manna in the desert 1959

Editor: This is Corita Kent's "Manna in the Desert." It looks like a screen print. The stark contrast between the dark mass and the lighter ground feels quite dramatic to me. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Well, considering Kent's background as a Catholic sister and her engagement with social justice, the title points us to the biblical story. How might this abstract rendering, with its bold graphic style, speak to themes of sustenance and divine intervention in a modern, perhaps even a politically charged, context? Editor: So, you’re thinking about this work more as a social commentary than a purely aesthetic piece? Curator: Absolutely. Kent's work often uses familiar imagery to prompt viewers to consider deeper societal issues. The "manna" could be seen as hope or even a call to action within a desert of injustice. Editor: I hadn’t considered that. Seeing it in that light gives the abstraction a lot more weight. Curator: Exactly. Art and its perception change with society.