Warhol

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Corita Kent, the so-called “rebel nun” and screen printer, created a rich body of work that has garnered a cult following.

A i love that one, 1968

Corita Kent (1918-1986), the so-called “rebel nun” and screen printer, created a rich body of work that has garnered a cult following. Sister Corita, as she was once called, came into her own as an artist while living in Los Angeles in the 1960s and teaching at Immaculate Heart College.

Influenced by Andy Warhol after she saw the first West Coast exhibit dedicated to his art at L.A.’s Ferus Gallery in 1962, she appropriated advertising slogans and various pop cultural references in her work. But unlike Warhol, her artistic messages were, for the most part, unabashed celebrations of love and peace.

A champion of affordable and accessible art for all, she designed a popular ‘Love’ postage stamp and had her work featured on billboards. However, her screen prints do not draw the millions that Warhol’s do, even though some argue that her work eclipses his.

DnA this week explores her artistic and spiritual legacy with a variety of voices, including the co-curator of a new exhibit dedicated to her art at the Pasadena Museum of California Art called Someday is Now: The Art of Corita Kent.

Check out some of DnA’s favorite serigraphs by Corita Kent. Click each image to see larger.

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Corita Kent at Immaculate Heart College Art Department, circa 1964 (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)
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Q elephant’s q, 1968-1969 (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)
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Z do your thing, 1968-69 (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)
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very, 1970 (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)
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the dark, 1983 (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)
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i love you, 1966 (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)
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who came out of the water, 1964 (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)
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luke 2.14, 51, 1963 (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)
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wonderbread, 1962 (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)
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enriched bread, 1964 (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)

You can listen to DnA’s segment on Corita Kent below.

All images courtesy of Corita Art Center.