custodiat (1957)

“Right out of the Novitiate, Corita taught children on a native reservation in British Columbia.  Her response to their colorful drawings and paintings was formative.  “Custodiat” was the first of many prints, inspired by children and friends.”
– M.M.

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custodiat

I have loved you (1963)

“Corita printed this image in only two runs – although it involves 6 colors.  She ran a base coat of orange, red and green, and a topcoat of blue, black, and purple, allowing the colors to blend on their own.”
– M.M. 

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O! Gideon would you have your God a wandering magician slapping a timbrel and kicking his heel? Gideon: Do not rise in wrath against me, sir.
The angel: I am not in wrath. I am plainly confused. And sore at heart.

I HAVE LOVED YOU and you have turned your back.

Gideon: I do not find you personable, sir.

The angel: Personable! Gideon, one does not merely fancy God. I demand a splendid love from you, abandon, adoration, a torrent, a storm of love.

Gideon (with almost unbearable kindness) I'm afraid I'm not the splendid sort, my Lord. You want a less moderate man than I. I'm sure you shall find one soon enough, for you are an attractive God, and there are many men who will love you vigorously. I'm sure of that. (He offers his hand and smiles disarmingly.) Come. If I have given you some hurt, then clasp my hand and say it is over with. The Angel cannot help but be amused by this ingenious fellow. He clasps Gideon's arm. The Angel: I SHALL MAKE YOU LOVE ME.

fish (1964)

“1964 was a pivotal year in Corita’s printmaking as the impact of the new supermarket, Market Basket, across the parking lot from the silk screen studio shows up in her work in conjunction with Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty.  The confluence of grocery store signs and the biblical responsibility of feeding the hungry came together in her work this year.”
– M.M. 
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What was Jesus doing while Simon and his partners were pulling in the nets? Was Jesus standing on his dignity   St. Luke carefully avoids any answer in words. Luke's account switches swiftly from Jesus to the fish. All those fish! Almost pouring into Simon's boat -- no one on that boat -- including Jesus was safe from those slippery flopping fish. Fish by fish they filled the deck  Simon's boat was so full of fish the boat would have sunk if one more fish were added. Jesus was knee deep in fish   fish squished against his feet   Fish fought his legs for space but I think Jesus was too busy helping pull the nets on board to notice. He came to help not be waited on in Sunday clothes we sort of shrink from a Jesus whose hands and clothes fairly reek with fish smell. But does he? Simon earned his bread by fishing Jesus didn't turn up his nose at Simon's job -- rather he pitched in to help Simon.  
– Mark Kent

tomorrow the stars (1966)

“I can see Corita in my memory, photographing billboard panels wrapped around a banister, to replicate the wavy graphics of the Op art period.”
– M.M. 

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come alive - Tomorrow, the stars

Z for zorba (1968-69)

“This is one of the series, “Flag Code Alphabet”: one print for each flag.  Though less typical of the series, Z includes the most color runs (4) and technical complexity.  Of the series, I have 25 prints, missing the Y, which I and many others seek.”
– M.M. 

-––––

Zorba and the whole catastrophe

N willing to be vulnerable (1968)

“I cannot help but think Corita was thinking of herself when she selected this quote about vulnerability. She repeatedly stresses vulnerability in the “Circus” Series and equates it to the playfulness most usually associated with the concept of circus. I consider that her response to those who thought she was always happy and carefree.”
– M.M.

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those who are willing to be vulnerable move among mysteries
- roethke

it can be said of them (1969)

“There are 29 “Heroes and Sheroes” in Corita’s 1969 series, of which this rare piece memorializes Martin Luther King, Jr., John F. Kennedy, and Robert F. Kennedy.  The fourth image is a folk-art carving of Christ, bridging the concept that our heroes have been assassinated.  The image of Christ shows up in three prints this year.”
– M.M.

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it can be said of him, as of few men in like position, that he did not fear the weather and did not trim his sails, but instead, challenged the wind itself to improve its direction and to cause it to blow more softly and more kindly over the world and its people.
– E.B. White

rest (1971)

“ ‘Today is the first day. . .,’ was a popular saying around this time.  As she frequently did, the message is in the title of the print, ‘Rest.’  She was at this time settling into a pattern for her own life for which rest was key."”
– M.M.

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today is the first day of the rest of your life

Olmsted (1972)

“This was a commission in honor of Frederick Law Olmsted, pioneer landscape architect, in whose Boston Public Garden a few blocks from her apartment, Corita walked every day.”
– M.M. 

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Olmsted
1822 – 1972
sesquincentennial

crocuses for autumn (1980)

“Corita’s fascination with Marlborough Street in Boston, where she lived, included the many tiny gardens in front of the brownstone buildings.  The annual and brief arrival of crocuses provided her with much personal hope and many graphic possibilities.  She utilized the image in at least a dozen prints, four of which are in this series, one for each season.”
– M.M. 

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We harvest the fruit of hope to begin again to hope

heavens (1984)

“This print is particularly significant as one of a series of eight pieces. In terms of Corita's process, these 8 prints began as watercolors which served as the source for the color screen separations for this series of prints.  In the original poetry, the prayer proposes that the elements of the earth - the winds, the trees, the heavens, etc. - are invoked for their blessings.  "May they be good to you."  By this time in Corita's life, the elements were moving front and center of her consciousness and inspiration.  She was also spending summers in Ogunquit, Maine, which had a strong influence on her imagery.”
– M.M. 

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May the heavens that protect us be sweet to you

yes we can (1980)

“This was Corita’s last print, released a year before she died.  The strokes of color were transferred from a watercolor she had painted on one of her field trips with Elinor Mikulka.”
– M.M. 

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We harvest the fruit of hope to begin again to hope