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You are here: Blog / Miscellany / A new connection (Corita + Thoreau)

A new connection (Corita + Thoreau)

November 8, 2018

Corita Kent, The Stamp of Thoreau, 1969

When I toured the Corita Art Center last weekend, I kept seeing evidence of Corita Kent’s thoughts on the seasons (I wrote about them in Keep Going):

I’d noticed Thoreau quotes in Corita’s work before. She seemed to especially like these lines from Walden: “If a man does not keep pace with his companions perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.” She used the quote in at least two different pieces over the years:

Corita Kent, different drummer, 1967
Corita Kent, Thoreau, 1971

So I asked (former) director Ray Smith if she knew of any explicit imagery with Thoreau. She led me straight to a drawer with The Stamp of Thoreau piece (from Corita’s series, A Set Of Heroes And Sheroes) that you see above.

Ray Smith in the print archives at the Corita Art Center

This was one of those great moments when I realized there was actually an unmade connection between two artists in my creative family tree:

That was then filled by another artist I love:

Everything is connected, but the connections only matter if you make them!

Filed Under: Miscellany Tagged: connections, corita art center, corita kent, family tree, henry david thoreau

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Austin Kleon

Austin Kleon (@austinkleon) is a writer who draws. He’s the bestselling author of Steal Like An Artist and other books.
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