Sex, war, birth, death: graffiti artist Keith Haring, 1958 - 1990

Keith Haring (May 4, 1958 – February 16, 1990) was an artist and social activist whose work responded to the New York City street culture of the 1980s, says his bio in Wikipedia.org.

Born in Reading, Pennsylvania, Haring grew up in Kutztown and was interested in art from an early age. From 1976 to 1978 he studied graphic design at The Ivy School of Professional Art, a commercial and fine art school in Pittsburgh. At age 19 Haring, who was openly gay,[1] moved to New York City, where he was inspired by graffiti art, and studied at the School of Visual Arts.

He achieved his first public attention with chalk drawings in the subways of New York (see public art). The exhibitions were filmed by the photographer Tseng Kwong Chi. Around this time, "The Radiant baby" became his symbol. His bold lines, vivid colors, and active figures carry strong messages of life and unity. Starting in 1980, he organized exhibitions in Club 57. He participated in the Times Square Exhibition and drew, for the first time, animals and human faces. In 1981 he sketched his first chalk drawings on black paper and painted plastic, metal and found objects.

By 1982, he established friendships with fellow emerging artists Kenny Scharf, Madonna and Jean-Michel Basquiat. He took part in the Whitney Biennial in 1983, as well as in the São Paulo Biennial. He got to know Andy Warhol, who was the theme of several of Haring's pieces including "Andy Mouse."

In 1985 he started to paint canvas. Simultaneously, the Museum of Modern Art in Bordeaux opened an exhibition of his works, and took part in the Paris Biennial. He made an appearance on MTV in November 1985, painting the set during a "guest VJ" special hosted by his friend, keyboardist Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran. In 1986 Haring painted murals in Amsterdam, Paris, Phoenix and in Berlin on the Berlin Wall at Brandenburg Gate. As well, he painted the body of Grace Jones for her music video "I'm Not Perfect." and opened a retail store in SoHo called Pop Shop, selling merchandise bearing his iconic images; the outlet closed in 2005. By then, his work began reflecting more socio-political themes, such as anti-Apartheid, AIDS awareness, and the crack cocaine epidemic. He even created several pop art pieces influenced by other products: Absolut Vodka, Lucky Strike cigarettes, and Coca-Cola. In 1987 he had his own exhibitions in Helsinki and Antwerp, among others.

In June 1989, on the rear wall of the convent of the Church of Sant'Antonio in Pisa, he painted the last public work of his life, the mural "Tuttomondo." Haring died in 1990 of an HIV (AIDS)-related disease.

By expressing concepts of birth, death, love, sex and war, Haring's imagery has become a widely recognized visual language of the 20th century.


Says the person who snapped this photo of the pre-celebrity Keith Haring: "At that time I would wander the streets and Subways after work, taking photos, especially of downtown Manhattan's rising street-art scene. One day after work in the news biz I was doing political graffitti in the Subways, and he was nearby, chalking a glowing baby onto a big piece of black construction paper.

If you ever see his early work before his shows began, the reason for the black paper was that the MTA rented wall space for ads, by the month. When the month was over, they would wheat-paste black paper over the ads. Haring, genius, used bright white chalk to inscribe his universal symbols of world-dominating TV sets, barking dogs, glowing babies, dancing men, etc., all over the Subway stations of lower Manhattan. Soon, artists and art critics were taking notice of this ghostly presence who made powerful statements without using words. So was the MTA, which issued him several tickets for the "crime" of making art."