Pae White and Jim Isermann Discuss Sister Corita's Legacy
In an interview featured in Afterall, artists Jim Isermann and Pae White share their thoughts on Sister Mary Corita (Corita Kent), the renowned nun and pop artist. Isermann reminisces about discovering her distinctive graphic style through church publications and acquiring her piece "International Dining With Spice Islands" from 1963. White first encountered Corita's art during her high school years. They note a resurgence of interest in Corita that Isermann observed in the mid-1990s, referencing a KCET documentary narrated by Eva Marie Saint and her Newsweek cover from December 25, 1967. The duo discusses the merits of her later works, her connections with Charles Eames and Buckminster Fuller, and their aspirations to teach her techniques at UC Riverside.
Key facts
- Pae White and Jim Isermann discussed Sister Corita in an Afterall article published March 5, 2007.
- Isermann first encountered Corita's style in Catholic church materials and later acquired her 1963 work 'International Dining With Spice Islands' from a Palm Springs thrift store.
- White first saw Corita's work in a dim hallway in high school.
- Isermann noticed a revival of interest in Corita in the mid-1990s when a friend in Stockholm sought her offset print box.
- White attributes the resurgence to a revival of 1950s-70s modernist design.
- Corita appeared on the cover of Newsweek on December 25, 1967.
- Corita designed a prototype for a line of Samsonite luggage that never went into production, exhibited at UCLA Hammer in 2000.
- Corita taught at Immaculate Heart College from 1946 to 1968.
- Corita's friendship with Charles Eames and Buckminster Fuller is noted in the book 'Come Alive!'.
- The book 'Learning by Heart' was published in 1992 after Corita's death.
- White titled her Skulptur Projekte Münster project 'To Münster with Love'.
- Isermann covets Corita's 'wonderbread' serigraph from 1962.
- White wants a piece from 'Damn Everything But the Circus' with the text 'LOVE-DROPS'.
Entities
Artists
- Pae White
- Jim Isermann
- Sister Mary Corita (Corita Kent)
- Mike Kelley
- Andy Warhol
- Felix Gonzalez-Torres
- Charles Eames
- Buckminster Fuller
- Eva Marie Saint
- Sister Mag
- Kasper König
Institutions
- Afterall
- Immaculate Heart College
- UCLA Hammer
- KCET
- Skulptur Projekte Münster
- UC Riverside
- Four Corners Books
- Boston Gas Company
- US Postal Authority
- Samsonite
- Newsweek
- TIME
- LIFE
Locations
- California
- Palm Springs
- Stockholm
- Los Angeles
- Boston
- Münster
- Riverside
Sources
- Afterall —