A catholic convent might not be the first place to consider when searching for a radical art education in the late 20th century - that is, unless you had Sister Corita Kent as an instructor. Aside from creating over 400 brilliantly colored serigraphs radical in their manipulation of text, graphic design elements, and activism, Corita Kent was an inspiring and influential educator to both teachers and students alike. In this beautiful documentary created by Araron Rose, we are given a glimpse into Kent’s unconventional instruction through first hand accounts made by her students and peers. Here we see how her radical teaching methods stimulate her students' creativity beyond the classroom by teaching them first and foremost “how to see, to really see,...to look, to look again - anew.”
http://www.nowness.com/day/2010/6/5/685/breaking-a-habit-sister-corita
A clip from the documentary, Become a Microscope by Aaron Rose
As part of a project in 1967-1968, Kent authored “Ten Rules,” a list of “commandments” for both the student and teacher participating in a creative practice. These rules were later appropriated permanently by the Immaculate Heart Convent art department - at which she had been both an alumni and a sister - and have been adopted and popularized by artist and educator John Cage, who is directly quoted as the tenth rule. The rules are as follows:
RULE ONE: Find a place you trust, and then try trusting it for awhile.
RULE TWO: General duties of a student — pull everything out of your teacher; pull everything out of your fellow students.
RULE THREE: General duties of a teacher — pull everything out of your students.
RULE FOUR: Consider everything an experiment.
RULE
FIVE: Be self-disciplined — this means finding someone wise or smart
and choosing to follow them. To be disciplined is to follow in a good
way. To be self-disciplined is to follow in a better way.
RULE SIX: Nothing is a mistake. There’s no win and no fail, there’s only make.
RULE
SEVEN: The only rule is work. If you work it will lead to something.
It’s the people who do all of the work all of the time who eventually
catch on to things.
RULE EIGHT: Don’t try to create and analyze at the same time. They’re different processes.
RULE NINE: Be happy whenever you can manage it. Enjoy yourself. It’s lighter than you think.
RULE
TEN: “We’re breaking all the rules. Even our own rules. And how do we
do that? By leaving plenty of room for X quantities.” (John Cage)
HINTS:
Always be around. Come or go to everything. Always go to classes. Read
anything you can get your hands on. Look at movies carefully, often.
Save everything — it might come in handy later.
Corita Kent was both an alumni and sister of LA’s Immaculate Heart Convent. She ran the art department from 1951 until 1968 when she moved to Boston. Corita Kent died of cancer Sept. 18, 1986. Find more information about Sister Corita Kent and her extraordinary life at https://www.corita.org/.
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"Breaking A Habit: Sister Corita." NOWNESS. N.p., 5 June 2010. Web. 03 Dec. 2012. <http://www.nowness.com/day/2010/6/5/685/breaking-a-habit-sister-corita>.
Papova, Mario. "Brain Pickings." Brain Pickings RSS. N.p., 10 Aug. 12. Web. 03 Dec. 2012. <http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/08/10/10-rules-for-students-and-teachers-john-cage-corita-kent/>.
"Corita Kent." Corita Art Center--Art and Activism of Sister Mary Corita. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2012. <https://www.corita.org/>.
