A New Identity: the Independent Woman
Lately it seems as if three thousand times a day I breathe out the words: God help me.
Walking through the labyrinth has been an exercise into going forward and giving myself up to the unknown.
Sister Corita made the difficult decision to leave her comfort zone, the environment of the convent where she had bloomed—and, in fact, was a star. At the school and convent she was often times the center of attention, her opinions mattered and were sought out. Here she was: about to leave her safety net.
For what? The world in 1968 was raft with violence. The assassination of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy, the images on TV of bodies piling up from the war in Vietnam, rioting in the cities. Sister Corita’s reaction to this was
She was saying yes to a new life, but who would she be? An activist artist.
Women during this time period were coming to terms with definitions of feminism. Slacks were still not permitted in the workplace. In the US less than 50% of women were in the workforce. There weren’t a lot of roles open to women—especially in the church.
In 1968 Sister Corita took a sabbatical. A friend invited her to stay with her on Cape Cod. As if the flood gates had opened, Corita produced a flurry of new work.
My series on Corita inspired by:
CORITA KENT. ART AND SOUL. THE BIOGRAPHY.
By April Dammann
Published by Angel City Press, 160 pages, $40
To read the entire series, Search Corita Kent or click on tags.
Walking through the labyrinth has been an exercise into going forward and giving myself up to the unknown.
Sister Corita made the difficult decision to leave her comfort zone, the environment of the convent where she had bloomed—and, in fact, was a star. At the school and convent she was often times the center of attention, her opinions mattered and were sought out. Here she was: about to leave her safety net.
For what? The world in 1968 was raft with violence. The assassination of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy, the images on TV of bodies piling up from the war in Vietnam, rioting in the cities. Sister Corita’s reaction to this was
Yes, daisy petal
She was saying yes to a new life, but who would she be? An activist artist.
Women during this time period were coming to terms with definitions of feminism. Slacks were still not permitted in the workplace. In the US less than 50% of women were in the workforce. There weren’t a lot of roles open to women—especially in the church.
In 1968 Sister Corita took a sabbatical. A friend invited her to stay with her on Cape Cod. As if the flood gates had opened, Corita produced a flurry of new work.
My series on Corita inspired by:
CORITA KENT. ART AND SOUL. THE BIOGRAPHY.
By April Dammann
Published by Angel City Press, 160 pages, $40
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