ARTICLE SUMMARY: In design there are all sorts of inspiration to be had for creativity. But what about personal inspiration, something that will inspire you to be a better design person, someone with a cause. Sometimes it’s good to look back and see some of the design hero’s of the past and how they influenced issues of the day.
“HOW TO FIGHT THE POWER WITH JOY, A LESSON FROM CORITA KENT” is a look at the life of Sister Corita Kent and her work and the influence she had in probably one of the most tumultuous eras in American history, the 60’s, where she would use her art to protest and comment on the state of the world around her.
Her protest of the Vietnam War, poverty, racial injustice, and gender inequality earned her the name ‘the joyous revolutionary’ by artist Ben Shahn. Olivia Ahmad commented that “It’s a perfect way to describe the kind of hopeful resistance she embodied, and it’s particularly resonant at a time when our political discourse and online debate often feels so toxic and divisive.”
Kent’s most prominent project, the ‘love’ stamp designed for the U.S. Postal Authority, was released in an edition of around 700 million in 1985. She died a year later, after battling cancer for the third time since 1974
Even today Sister Corita Kent is an inspiration and an example of how good design can be used for the betterment of life world wide.
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