• Born on May 4, 1958, in Reading, Pennsylvania. During his all-too-brief life, Keith Haring became a sensation in the art world with his bold, cartoon and graffiti influenced works during the 1980s. Growing up in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, he spent many hours drawing with his father. Haring was fascinated by the popular cartoon art of Walt Disney and Charles Schultz.

• Haring briefly attended the Ivy School of Professional Art in Pittsburgh after graduating high school in 1976. He dropped out after two semesters. In 1978, Haring decided to return to school, moving to New York City to become a student at the School of Visual Arts. With its thriving underground art scene, New York seemed to be the perfect fit for the young artist. He began using the city as his canvas, making chalk drawings of barking dogs and babies in subway stations. He also befriended such other emerging artists as Jean-Michel Basquiat and helped organize exhibitions at nightclubs and other alternative locations.

• In 1982, Haring had his first New York one-man show at the Shafrazi Gallery. Not only did he create paintings and sculptures for the show, he engulfed the entire gallery with his bold color choices and frenetic designs. A critical success, he soon became one of most popular artists of the time with exhibits in Japan, Brazil, and many other countries. Haring collaborated with other artists and performers, including Andy Warhol and William Burroughs.

• Wanting to make his art more accessible, Haring opened Pop Shop in New York City in 1986. The store sold posters, t-shirts, and other items baring his artwork and designs. He was also interested many social causes, painting an anti-drug mural that same year. In all, he did more than 50 public works and held numerous workshops for children. In 1988, Haring discovered that he had AIDS. The next year he created the Keith Haring Foundation to support AIDS organizations and children’s programs.

• Haring died on February 16, 1990, of AIDS-related complications. His works continues to be exhibited around the world and many are owned by such prestigious museums as the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.

Keith Haring drawing in the subways of New York

Photos of some of his Subway Drawings:

Haring created over 50 Public Works .

Most of them were large murals on walls and buildings.

Haring Loved to draw. He would draw and paint on most anything.

He painted his own car,

and… …EVEN HIMSELF! He opened a store store in New York to sell his own artwork. He painted the inside in his own signature style.

What kinds of things could you buy at the Pop Shop?

He never stopped drawing, and he created a LOT of artwork! He used action marks to bring his figures to life:

Most of his work dealt with love, and relationships.

Haring loved to try to fill the blank spaces (also known as “negative space”).

Here’s how to make your own artwork in the style of Keith Haring

*This sheet can be cut and pasted into a word document and printed onto a thick sheet of paper. Each of you will receive this worksheet First “Bubble-Cut” around the individual body parts so that it’s easier to cut the individual pieces out. Cut out each body part (try to cut on the outside of the black line) Use a hole-punch to make holes where all of the black circles are located.

Use brass fasteners (brads) to join the body parts together.

Open the fasteners on the bask so that the body parts stay in place. Add the head and the legs that you want. Save all of the other arms and legs…you may want to switch some of them to create different types of people and poses. 1.Place your person on a large piece of paper and use a pencil to trace around it. 2. Be sure to hold each piece as you trace, so that it doesn’t move

3. Move the person to reveal the outlined figure. 4. Switch different arms and legs to create unique figures and poses. Move the person to reveal the outlined figure. You may even turn your person up-side-down for a whole new pose. Switch different arms and legs to create unique figures and poses. Try to think of a scene or theme for your figures. The arms and legs can face either way (up- side-down in ok too). Theme: “Superman is coming to break up the fight.” Use a ruler to create a ground for your figures. Don’t draw the line through your figures! Use a permanent marker and outline your figures to make them bold. Use an eraser to remove any unwanted pencil marks. Theme: “Superman is coming to break up a fight”. Add action marks to make your figures look like they’re moving. Fill the negative space with designs like Keith Haring did. You can fill the whole page or just a part of it. Use bright watercolor paints to color in your people. Paint or color the foreground and /or background. Congratulations!

Your masterpiece is complete. Student Examples: