Keith Haring

by Keith Haring

Keith Haring 2009 presents the radiant babies and barking dogs ubiquitous on skateboards, jackets, and Swatch watches during the 80s. Each month includes paintings as well as drawings and street art. One of the most popular artists of his time, Keith Haring's devotion to developing a truly public art would take his work from the canvas of New York City+s streets and subways to murals all over the world.

A part of the proceeds of any licensing of Haring imagery goes to the Keith Haring Foundation whose mandate is to provide funding and imagery to AIDS organizations and children+s programs.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Hip Hop, Graffiti, Essays

119 pages, Paperback

First published January 28, 1987

About the author

Keith Haring (1958–1990) grew up in Pennsylvania and moved to New York in 1978 to enroll in the School of Visual Arts. Over the following decade, he made some of the most widely recognized artwork of the twentieth century.

Reviews

[kylee]

skipped Thompson’s essay as it does not pertain to my research- seems interesting tho!!

[Jaimie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a bit of a risk reading two Keith Haring books almost back to back (especially when the first was based on the magnum opus that he had planned to publish before his untimely death), but this catalogue from his major retrospective exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1997 stood up well in comparison. I found about half of the written pieces readable (a higher percentage than normal!), focusing my efforts on those written by his close friend Ann Magnuson and the small panoply of interviews which revealed a more intimate perspective on Haring’s art and his life. I tire of art critique, no matter how well-informed and perceptive, as it often creates a distance between the artist and their work, and in the case of Haring it feels particularly adverse; his life was his art, so reading a summary or interpretation of his life by a third party just doesn’t cut it. It takes a personal touch to get the real story (or at least a version of the real story), and the small glimpses provided alongside the artwork here were heartfelt in the best way possible. The accompanying artwork was expectedly wonderful as well, showcasing examples from a wide range of Haring’s output. Some of the pieces we have seen before, of course, but I was stunned by the range of 3D pieces, photographic/textual collages, and apparently never-ending paintings and drawings. Is it actually possible to see all of Haring’s work? At this point, I would argue it’s not, since the more I consume, the more of it there seems to be! Not that we’re complaining, since we could never tire of his inventive, satirical, thought-provoking, and downright fun style!