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Keith Haring

Activism Through Art in the 1980’s Background

Keith Haring was born on May 4th, 1958 in Reading, a small town in Pennsylvania, to parents Joan Haring and Allen Haring. His father was an amateur cartoonist which is why Keith became interested in art at a young age. He was not only influenced by his father, but by and Dr. Seuss as well. He first attended the Ivy School of Professional Art in Pittsburg, but left after two semesters. He had realized that commercial graphic art was not what he wanted to focus on in his art career. After he enrolled at Manhattan’s in New York he fell in love with the city. He decided to begin drawing on panels that were covered with matte black paper in the subway stations in 1980, which is when his career as an artist flourished. Subway Art / Recognition as an Artist

Haring produced hundreds of drawings in the subway between 1980 and 1985, sometimes creating 40 drawings in a single day. He was arrested multiple times because although his drawings were getting attention, it was still considered and was therefore illegal. However, that did not stop him from from continuing to draw in the subway. His artwork there received national recognition and his career soon took off. Keith Haring, NY Subway, (1985) Subway Art

Graffiti by Haring, NY subway, (1982); Keith Haring, arrested in NY Subway, (1982); Graffiti by Haring, NY Subway, (1985); Keith Haring, NY subway, (1984); Keith Haring, NY Subway, (1983). His Work Held Many Political and Social Messages: Stop AIDS, (1989)

Much of Keith Haring’s work consisted of messages to give to society. I decided to focus on a few of his pieces and what messages they portrayed during the time he created them. He was a great advocate for the LGBTQ community, efforts to get rid of in South Africa (which was a legislation system that enforced racial segregation), efforts against the , healing children in hospitals, and the promotion of to prevent AIDS. Untitled; Untitled, (1982)

Both of these pieces hold the same title and were created the same year.

The top artwork shows two men with a red heart in between them. Since this was the beginning of Keith Haring’s career, he used more subtle ways to advocate for in the early 1980s.

The lower artwork depicts two men holding each other. Free South Africa, (1985)

Keith Haring created this artwork as a political message about the institutionalized racial segregation in South Africa. He drew the man in black to define the majority of indigenous Africans being suppressed by the minority, which was made up of white South Africans. Because of his and other activists’ efforts, the government of President F.W. de Klerk abolished the legislation that implemented apartheid in 1991. Berlin Wall , (1986)

Keith Haring created a mural on the Berlin Wall in 1986 as a political statement. The mural signified the unity that people wanted. The colors he used were those of the German flag. Although the wall was vandalized and altered by other artists - and eventually torn down in November 1991 - it became a symbol of and the beginning to the free movement of people between East Berlin and the Federal Republic of West . Devotion to a Better Cause

Keith Haring’s devotion to sharing his art with everyone was very influential during the 1980s. The subway art and his pop-up shop in Soho, which allowed for anyone to purchase his artwork at an affordable price, were a huge part of his success. His art show in Soho made him a quarter of a million dollars, but even then he would go to the subway to share his art with people. He was a genuine person and took part in many selfless activities, including with children. These included the murals at Children’s Hospital in Washington, DC, Necker Children’s Hospital in , Grady Hospital in Atlanta, and the maternity ward of Princess Grace Hospital in Monte Carlo. “My decision to come to New York and become a ‘public’ artist was spurred by my desire to communicate and contribute to culture and eventually history.” - Keith Haring journal entry, pages 210/211. Murals in Hospitals

Keith Haring, Necker Children’s Hospital Mural, Paris, France (1987); (L)

Keith Haring, Grady Hospital Mural, Atlanta, Georgia, (1988) (R) Art against Drugs: Mural, New York (1986)

Keith Haring was someone who took part in the party scene in New York, but he realized how crack was affecting families and communities. He made a few murals in an attempt for the fight against drugs. Here is one he created in New York. He symbolizes that doing drugs such as crack will cause you to run out of money, and eventually lead to death. Advocating for the Prevention of AIDS: Safe Sex (1986)

One of the interesting things about Keith was that in some of his journal entries, he explained his fear of death. He witnessed so many friends die after being infected with the deadly virus HIV, that he believed he would be next. He advocated much for safe sex, but unfortunately was diagnosed with AIDS in 1988. AIDS Advocacy Artwork: Ignorance=Fear, Silence=Death (1989)

He chose the message of “ignorance=fear” to help others understand the challenges people who were living with AIDS faced and the importance of educating people about AIDS. The pink symbol (right) was used by the Nazis to label homosexuals, so he often used it in his artwork. Keith Haring Foundation

After being diagnosed with AIDS in 1988, Keith Haring founded the Keith Haring foundation in 1989. The foundation gives grants to non-profit agencies that support programs that enrich the lives of underprivileged children and educate people about HIV and AIDS infection and the prevention of HIV/AIDS. “All of the things that you make are a kind of quest for immortality. Because you’re making these things that you know have a different kind of life. They don’t depend on breathing, so they’ll lastlonger than any of us will. Which is sort of an interesting idea, that it’s sort of extending your life to some degree.”- Keith Haring

Even though Haring died in 1990 from AIDS-related causes, through his charitable work, he will forever live on as an advocate for social and political causes. Keith Haring, his NY Studio, (1983) Bibliography

Hamilton, Denise. "Artist With AIDS Races the Clock to Spread His Message Art: The Painter, Who Started His Career by Scrawling Graffiti on Subway Cars, Was at Art Center to Paint a Muralfor "A Day Without Art."." The Los Angeles times [Los Angeles, Calif] 1989: The Los Angeles Times, 1989-12-01. Web.

Hayt, Elizabeth. “Keith Haring.” Art/Text, no. 59, Nov. 1997, pp. 86–87. EBSCOhost,search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aft&AN=505708217&site=ehost- live&scope=site.

History.com Editors. “Apartheid.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 7 Oct. 2010, www.history.com/topics/africa/apartheid.

"Just Say Know: Interview with Keith Haring." American Decades Primary Sources, edited by Cynthia Rose, vol. 9: 1980-1989, Gale, 2004, pp. 65-71. Gale eBooks, /link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3490201654/GVRL?u=sonomacsu&sid=GVRL&xid=b0e8343. Bibliography

“Keith Haring Arrested & Interviewed.” Keith Haring Arrested and Interviewed, CBS Evening News, 1982, www.youtube.com/watch?v=qL58OM1vx6g.

Keith Haring's Journals, Keith Haring Foundation, 2015, keithharing.tumblr.com/.

"Keith Haring, N.Y. Artist, Dies: [FINAL Edition]." The Washington Post (pre-1997 Fulltext), Feb 17, 1990, pp. b06. ProQuest, https://sonoma.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.sonoma.idm.oclc.org/docview/ 307246872?accountid=13949.

Maripol, director. The Message, Morgane Et Darjeeling, 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mrhk7UYq59o.

Tate. “Five Things to Know: Keith Haring – List.” Tate, www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/g/graffiti- art/lists/five-things-know-keith-haring.