Keith Haring, born on May 4th, 1958, was born Reading Pennsylvania. He was a major artist and social activist, and found a way to make the world his canvas. He died on February 16th, 1990.
Allen and Joan Haring raised Kieth, Kay, Karen, and Kristen. His father was an engineer, as well as an amateur cartoonist, while his mother stayed at home. He drew a lot of inspiration from Dr. Seuss, Looney Tunes and Walt Disney, and spent his time practicing his drawings with his father.
As a teenager, he hitchhiked across the country selling vintage T-shirts and experimented with drugs.
He got a cleaning job at Pittsburgh's School of Professional Art, but ended up leaving so he could study in New York at the School for Visual Arts.
Pop Shop 1 (1987)
He became friends with several artists such as Jean Micheal Bosquiat and Kenny Scharf. Together, they organized exhibitions at clubs. He started doing art in subways, which earned him public attention. On the subways, he noticed that there were advertising panels that were left blank. Using chalk, he would fill these panels with is artwork. However, authorities arrested him for vandalism. This made his token the radiant baby (see below) as the icon of his work.
the Radiant Baby
Despite these setbacks, he became a very influential artist. He used bold strokes and bright colors to capture his ideas. In 1981, he had his first solo exhibition in Manhattan. His work is predominately shown in the Tony Shrafrazi gallery, which has represented his art since 1982. He opened his store called the Pop Shop that sold various merchandise of his pieces. However, in 1988 he was diagnosed with AIDS, and on February 16th, 1990, he died of complications due to the disease. He managed to complete over fifty public works of art in his lifetime, and still serves as inspiration for muralists and pop artists worldwide.
We the Youth (1987)
Tuttomondo (1989)
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