Keith arrived in New York in 1978 as a scholarship student at the School of Visual Arts. All at once, he began to experience a multicultural urban community with its own expressive vocabulary; a lively environment in which to explore his gay identity; and a peer group, at the School of Visual Arts and in the vibrantly experimental East Village, as energetic and uninhibited as Keith himself.
Untitled, 1980, Acrylic Spray Paint and Ink on Paper
He was particularly inspired by the beauty and spontaneity of the graffiti he saw in the subways. Graffiti spoke of a world that was hip and streetwise, creative and spontaneous and underground–all that he admired and wanted to be. At the same time, he admired the technical mastery and calligraphic quality of the graffiti artists’ ‘tags.’
Untitled, 1980, Collage
His classes at SVA (with teachers such as Keith Sonnier, Joseph Kosuth, Barbara Buchner, and others) provided Keith with an important critical framework for his emerging style. He began to work obsessively, hanging his drawings in the hallways of the school for everyone to see. He created videotapes and performance pieces, and he also began doing a lot of writing. These experiments were part of his search for a unique style of visual communication.
Keith Haring, 1981, photo:Klaus Wittman
“I bought a roll of oak-tag paper and cut it up and put it all over the floor and worked on this whole group of drawings. The first few were abstracts, but then these images started coming. They were humans and animals in different combinations. Then flying saucers were zapping the humans. I remember trying to figure out where this stuff came from, but I have no idea. It just grew into this group of drawings. I was thinking about these images as symbols, as a vocabulary of things. In one a dog’s being worshipped by these people. In another one the dog is being zapped by a flying saucer. Suddenly it made sense to draw on the street, because I had something to say.”[7. Sheff, p. 63]
“One day, riding the subway, I saw this empty black panel where an advertisem*nt was supposed to go. I immediately realized that this was the perfect place to draw. I went back above ground to a card shop and bought a box of white chalk, went back down and did a drawing on it. It was perfect–soft black paper; chalk drew on it really easily.”
“I kept seeing more and more of these black spaces, and I drew on them whenever I saw one. Because they were so fragile, people left them alone and respected them; they didn’t rub them out or try to mess them up. It gave them this other power. It was this chalk-white fragile thing in the middle of all this power and tension and violence that the subway was. People were completely enthralled.”[8. Sheff, p. 63]
“I was always totally amazed that the people I would meet while I was doing them were really, really concerned with what they meant. The first thing anyone asked me, no matter how old, no matter who they were, was what does it mean?”[9. Cummings, p. 11]
“The context of where you do something is going to have an effect. The subway drawings were, as much as they were drawings, performances. It was where I learned how to draw in public. You draw in front of people. For me it was a whole sort of philosophical and sociological experiment. When I drew, I drew in the daytime which meant there were always people watching. There were always confrontations, whether it was with people that were interested in looking at it, or people that wanted to tell you you shouldn’t be drawing there…”
“I was learning, watching people’s reactions and interactions with the drawings and with me and looking at it as a phenomenon. Having this incredible feedback from people, which is one of the main things that kept me going so long, was the participation of the people that were watching me and the kinds of comments and questions and observations that were coming from every range of person you could imagine, from little kids to old ladies to art historians.”[10. Jason Rubell, “Keith Haring: The Last Interview,” Arts Magazine, September 1990, p. 59.]
Keith Haring, Subway, 1982
Keith Haring, Subway, 1982
Keith Haring working in the subway. Photographer, Chantal Regnault 1983
FOOT NOTES
FAQs
He loved drawing cartoons and visiting museums. Here he is travelling on the subway. Keith Haring is known for colourful, cartoon artworks and certain characters such as crawling babies, barking dogs and spaceships. When he was 20 years old he moved to New York City.
What happened to Keith Haring? ›
Keith Haring died of AIDS related complications on 16 February 1990 aged 31.
What was Keith Haring trying to say? ›
Despite the violent imagery that is rampant in Haring's work, his fundamental message was one of devout humanism and love. Take his recurring embrace, which is often between two genderless and race-less figures, who are glowing as they hold each other.
What did he find in the New York subway that ignited Haring's subway work? ›
The project began serendipitously when Haring noticed one of these blank panels in Times Square station. Realizing that the black sheet might be an ideal surface on which to mark with chalk, he immediately went above ground to buy some.
Was Keith Haring religious? ›
Though not a practicing Christian in the last years of his life, the artist had a profound sense of right and wrong, of good and evil, and he devoted a considerable part of his energy to social causes.
What happened to Keith Haring in 1988? ›
In 1988, Haring was diagnosed with AIDS. He began to work harder than ever and in 1989, established the Keith Haring Foundation to raise money for AIDS organizations and children's programs. He also demonstrated publicly against the stigma and prejudice associated with the disease, which he had personally experienced.
Did Keith Haring get a degree? ›
Upon graduation from high school in 1976, Haring enrolled in the Ivy School of Professional Art in Pittsburgh, a commercial arts school. He soon realized that he had little interest in becoming a commercial graphic artist and, after two semesters, dropped out.
Why is Keith Haring so popular now? ›
Haring directed his creative energy towards addressing crucial events like the battle against apartheid, the AIDS epidemic, and the issue of drug abuse. As an openly gay artist, he didn't shy away from representing the struggles faced by the LGBTQ community, championing the cause of gay rights through his art.
Who owns the rights to Keith Haring? ›
The Keith Haring Foundation owns the international copyright to all artworks created by Keith Haring. All requests for image use must be reviewed and approved by the Foundation, and his artwork may not be reproduced without our express written permission. We review requests on a per case basis.
What was Keith Haring's famous quote? ›
“Art should be something that liberates your soul, provokes the imagination and encourages people to go further.”
The Barking Dog has become one of Haring's most iconic symbols, first appearing in his New York subway drawing series from 1980–85. It emerged as a symbol of oppression and aggression, acting as a warning to the viewer of the abuses of power that pervade everyday life in America and beyond.
What does Keith Haring symbolize? ›
These symbols, which Haring aptly named 'icons', include the sharp barking dog, the crawling infant, the yellow angel, and the winged red devil. These icons not only represent Haring's unique visual language but also serve as a bridge between art and the public space.
Who pushed the woman on the subway? ›
Authorities confirmed to USA TODAY the man who pushed the woman onto the tracks is her boyfriend and said she lost both of her feet because of being hit by the train. Christian Valdez of Brooklyn was arrested on charges of attempted murder and felony assault in connection to the attack, the police spokesperson said.
How many Subway drawings did Keith Haring make? ›
Haring drew over 5,000 chalk drawings over a five-year period, from 1980 to 1985, in New York City subway stations (visit the Keith Haring Foundation website to see his work year by year).
How did NYC get rid of subway graffiti? ›
In 1984, the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) began a five-year program to eradicate graffiti. The years between 1985 and 1989 became known as the "diehard" era. A last shot for the graffiti artists of this time was in the form of subway cars destined for the scrap yard.
Did Keith Haring live in New York? ›
While in Pittsburgh, Haring continued to study and work on his own and in 1978 had a solo exhibition of his work at the Pittsburgh Arts and Crafts Center. Later that same year, Haring moved to New York City and enrolled in the School of Visual Arts (SVA).
What inspired Keith Haring's interest in drawing? ›
His work was heavily inspired by the cartoons of his youth, particularly the work of Dr. Seuss and Walt Disney. Haring once said: “Since I was little, I had been doing cartoons, creating characters and stories. In my mind, though, there was a separation between cartooning and being an 'artist'.”
When was Keith Haring's birthday? ›
Keith Haring (born May 4, 1958, Reading, Pennsylvania, U.S.—died February 16, 1990, New York, New York) was an American graphic artist and designer who popularized some of the strategies and impulses of graffiti art.
Who owns Keith Haring Estate? ›
The Keith Haring Foundation owns the Keith Haring estate. In 1989, the American artist set up the foundation to guarantee that his philanthropic efforts would continue after his death. Under the foundation's structure, The Keith Haring Studio is the owner of the copyrights to all of Haring's works.
