Keith Haring

1978-1982

Polaroid self-portraits with glasses painted by Kenny Sharf, 1980-81

PowerPoint by Gretchen Ferber

• Keith Haring was born in Reading, Pennsylvania in 1958.• As a child, he was fascinated by cartoons and drew them constantly. • In 1978 when he enrolled in the School of Visual Arts in New York,

he left hiscartoon characters behind to explore what he described as the most exciting city in the world.

New Drawings by Keith Haring: Des Refusés, 1981

The exhibition Keith Haring 1978-1982 spans the time when

Haring developed his artistic style from shapes and forms

into figures and lines.

Untitled sketchbook pages, 1978

Eight untitled drawings, 1980

The artist kept journals

where he documented his

important artistic discoveries.

Journal entry, 1978Journal entry, 1979

• Haring created an “alphabet of shapes” as one of his earliest artistic experiments.

• This alphabet of shapes could be assembled in variouscombinations to create patterns.

Do you think the shapes are like letters? How do you “read” these shapes?

25 untitled drawings (Variations), 1978

In his journals, Keith Haring playedwith the layout of the

shapes and how theycould be combined.

Have you ever useda journal to help you

think through an idea

or create a project?

Journal entry, 1971-73

Haring’s work began to change. He moved away from combinations of forms to combinations of

words on paper and in video works.

Untitled (recto and verso), ca. 1980

No sin, Art Sin, Fat Sin, No Fat, ca. 1979

• Haring’s experimentation continued as he transitioned from abstract shapes and words to a focus on figures and objects.

• In 1980, he introduced figures in his drawings that he used for the rest of his life that are easily recognizable today.

Untitled, 1980

• His iconic figures include the standing figure, the pyramid, the dog, the flying saucer, the radio, the nuclear reactor, the bird, and the dolphin.

• The radiating lines indicate movement or the flows of energy.

• These figures echo his early interest in cartoons.

Untitled, 1980

Spaceship with Ray, 1980

By 1981, the artist had merged two of his working styles.• He combined his geometric abstractions with images of figuresand objects.

• He accomplished this by filling only part of a composition with dense strokes around the key figurative elements.

Untitled, 1980

How does this work relate to Haring’s early experiments in his journals?

What happens to the figures when surrounded by the geometrics shapes?

Untitled, 1980

• Beginning in 1978, Haring ventured into New York’s public spaces to create art that was for everyone. He understood his work needed to be experienced by diverse audiences.

• He created art in the streets and gave his images away for free in the form of buttons, posters and flyers.

Art for Everyone

Graffiti by Haring in New York

City, 1981

• Haring’s activity in public spaces reached its climax when he began drawing hissignature figures in chalk on pieces of black paper.

• Because this act of drawing inpublic without a license madehis works an illegal form of communication, Haring wasarrested several times.

How does Haring’s use ofchalk on paper differ fromother forms of graffiti art?

Subway drawing executed by Haring in 1981-82

Keith Haring’s Legacy

• Haring died in 1990, but his goal of creating artfor everyone has inspired thecontemporary practice of street art.

• Shepard Fairey’s Obey Giantwas influenced by Haring’s figures.

• Haring’s art lives on in theform of fashion, product designs and public murals thathe created in variouscountries.

Graffati by Haring, New York City, 1981

To learn more, visit:http://www.haring.com/

http://www.haringkids.com/

Flyer for Pieces of the Same Thing: Continuous 12 Hour Performance, New York City, ca. 1979-80