科丽塔·肯特：修女波普艺术家

乔安娜·摩尔海德

She shook up the church and the art world with her expressive， exuberant and boisterous work.她的作品色彩絢丽，活力四射，极具表现力，在宗教界及艺术界都引起了轰动。

On a summers day in 1962 a nun in her mid-40s went to see Andy Warhols breakthrough exhibition of soup can paintings; later， she recalled that “coming home you saw everything like Andy Warhol”. It was a seminal moment in the transformation of Sister Corita Kent from a convent school teacher into the artist who became known as the Pop Art nun.

Among the many original， mould-breaking， stand-alone characters the art world has produced， Kent more than holds her own. A fully habited nun， complete with veil and wimple， her monochrome outfit was a stark contrast to the vibrancy of her colour-charged silkscreens. This year， 100 years on from her birth， that is being remembered with an exhibition of her work at Ditchling Museum of Art and Craft in Sussex.

According to Donna Steele， the exhibitions curator， Kents work is “as important as that of Warhol” to the Pop Art movement. Kent used advertising slogans and song lyrics， as well as biblical verses and quotes from literature， to create vibrant silkscreens with trenchant political messages about racism， poverty and injustice.

The Ditchling exhibition covers Kents output across two decades， 1952-72， probably her most important period in terms of her story as well as in her output. Born Frances Kent in November 1918， the fifth of six children， her strongly Catholic family moved from Iowa to Hollywood in 1923. At school there， her art work was praised for its originality; and at the age of 18 she entered the order of nuns whose school she had attended， the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. There， in their convent in Los Angeles， her artistic talent was picked up by one of the senior nuns， Sister Magdalene Mary， who encouraged Kent to train as an art teacher. She went on to work in the orders college， a liberal arts institution well known for its avant-garde views， and became head of its art department in 1964.

Los Angeles in the 60s was an exciting place at a momentous time： Kents work brought contact with figures such as filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock， composer John Cage， architect Buckminster Fuller， and designers Charles and Ray Eames， who became her close friends and champions. Her work became more prominent， and in the winter of 1967 she was featured on the cover of Newsweek—‘The Nun： Going Modern， read the strapline. The nun was indeed going modern; and for a while， it seemed the institution she was part of， the Catholic Church， was going modern， too. In 1962—the same year Kent saw Warhols soup cans—Pope John XXIII was convening Vatican II， the great reforming council that many liberal Catholics， like Kent and her community， thought would bring the Latin-using， medieval-rooted church into the 20th century， making it relevant and liberal; Christian， as Kent would have seen it， for the 20th century.

It was against the backdrop of this great reforming movement taking place in Rome， alongside the seismic changes in popular culture of the secular 60s， that Kent embarked on her most exhilarating work. Tame Its Not （1966） quotes from Winnie the Pooh and Kierkegaard， as well as the ad slogan for a mens cologne， and includes an aeroplane which many see as a reference to a guardian angel; “Somebody up there likes us”， reads one of its hopeful messages. More political is Stop the Bombing （1967）， her protest against Vietnam， with blue text against an angry red background; more religious is Enriched Bread （1965）， which uses an everyday loaf （“Helps build strong bodies 12 ways”） to reference the Catholic Mass， and the importance of the Eucharist. Words sing out of Kents silkscreens， their simplicity often belying the complexity of their messages.

Its as a nun that Kent is at her most intriguing. Lenore Dowling， 86， was a nun of the Immaculate Heart of Mary order at the same time as Kent and worked with her at the college; though a generation apart， she says the two of them shared a similar background. “Like Corita， Id been at school at the convent， and I was influenced， and Corita quite probably was， too， by the fact that the nuns who taught us were so young， in their early 20s， and they were so enthusiastic; joining the order seemed a very attractive future.”

Like Kent， Dowling remembers the excitement around Vatican II， and the hopes for lasting， liberal changes in the Catholic Church. But the Archbishop of Los Angeles， Cardinal James McIntyre， was a diehard traditionalist who disapproved strongly of the views of the nuns of Kents order， and particularly of the art of Kent herself. He took particular offence to a piece called the juiciest tomato of all （1964） in which Kent likes the Virgin Mary to a luscious tomato. The following year， McIntyre wrote to the head of the order to complain that “The Christmas cards designed by your art department and the sisters are an affront to me and a scandal to the archdiocese.

Kent tried to brush off the criticism， but coming from such a prominent figure in the church made it hard. In the summer of 1968 she took a sabbatical， spending the summer in Cape Cod; at the end of that time， she decided it wasnt possible to go back to the convent. “It wasnt only because of the tension of the backlash from the church，” says Dowling. “Corita had also been getting very little time for her own creative work. I think it all added up， and she realised she needed more time to herself， rather than running a busy art department.” Many other nuns， women who like Kent （and Dowling） were liberal Christians， also left the order around the same period; they established a much broader， more inclusive kind of religious community and Kent remained close to the new group until the end of her life， eventually leaving her work and royalties to them.

But from the age of 50 she lived alone， for the first time in her life， moving into an apartment in Boston. From now on her work becomes quieter， includes nature-inspired watercolors， and reflects her search for meaning from other religious traditions as well as pieces that reflect her experience of cancer.

Steeles view is that Kent， who died in 1986， was able to pour all her emotion into her art because of the life choices she made. “As an artist she was all emotion， but because she chose to be a nun， to be a single woman， not to have children， she had no lovers or children to take up that part of her.” What， though， of her legacy？ “Some of the graphics were of their time： but the messages are still very relevant today，” says Steele. Kent knew the power of a few well-chosen words， and in the world of text-messaging and Twitter， a world she never knew， that has a particular resonance. Perhaps most significant of all， though， is her belief in activism. We live in a time when popular action seems complicated and confusing; and Kents simple， heartfelt message rings down the decades. Because for her， there is no doubt about it. Feelings， and owning feelings， really can change the world.

1962年的某個夏日，一位45岁左右的修女参观了安迪·沃霍尔的汤罐画展，整个展览令人耳目一新。后来，她回忆道，“回家后看什么都像是安迪·沃霍尔的作品”。那是科丽塔·肯特修女从修女院教师跨界成为波普艺术家的重大时刻。

艺术界有许多追求原创、打破常规、独树一帜的艺术家，肯特身处其中，并不满足于坚持自己的风格。她始终一身修女长袍，戴着面纱和头巾——这身单调的修女服与她色彩斑斓、活力四射的丝网印作品形成了鲜明对比。2018年，在她诞辰100周年之际，英国苏塞克斯的迪奇灵工艺美术博物馆为其作品举办了一场纪念展。

该展览的策展人唐娜·斯蒂尔表示，对波普艺术运动来说，肯特的作品“与沃霍尔的作品同样重要”。肯特利用广告宣传语和歌词，以及圣经经文和文学名言，创作充满活力的丝网印作品，针对种族歧视、贫困现象和社会不公提出犀利的政治诉求。

迪奇灵的展览涵盖了肯特1952年至1972年的作品，这20年可能是她生活和创作最重要的时期。1918年11月，肯特出生于一个虔诚的天主教家庭，原名弗朗西丝·肯特，在家中六个孩子里排行第五。全家于1923年从艾奥瓦州迁至好莱坞。在当地学校，她的艺术作品因独创性而广受赞誉。18岁那年，她加入了圣母洁心会，此前她曾就读该修女会的学校。在洛杉矶的修女院，资深修女玛格达琳·玛丽对其艺术才华非常赏识，鼓励她参加艺术教师的培训。该修会所办的学校是一所以观点前卫著称的文理学院，肯特毕业后继续留校任教，1964年出任艺术系主任。

1960年代是个重要时期，那时的洛杉矶令人兴奋：肯特的作品引起了一些人的注意，包括导演阿尔弗雷德·希区柯克、作曲家约翰·凯奇、建筑师巴克敏斯特·富勒，以及设计师查尔斯和雷·伊姆斯等，他们成为肯特亲密的朋友和支持者。她的作品愈发引人瞩目，1967年冬天，她甚至登上了《新闻周刊》的封面——封面文章标题是“修女：走向现代”。这位修女确实走向了现代;一时间，她所在的天主教会似乎也有此趋势。1962年，就是肯特看到沃霍尔汤罐画的那一年，教皇约翰二十三世召集了第二次梵蒂冈大公会议。那是一次重大的改革会议，许多自由派天主教徒（比如肯特及其教区的教众）认为，此次会议可以将这个讲拉丁语、起源于中世纪的教会带入20世纪，让教会更贴近时代，更自由开放;正如肯特后来所看到的，带来一个属于20世纪的基督教。

这场重要的改革运动在罗马展开，同时1960年代世俗流行文化发生了巨变——正是在此背景下，肯特开始了她最激动人心的系列创作。《不可驯服》（1966）引用了小熊维尼和基克格德，以及一款男士古龙香水的广告语，还有一架被很多人当作守护天使的飞机;其中有条充满希望的信息写道“天堂有人喜欢我们”。《制止轰炸》（1967）更具政治意义，她以愤怒的红底配以蓝字抗议越南战争。《丰富的面包》（1965）更富宗教色彩，以普通面包（“强身健体十二法”）来强调天主教弥撒及圣餐的重要性。肯特的丝网印作品总会呈现文字，简单的形式常常隐藏了复杂的内涵。

肯特的修女身份是人们最感兴趣的。86岁的莉诺·道林和肯特同为圣母洁心会的修女，她们还是学院的同事。道林說，尽管年龄相差一代，但她俩有相似的经历：“和科丽塔一样，我也在修女院上过学，教我们的修女都很年轻，才20出头，个个充满热情——这让我深受触动，科丽塔很可能也是如此。加入修会似乎前景非常诱人。”

和肯特一样，道林还记得第二次梵蒂冈大公会议带来的兴奋，以及对天主教会持久自由改革的希冀。但是，洛杉矶的大主教、红衣主教詹姆斯·麦金太尔是顽固的传统派，他强烈反对肯特所在的修女会修女们的观点，尤其反对肯特本人的艺术创作。肯特有一个作品名为《美味西红柿》（1964），她在其中把圣母马利亚比作美味的西红柿，主教对该作品尤其不满。次年，麦金太尔写信给修女会会长表达反感：“在我看来，贵系及修女们设计的圣诞贺卡是一种冒犯，也是大主教区的耻辱。”

肯特试图将这种批评置之脑后，但批评来自教会这样一位大人物让她很难做到不予理睬。1968年夏天，她放下教职休了个假，整个夏天都在科德角度过;假期结束时，她觉得自己不可能再回修女院了。“这不仅仅是因为教会强烈反对所带来的压力，”道林说，“科丽塔自己的创作时间也一直很少。我认为这两种原因都有，而她意识到了自己需要更多的私人时间，而不是忙于管理艺术系。”就在同一时期，其他许多修女，即像肯特（和道林）一样的自由派基督徒，也离开了修会;她们建立了一个更广泛、更包容的宗教团体。肯特余生一直与这个新团体联系密切，最终还把自己的作品及版税都留给了她们。

但从50岁起，肯特就搬进了波士顿的一所公寓，开始了她人生第一次的独居生活。自那时起，她的作品变得更加安静，包括从大自然获取灵感的水彩画，反映出她在其他宗教传统和有关自己患癌经历的作品中探寻意义。

肯特于1986年逝世。斯蒂尔认为，肯特之所以能将她全部的情感倾注到艺术中，是源于她所做出的人生选择。“作为一个艺术家，她情感丰富，但因为她选择做修女，做一个单身女人，不要孩子，所以她没有爱人或孩子来占据那一部分的情感。”那么，她为我们留下了什么呢？斯蒂尔表示：“有些图案打上了时代烙印，但包含的信息在今天仍很重要。”肯特深知一些精选文字所具有的力量，在她永远不会了解的这个短信和推特的世界，那力量也会引起特别的共鸣。不过，也许最重要的是她对行动主义的信奉。我们生活的这个时代，大众行为看似复杂难懂;而肯特简单真挚的信息流传了数十年。因为对她来说，有一点是毋庸置疑的：情感，拥有情感，真的可以改变世界。

（译者单位：对外经济贸易大学）