Keith Haring: Street Artist and Social Activist

Written by Hilary Dufour

Much of the late great Keith Haring’s art is characterized by bright, bold primary colors and lines that create frenzied patterns and scenes of humans and creatures.  Themes such as AIDS, drugs abuse, and religion were prevalent throughout his career. His patterns have appeared on shoes, clothing, subway stations, cars, you name it. He also teamed up with Absolut Vodka and Swatch to display his patterns. The Keith Haring art legacy is indeed prominent in the international art world.

Pop artist Keith Haring in 1984

The Independent Artist

Born in Pennsylvania, and interested in pop art and culture at an early age, Haring was an ambitious art-school dropout with a passion for public art. Keith Haring was influenced by the public nature of European artist Christo’s work and the manifesto written by author and artist Robert Henri, The Art Spirit, which asserted the independence of the artist. With these inspirations in mind, he wanted to reach the masses with his message and naturally got involved with graffiti art. In the 1980s, Haring started decorating the walls of New York Subway stations. The unused panels covered in black paper that were usually intended for advertising became public canvases for Haring’s white chalk and dramatic bold lines. He developed a style of “graphic expression based on the primacy of the line.”

The 80s and the Berlin Wall

His talent and penchant for likable and versatile designs helped him gain international recognition for his pop art designs. He participated in a number of group and solo exhibitions in the 1980s that furthered his popularity. He also participated in the famous Whitney Biennial and designed sets for clubs and theaters. Additionally, he created murals worldwide and indeed succeeded in his goal of creating public art. In 1986, on the Western side of the Berlin Wall he created a 300 meter mural that illustrated the division among the political world and the city itself, which had been divided in half. The subject of the mural as described by Haring is “a continuous interlocking chain of human figures, who are connected at their hands and their feet – the chain obviously representing the unity of people as against the idea of the wall.”

Keith Haring painting at mural on the Berlin Wall in 1986

“Pop Shop”

This goal of his to create public art was developed with the opening of his Soho retail store, “Pop Shop,” which held similarities to contemporary pop artist Haruki Murakami’s retail shops and mass-production. Wandering through “Pop Shop,” one would come across a variety of items including buttons, magnets, toys and posters with Keith Haring’s trademark design. The walls were painted by the artist himself, an abstract black and white mural that aided in the creation a retail haven for consumers and art appreciators alike. 

Social Activist  

Aside from his involvement in the commercial and fine art worlds, the artist was active in literacy and public service programs. One such project of his in 1986 was a mural commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty. For this mural, Haring worked with 900 children. Following his diagnosis of AIDS in 1988,  he created the Keith Haring Foundation which merged art with AIDS organizations and children’s programs, again furthering the visibility of his art and thus becoming “a universally recognized visual language of the 20th century.”

Many artists at Thumbprint Gallery were similarly inspired by graffiti art and pop art and now display distinct styles within the low brow and urban art scene that aims to connect with the general public. 

Works by Thumbprint Gallery artists can be viewed at our online store here.
 

Sources 

http://www.haring.com/about_haring/bio/index.html
http://keithharingfoundationarchives.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/794/
http://www.haring.com/cgi-bin/essays.cgi?essay_id=30
http://artworksgallery.com/blog/keith-haring-art-biography/#more-33
http://www.haring.com/cgi-bin/art_lrg.cgi?date=1982&genre=Painting&start=0&id=00141