Dear Corita

The brief 

“Corita Kent (1918–1986) was an artist, educator, and advocate for social justice. At age 18 she entered the religious order Immaculate Heart of Mary, eventually teaching and then heading the art department at Immaculate Heart College. During the course of her career, her artwork evolved from using figurative and religious imagery to incorporating advertising images and slogans, popular song lyrics, biblical verses, and literature. Throughout the ‘60s, her work became increasingly political, urging viewers to consider poverty, racism, and social injustice.” (Corita.org) As an admirer of Sister Corita Kent’s work, and as part of studio exploration, I wanted to curate a project that explored Corita Kent’s method of recontextualization in a modern context.

The opportunity

Millennials, whose annual spending is projected to reach $1.4 trillion and account for 30% of total retail sales by 2020, gravitate towards experiences. (Inc, 2018)

The challenge

This project presented a 2-part challenge. The first, was a two-day aggressive timeline. The second, once the work was created the challenge is making items accessible to users. 

The solution

Creating a loose screen printing process using vinyl and acrylic paint, I was able to explore Corita Kent’s methodologies and efficiently iterate into production a large body of work. From this point, I created a online pop-up shop, designing an e-commerce website that utilizes Stripe, to sell each bag and allow users to read more about the project.

The results

Selling 70% of inventory, users also learned more about Corita Kent and her impact on the world.

Designer: Brittany Latham