I came across a fascinating documentary about artist Keith Haring - “Keith Haring: Street Art Boy” (2020). It’s available for free on Amazon Prime and worth seeing.
It’s retrospect of his life and art and much of it is told in his own voice (from archival interviews between Haring and art critic John Gruen).
Haring was a young artist who moved from his hometown in Pennsylvania to New York City’s Lower East Side in 1978. While attending art school, he was exposed to the punk rock scene, colorful street art, and gay clubs. He found his new home.
Haring was inspired by the graffiti that decorated the streets, subway stations and subway cars. He met with many local black artist to understand their art. From that, he developed his own style, a kind of primitive story telling. In doing so he also created his own icons - the howling dog, the radiant baby, and the UFO.
By 1981, Haring’s work virtual exploded on art scene. He was soon invited to Germany, France, the Netherlands and Italy for exhibitions and to create fantastic murals.
He fame brought him to the attention of New York’s glitterati such as Andy Warhol and Grace Jones. And he became friends with Madonna early in her career.
Haring also used his art to bring attention to important causes such as the epidemic use of crack, and to bring awareness to the AIDS Crisis.
In 1987 Haring discovered he had Kaposi Sarcoma lesions and was diagnosed with AIDS. But that didn’t stop him from making art. He continued his breakneck pace (its estimated he created over 10,000 individual pieces in his lifetime). He also established the Keith Haring Foundation which has contributed over $20 million since 1990 to AIDS organizations and children's programs.
In February 1990, Haring died quietly in his parent’s arms. In 1991, Haring’s mother and aunt created a fabric panel with the image of Haring’s radiant baby for the AIDS Memorial Quilt.
In his honor, Madonna dedicated the final a performance of her Blond Ambition World Tour, donating more than $300,000 from ticket sales.
Haring’s art work is exhibited in over 60 museum world wide.
https://www.haring.com/!/
