By Jessica Easthope
Kristi Pfister’s artwork, a testament to the profound influence of Dorothy Day, portrays her as more than just a figure. She was an activist, a writer, a pioneer, and a woman of God.
“Her work is so admirable,” said Pfister. “The Catholic Worker movement cares for the needy and the poor in such a devoted, committed way, and not at all, not at all hypocritical. She really, really did the work.”
Only some of Pfister’s artwork, reflecting Day’s life and legacy, is at her home studio on Staten Island. It’s currently being shown at Manhattan College’s library and will soon be displayed at a fundraiser for the Catholic worker. Day helped found the movement that spreads the message of Christ’s love and charity—and it’s now expanding into Staten Island.
“Creating the Catholic worker, which is merging like workers’ rights with the moral tenants of the teachings of Christ, she kind of fuses that, in itself, to me is a real miracle,” said Pfister.
In 2005, Pfister—part of a muralist collective—had her first brush with Dorothy Day when she created this piece in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Since then, she has championed Day in art that has crossed multiple mediums. Her latest collection, titled Radical Action: Tracing Dorothy Day, includes mosaics, oil paintings, sheer columns, and metal.
“The mosaics kind of represent the work, the grittiness, the hardness of that,” said Pfister. “And the columns are more, I think, represent her, the transcendence of her spiritual beliefs.”
Some of her pieces in this new exhibit show day’s iconic braid and compare her to a caryatid – like these at the Acropolis in Athens –
“They represent strength and collectivity, and they support the tablature, but they’re not burdened by their weight,” said Pfister. “And I see Dorothy day in the same way. So this sense that she’s, in a way, a caryatid.”
Pfister’s art dedicated to Day is not just a personal project, but a testament to her deep understanding and appreciation of Day’s work. She recognizes that her art can hold a greater significance, especially as Day’s cause for canonization is currently under review by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
The process is long – but each new step chips away. Pfister says she’s doing her part to bring awareness – the only way she knows how with her two hands.