Colegiul National “Radu Greceanu”

Slatina

KEITH HARING
-Life and his artwork-

Elev: Profesor Coordonator

Blanaru Darius Nicusor Larisa Masay

Mai 2023
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.INTRODUCTION

1.1 HIS LIFE ....

1.2.HIS WORK FROM SCRATCH...
1.3 HIS ISPIRATION...

2.THE MEANING OF FIGURES/DRAWNINGS...

2.1.EVERY FIGURE EXPLAINED...
2.2WHAT MATERIALS DID HARING USED IN HIS
WORK...

3.CONCLUSION
3.1.QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS...
3.2.SUM UP...
 HIS LIFE

Keith Allen Haring was born May 4, 1958 – February 16, 1990 was an American
artist with a graffiti-influenced imagination in New York City. Haring's popularity
grew from drawing people, dogs, and other stylized images on empty chalkboard
spaces. From his early childhood he loved drawing, great vision and rich fiction. Keith
Haring developed artistic skills from an early age. He turned his passion into his job,
career and brand. A dream he never dreamed himself. Haring soon began applying his
universally recognizable imagery to independent drawings and paintings. His
signature images include dancing figures, "bright babies", barking dogs, flying
saucers, big hearts, and figures with televisions on their heads. On May 4, Haring died
in New York from AIDS-related complications, at the age of 31. His art is still
exhibited around the world, and many of his works are in prestigious museum
collections such as the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Modern Art, New
York, and the Georges Pompidou Center in Paris, France. With a deceptively simple
style and deeper themes of love, death, war, and social harmony, Haring's art
continues to draw the viewer in.

When Haring arrived in New York, it was home to a thriving underground art
scene. Haring befriended aspiring artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat and
Kenny Scharf, and took an interest in his art, which featured colorful, borderline
graffiti on city streets. Haring and other artists have exhibited in downtown
nightclubs and other alternative venues where art, music and fashion mix
dynamically. Away from the club, Haring began using the city as a canvas. As
he rides the subway, he notice a rectangular blank sign made of black paper on
the wall of the station. Using white chalk, he began filling these black panels
with simple, quickly drawn images. His signature images include dancing
figures, "shining babies" (crawling toddlers emitting rays), barking dogs, flying
saucers, big hearts, and figures with televisions on their heads. These graffiti
caught the attention of New York commuters and city officials. Haring was
arrested multiple times for vandalism.
 WHAT INSPIRED KEITH HARING

Haring had a strong interest in drawing from an early age, learning basic
cartooning techniques from his father and drawing inspiration from popular
cultural animators such as Walt Disney. Seuss and Looney Toons inspire. The
artist's playful and colorful style plays uniquely with these iconic cartoon
images. It's easy to see why Haring's work remains popular today

By using the visual language of mass-consumed objects, Haring's work sought

to bridge the gap between high art and popular culture, the key component of
the Pop Art movement. In particular, as Haring rose to stardom, the leader of
the pop art movement, Andy, became close friends with Warhol, who became
his mentor. From Warhol, Haring learned the importance of repeateted images
and expanding his artwork through channels unprecedented in the world of
commerce. It is important to note that Haring's intuitive working process stands
apart from his predecessors, using organic forms and motifs to emphasize the
artist's hand.

As a student at SVA, Haring experimented with performances, videos,

installations and collages, always with an emphasis on drawing. In 1980, when
Haring noticed a disused billboard in a subway station covered in matte black
paper, he found a highly effective medium that allowed him to communicate
with the wider audience he wanted. He began drawing white chalk on these
blank boards throughout the subway system. Between 1980 and his 1985,
Haring published these public drawings in rhythmic lines hundreds, sometimes
a day he produced as many as 40 "subway drawings". This seamless flow of
images has become familiar to New York City commuters. They often stopped
to entertain the artist when they saw him at work. As Haring put it, the subway
became a 'laboratory' for developing and experimenting with his ideas

THE MEANING OF FIGURES

Keith Haring used icons as a code for his visual language. A common symbol
was the method of communication between him and the public who met them
on the streets.These images were coded responses to the social problems facing
New York in the 80s.
The barking dog is one of Haring's most famous symbols. It first appeared in a
series of paintings he did on the New York City subway from 1980 to his 1985.
It became a symbol of oppression and aggression, warning people of the abuses
of power that were taking place on a daily basis in America and around the
world. Artists commonly use dogs as symbols of loyalty, friendship, and
submission. However, Haring twists the meaning of the dog to make people
think more critically of who yells the loudest.

Dancing, barking, and biting dogs were common themes in Haring's work and
became symbols of the artist. Those that became dogs were previously
undefined creatures, and Herring's dogs, which often walk on two legs, are best
thought of as mythical humans. Dancing dogs often refer to artistic
performances and break-his dances, but Herring's dogs also represent Anubis,
the jackal-headed ancient Egyptian god who watches over the dead. In Hering's
version, the image of dogs playing with and crushing small human figures is
tied to both the Egyptian idea of life and death and the Christian idea of the
"spooky dance".

Motifs such as glowing babies, angels and flying demons arose from Haring's
encounter with the Jesus movement in the 70s. It shows how Haring took
religious symbols and adapted them to the needs of his time. Many saw this act
of subversion as a blatant attack on organized Christianity, especially the
church's response to his HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 80s, which tragically killed
Haring. In this image, the baby is the ultimate symbol of innocence. When
crawling, Hering emits a positive energy that she describes as "the purest and
most positive experience of human existence." But throughout his career, baby
subjects have seen darker scenes, such as when he's covered in Kaposi's
sarcoma, a cancer linked to his advanced HIV infection, or when he's in the
middle of a mushroom cloud or alien abduction. Appeared in Babies are thus
often associated with Hering herself, a person of innocence and purity, who
temporarily changed the art world before her untimely death.
The Haring's heart motif, often held aloft by a crowd of dancing figures, is a
sign of hope and love, similar to a beaming baby. It is also a sign of romantic
love, such as being hugged by an androgynous couple. But it is also a sign of
community, kindness and consideration for others. For example, hold it with
both hands or hold a globe inside. Again, we can speculate about the religious
significance. This is because sacred hearts are very common in Christian art.
But the heart is also a common image in comics that Haring has drawn since
childhood. The innocence of his heart was always there

The dancing figure or stick figure is one of Haring's most well-known motifs. It
can still be seen on t-shirts and billboards all over the world, and it can be seen
as a symbol of the joy and energy of the New York club scene in the 1970s and
1980s, especially the gay scene. With bold energy lines radiating from their
bodies, the figures effortlessly evoke freedom and ecstasy, whether they are
breakdancing or holding their hands high above their heads as if moving to the
beat of an unseen DJ.
The energy lines of the figures sometimes turned into the squiggles and symbols
usually seen in Aztec and Aboriginal art. This created a stronger sense of
community and solidarity. Haring has said about this particular motif, "My
drawings don't try to copy life; they try to create life, to invent life."

Haring grew up in a religious household and people have mixed ideas about the
meaning of the cross in his art. Haring does not believe in fundamentalist
Christianity or its rules, and his art criticizes how the church controls people. .
Whether or not he left his Christian education, his references to the Bible
indicate that he knew Christian stories, such as how Saint Peter died by hanging
upside down on a cross. The crucifix can also appear on screen and is often used
to torture or kill someone while others are watching

WHAT MATERIALS DID HARING USED IN HIS

WORK?
Across his short but prolific career, Haring worked across a variety of different
mediums, creating more than 3000 works on paper and around 300 paintings, as
well as sculptures and murals.
Some of Haring’s most iconic motifs emerged from his Subway Drawings from
1980-85, of which he produced around 5,000, that were created with white
chalk on blacked out advertisement panels. Through obsessive repetition of
subject across the drawings, Haring produced a memorable pictorial language, a
syntax of signs, that was quick and simple to execute to avoid being arrested.
Unlike the graffiti artists who he is often closely associated with, Haring used
white chalk and worked during the day so that he could interact with his
audience. Whilst his contemporaries used spray paint or markers, Haring’s use
of chalk meant that his work could be removed more easily and had an
ephemeral and performative quality to it. Haring’s friend from the School of
Visual Arts, Tseng Kwong Chi, would follow him around the subways and
photograph his chalk drawings before they were covered or stolen.

Haring experimented with different printing techniques throughout his career,

including lithography, silkscreen, etching, woodcut, and embossing. These print
media served to bridge the gap between his unique works and reproductions of
his images in order to facilitate accessibility to his popular images. probably
stemmed from admiration for Andy Warhol. Importantly, Haring's Andy His
Mouse series is an homage to Warhol, with Haring taking a piece from the
Elder's book and experimenting with Warhol's silkscreen technique. Eventually,
Haring also worked on painting and sculpture, creating 3D life-size figures and
billboard-sized murals to occupy public spaces and deliver powerful messages
to the communi

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

1.How he started his brand?

he is known for his colorful works and iconic motifs such as beaming babies
and barking dogs, much of his work responds to contemporary social and
political events. This included fighting to end apartheid, the AIDS epidemic,
and substance abuse. As an avowed gay artist, Haring has also chosen to
express the plight of his LGBTQ community, including gay rights, in his work.
Graffiti Inspired by his artist, he began painting in New York subway stations.
Filling empty billboards with chalk drawings that people pass by every day. His
goal was to make art accessible to everyone. These works allowed him to
interact with a diverse audience.

2.What was his entourage?

Keith Haring lived in New York's East Village and had a large social circle that
included many artists and performers who were part of the same underground
art scene. It also includes people he often worked with such as Madonna, Jean-
Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol. As recognition and popularity grew, his
collaborations expanded to include other artists, musicians and fashion
designers such as Vivienne his Westwood and Malcolm his McLaren. Haring
and Grace His Jones collaboration innovatively combined art and fashion. He
painted Grace Jones' body with graffiti of her musical performance and also
appeared in her music video "I'm Not Perfect (But I'm Perfect For You)".
Haring befriended Madonna and took Andy Warhol as an asset when he was
invited to her wedding.
3.How he spread his work?
While his artwork was always colorful and vibrant, Haring tackled some
poignant and challenging issues that affect people not only in America but
around the world. I used to get my point across quickly and effectively. One of
his most famous examples is his mural Crack Is His Wack, which mentions the
crack cocaine epidemic and its impact on New York City. The work was made
large enough for a car to pass by on a nearby road.
At Berlin Wall,Haring Was invited in an attempt to "destroy the wall with
painting". He painted colorful figurative murals in the colors of the German
flag, symbolizing hopes for the unification of East and West Germany. The
factory was destroyed when he wall was demolished in 1989. In 1987 he wrote
in his diary: “… If it is not regarded as ‘sacred’ and ‘valuable’, then I can paint
without inhibition, and experience the interaction of lines and shapes. I can
paint spontaneously without worrying if it looks ‘good’; and I can let my
movement and my instant reaction/response control the piece, control my
energy (if there is any control at all) … It is temporary and its permanency is
unimportant. Its existence is already established. It can be made permanent by
the camera.Haring died of complications from AIDS on February 16, 1990 in
New York. he was 31 years old. His art is still exhibited around the world, and
many of his works are in prestigious museum collections such as the Art
Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Georges
Pompidou Center in Paris, France. With its deceptively simple style and deeper
themes of love, death, war and social harmony, Haring's art it’s still popular
among society
4.
Haring loves working with children, admires their imagination, sense of humor
and open-mindedness, and encourages young people to team up and create their
own creations together. I was. In 1986, Haring painted a mural depicting 900
young people to celebrate
100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty. It was exhibited at the Liberty Tower
in Battery Park City. Haring often collaborated with youth charities and painted
murals in many children's hospitals, including the Neckar Children's Hospital in
Paris.
Haring had a fun way of working that reflected the essence of his work. During
his work, he often listened to hip hop music and drew rhythmic lines to express
the movement and energy found in much of his work.He used vinyl on his
sheets. I drew a picture. Vinyl sheeting is a material that is often laid out on the
street and used by Blake and his dancers as a performance surface.
5.What charitable act he got it?
Haring used his platform as an artist to raise awareness of AIDS. He himself
was diagnosed with the disease in 1988. His poster Ignorance = Fear refers to
the challenges people who were living with AIDS faced. He wanted to reach as
many people as possible and highlight the importance of AIDS education.
FINAL THOUGHTS

When Haring arrived in New York, it was home to a thriving underground art
scene. Haring befriended aspiring artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat and
Kenny Scharf, and took an interest in his art, which featured colorful, borderline
graffiti on city streets. Haring and other artists have exhibited in downtown
nightclubs and other alternative venues where art, music and fashion mix
dynamically. Haring soon began applying his universally recognizable imagery
to independent drawings and paintings. The energy and optimism of his art,
with its bold lines and bright colors, have earned him popularity with a wide
audience. In 1981, he held his first solo exhibition at Westbeth Painters Space in
Manhattan. In 1982, he began exhibiting his work at Tony's Shafraj his gallery.
During the 1980s, Haring's work was widely exhibited in the United States and
internationally. He has also collaborated with other artists and performers,
including Andy Warhol, Grace Jones, and William S. Burroughs. Always
looking to make his art more accessible, Haring opened a retail store called Pop
Shop in 1986 in New York's SoHo district. The store sold posters featuring
Haring's signature designs, T-her shirts, and other affordable merchandise. In
the short span of his career, the artist has completed over 50 of his public works.
Among them are an anti-drug mural, "Crack Wacks in a Playground in Harlem,"
and a illuminated animated billboard of his "Bright Baby" in The Times of New
York's Square. We have also hosted numerous art workshops for children. In
1988, Haring was diagnosed with AIDS. The following year he founded the
Keith Haring Foundation to support children's programs and organizations
dedicated to raising awareness of AIDS. In 1988, Haring was diagnosed with
AIDS. The following year, he created the Keith Haring Foundation to support
children's programs and organizations dedicated to raising AIDS awareness.

Haring died of complications from AIDS on February 16, 1990 in New York. at
the age of 31 years old. His art is still exhibited around the world, and many of
his works are held in prestigious museums such as the Art Institute of Chicago,
the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Georges Pompidou Center in
Paris, France. . With a deceptively simple style and deeper themes of love,
death, war, and social harmony, Haring's art continues to draw the viewer in.