Pop Culture Retrospective #35 - Keith Haring : One of the most uniquely talented and philanthropic artists of the 1980s and early 1990s.

In an article from warmsodamag.com, author Sam Fischel describes some of the popular color choices of the 1990s, quote:  

There’s an aphoristic template for online memes that goes something like this:

In a four-square template, four images appear. A Tamagotchi, a Netscape icon, a can of Surge, a Blockbuster VHS tape...the list of potential permutations goes on and on. No matter what vaguely nostalgic items are used, the message at the end is always the same, lending itself to memetic imitation time and again: “Only 90s kids will remember.”

Whether they’re taken seriously or as a joke, there is a pallet of design choices that colored the 1990s, especially for the children that grew up during the decade. Though we don’t often associate a color pallet with an entire decade, a “90s kid” would have been hard-pressed to have made it out of the decade without owning at least one piece of clothing or other memorabilia that was not unapologetically teal, purple, yellow or any of their pastel variants.  End quote.  

At one point in my childhood home, my room was painted off-white with royal blue and teal sponge painted accents and my sister’s room was a dark teal. It coordinated nicely with her teal, pink and purple comforter.  I guess what I am trying to say is that my sister’s room looked like the 90s threw up in it and I mean, the throw up really went everywhere because her room screamed 90s.  From a young age, my sister was well-versed in music, art and literature.  Hanging in her pastel purple room at my Dad’s house for many years, was a framed piece from artist Keith Haring. If I remember correctly it was called “Untitled Pastel People.”  In the painting, we see Haring’s classic, black outlined human-like figures, intertwined with each other and they are all covered in pastel colors like purple, green, orange and pink.  How my sister became familiar with and a fan of Keith Haring at such a young age is sort of a mystery to me, but nonetheless his art work must have spoken to her and as you will soon learn, millions of people all around the world felt and feel, the same way.  With that being said, on today’s show you will learn all about the creative life and career of notable artist Keith Haring.  Although his contributions to the world of art were sadly cut short his impact has been no less significant and you will soon learn why.  So grab your paint brush, a canvas and a boom box, here we go!

Hello and thank you so very much for tuning in to the Pop Culture Retrospective Podcast, a show inspired by, and in memory of, my big sister Rebecca and her love for all things pop-culture, especially the people, places and things of the 80s, 90s and early 00s.  My name is Amy Lewis and I am your captain aboard this pop culture time machine.  If this is your first time tuning in, thank you for selecting this show, I hope you like it and if you are a long-term listener, thanks for joining me on this journey.  You are tuning in to episode #35 - Keith Haring, a notable artist who became a household name in the 1980s and 1990s.  

Keith Haring was born on May 4, 1958 in Reading, Pennsylvania to parents Joan and Allen Haring. Allen worked as an Engineer.  He was the oldest of 4 children and apparently his parents really liked the letter K as in addition to Keith of course, they had 3 daughters:  Kay, Karen and Kristen.  Apparently when he was a little kid, Haring resembled a young Buddy Holly, with his perfectly styled hair and thick framed glasses. 

Taking a queue from his Dad who loved to draw cartoons, Keith too developed a passion for art at a young age.  They would often draw together, his father would draw a line and Keith would add another until the whole page was filled.  He also looked up to artists and creators like Walt Disney and Dr. Seuss. As a matter of fact, at one time Haring said quote:  “I’ve always wanted to work for Walt Disney.  That’s what I thought I was going to do when I grew up.” I think Keith Haring is my spirit animal because for a big chunk of my life, I thought I would work for Disney for my career.  Sometimes I still think about going back to work there because I live in a godforsaken winter hell hole.  Anyways.

In 1976, Haring graduated from high school and he briefly attended the Ivy School of Professional Art in Pittsburgh.  His parents and Guidance Counselor encouraged him to attend a commercial arts school.  He dropped out after just 2 semesters as the school’s focus was on commercial art and he realized he didn’t want to work in that field.  By the late 1970s, Haring moved to New York City and enrolled at the School of Visual Arts located there.  In the Big Apple, he discovered a THRIVING and VIBRANT arts community.  He was home.  Haring was also an out and proud gay man and New York City afforded him the opportunity to live his life even more openly in a supportive community.  He became fascinated by graffiti and graffiti art.  Believe it or not, Haring was expelled from the School of Visual Arts after he created graffiti on school property.  He unfortunately never graduated.  Despite not finishing school, his art career would soon flourish.  But before we get into that, let’s discuss a description of Haring’s style just in case you are not super familiar with it.  What follows is a brief excerpt from an article from ArtLife.com:

Keith Haring was one of the most widely-celebrated artists of 1980s New York, and his work is still hugely popular today. His vibrant, eye-catching pieces are grounded in street culture, yet also respected in the art world. And while his cartoon-like drawings may seem simplistic compared to more traditional forms, Haring’s art is no less thought-provoking.  Like the hieroglyphics of the past and the emojis of the present, the visual representations created by Haring succeeded in saying a great deal. And at the heart of his work were his highly symbolic ‘figures’ — outlines of humans signifying the people within modern society. Using his distinct artistic style, Haring conveyed a variety of incredibly important themes and ideas through these characters. Haring is most famous for his street art, which also took influence from the pop art movement, utilizing thick black lines and bright block colors that became synonymous with his creations. Whether painting energetic motifs or commenting on serious social issues, his work always evoked wit and charm, and was brought to life by the strategic use of lines and dots to convey sound, movement and texture.

In the New York subways, Haring started creating artwork that he would become famous for.  He noticed that whenever an advertisement was taken down off of the wall, it was often covered by black, matte paper.  So, one day he ran back up to the city streets, purchased some sidewalk chalk, and went back down and began creating artwork which would eventually be seen by millions of people.  He did this almost constantly for a period of time and often he’d create at least 30 original drawings per day with black paper and chalk between 1980-1985.  A common saying in photography is that the best camera is the one that you have with you and I think the same goes for art.  

The best medium or instrument for art, is the one that you have in your hand.  I think that really applies to Keith Haring. 

He created art out of any materials he could find, even something as simple as sidewalk chalk.  He wanted art to be accessible to everyone and easy to understand. Because of his unique art pieces he was periodically featured on the news, I’ll post a link to an interview clip in the show notes. 

Despite his eventual popularity for creating these unique pieces of art, he was arrested multiple times for vandalism. In one clip from an early edition of Sunday Morning you see him actually get arrested on camera! For chalk drawings no less! Haring viewed traditional art galleries and museums as elitist and not accessible to everyone.  He thought that subways and trains with graffiti on them were just as inspiring.  He was also very conscious of trying not to take away from the graffiti artists that he met along his journey, most being black artists.  He knew they were the trailblazers and he never forgot that. Haring also found inspiration in the night clubs that he frequented while living in New York.  One of his favorites was called Paradise Garage.  In this club, everyone was welcome and everyone was there because of a shared love of music and dancing.  I don’t know about you, but between my age and the pandemic, a night club is the LAST place you will find me.  Staying up past 8 or 9pm, crowds of people with drinks spilling everywhere, loud music, bathrooms with no toilet paper and sticky floors, one way in and one way out of the space, no thanks! Another club that Haring frequented, with Madonna, was called Fun House.  It would open at 10pm (barf) on Saturday nights and stay open until 10am Sunday morning (double barf).  That doesn’t sound like FUN to me!  

And speaking of music, Haring almost always created art while listening to music.  He enjoyed listening to hip-hop and reggae music, among other genres.  You can almost see music in his drawings, as if his characters are dancing in the pictures.  

As his name became more well-known in artist circles, Haring had his first exhibit in New York in 1981.  During this time he also had a billboard in Times Square and designed watches for Swatch and worked with Absolut Vodka.  

Between 1982-1989, Haring created about 50 public art pieces, which were completed in cities all over the world.  Many of them were used for charities like orphanages, children’s day cares, hospitals, etc.  One theme I learned about Haring was his commitment and passion for bringing art to children.  He greatly valued exposing children to the world of art at a young age.  He wanted to expose them before they were critiqued for their art work and did it for pure enjoyment.  He would often collaborate with communities on murals, for example, he’d create the outline of a mural in an inner-city and would have the kids help him color it in.  When the Statue of Liberty celebrated it’s centennial, Haring worked with 1000 inner-city kids to create a mural in her honor.  

As his popularity grew, Haring’s art work could be found in galleries and museums all over the world.  Some pieces would go for as high as 350,000.  His art work was used for everything from the backdrop of a hunger prevention concert to MTV set decorations.  Back when MTV actually played music videos and enlightened us with informative and educational shows and news. Further, throughout the course of his career, Haring had over 50 one-man shows.  

In addition to his impressive accomplishments as a young artist, impressive too were his friendships with celebrities including Madonna, Andy Worhol, Timothy Leary and Yoko Ono. 

Madonna once performed at the aforementioned Paradise Garage for Keith Haring’s birthday in 1984, she was dressed in a pink leather jacket with matching skirt, with Keith Haring’s unforgettable designs drawn on it in black ink. She sang “Dress You Up” and it looked like it was an excellent performance.  She asked Haring to design some of her outfits and sets for one of her tours.  When Madonna got married, he was of course invited and Worhol was Haring’s plus one for the event.  This was a far cry from Haring and Madonna’s early days when Madonna could often be found crashing on his couch when she was a struggling artist.  Shameless plug, if you want to learn more about Madonna’s incredible rise to fame, please check out episode # 17 of the PCRP.  I had NO idea what Madonna had to go through to get to where she is today.  It’s an inspiring story, please check it out! 

Much of Haring’s art work had political and social commentary.  For example, he created a mural to help bring awareness to the Cocaine and Crack epidemic that hit New York really hard.  In the original mural (which can still be seen today near some handball courts in Harlem) we can see a orange background, with Haring’s classic black outlined characters, one being a skeleton who is holding a zero dollar bill which is starting to burn, perhaps signifying how much money and lives were wasted on the addictive substance.  It has been repainted and restored over the years. Harlem was hit particularly hard by the crack epidemic during the 1980s and early 1990s.

In contrast to the social issues depicted in some of his art work, one of Haring’s most notable works is called ‘Radiant Baby.’  His image of a red baby crawling with lines around the child show it’s energy radiating.  This work was inspired by his connection with Christianity and was a nod to religious figures like the Virgin Mary.  Haring once said about babies: “the purest and most positive experience of human existence.”  

Haring’s art work could also be found gracing the covers of magazines like the one he did for Vanity Fair where two of his figures are holding up a red heart for Valentine’s Day.  

In 1986, Haring opened up a pop shop where people could buy various items with his artwork on it like posters, t-shirts and magnets.  People had started to steal his art work out of the subways and would sell it or re-print it on knock off clothing and shoes.  So, he decided to make his art work more accessible.  He wanted people who were interested in his art work, but perhaps didn’t have the funds to purchase an original piece of tens of thousands of dollars, be able to buy an inexpensive shirt or button. He once said quote:  “If commercialization is putting my art on a shirt so that a kid who can’t afford a 30,000 painting can buy one, then I’m all fo it.” He also painted a mural on the Berlin wall (of course prior to it’s fall in 1989) that same year.  The mural was 100 yards long! The mural showed his classic figures, colored red and black, interlocked with each other against a yellow background, a nod perhaps to the German flag.  

1987 was an incredibly challenging year for Haring as he was sadly diagnosed with AIDS.  

Haring had lost many, many friends to AIDS and his anxiety about getting the disease unfortunately came to fruition.  Despite the worrisome diagnosis, Haring had a renewed sense of purpose, feeling more than ever that he had to spread the love and accessibility of art work, urgently, before his time came to an end.  He would create as many as 40 paintings per day.  Many of these works focused on the AIDS epidemic which was a pretty commendable because not many people were talking about the disease, especially those individuals who were living with it.  

A lot of Haring’s celebrity friends stopped inviting him to high-profile events when he started to become more of an AIDS activist, but that didn’t stop him from speaking out and supporting efforts to help treat and research the illness.  He often donated money to support advocacy efforts.  During this time he created some memorable art pieces, including one that has three, yellow people re-creating the hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil gestures.  Wording on the top of the drawing says:  Ignorance = Fear and on the bottom it says:  Silence = Death, Fight Aids, Act Up.  ACT UP, if you are not familiar with it stands for the Aids Coalition to Unleash Power which was an organization that formed during the AIDS crisis to fight for access to medication to help treat the disease that was killing tens of thousands of people all over the world.  The group also advocated for research on the disease and as a result of their incredible efforts they managed to pave the way for medical treatment that has kept over half a million Americans who are HIV positive and millions more all over the world.  If you are not familiar with just how detrimental AIDS and HIV was to the world and the discrimination the gay community faced as a result, or even if you just want a refresher, I highly recommend you view the movie:  How to Survive a Plague.  I saw it a number of years ago and the movie is PROFOUND to say the least.  One of the best and most moving documentaries I have ever seen in my life.  You can rent it on Amazon.  Give the film all of your focus.  Turn off your phone, be present and take it all in.  You will be better for it.  Bring a box of tissues, for happy and sad tears.  Oh, and you’re welcome! In addition to the art work done to advocate for AIDS awareness, he also created art that encouraged safe sex, another crucial, albeit controversial (unfortunately) issue that certainly needed to be and needs to be, said.  

In 1989, Haring founded the Keith Haring Foundation.  The organization helps with circulating his art work and it also provides grants for children in need who have been impacted by AIDS.  The organization still lives on today and their website is an invaluable resource on the life and career of Keith Haring.  You can check it out at Haring.com.  

Haring died of AIDS on February 16, 1990.  He was only 31 years old.  His memorial was held in May of that year and was attended by over 1000 people. 

I hope you have enjoyed this look back on the life and career of Keith Haring, one of the most unique and philanthropic artists in recent history.Like so many topics of the PCRP I was not super familiar with Keith Haring or his work, but now that I have educated myself a bit, and hopefully you lovely listeners as well, I can officially say that I am a fan.  While his life and professional endeavors were cut way too short, his legacy lives on more than 30 years after his death. Haring’s art work is in permanent collections in galleries and museums all over the world in places like Amsterdam, Paris and New York.  You can also purchase apparel with Haring’s art work on it...for instance, you can buy a pair of Doc Martens called the Keith Haring 1461.  They are white and have his figures outlined in black on them.  You can also get a pair of white Converse Chuck Taylors with a classic Keith Haring design on them.  Further, Haring’s artwork lives on in some of the very few Christmas albums I can actually handle listening to without rolling my eyes so much that I get a headache.  A Very Special Christmas, which started in 1987, has several album sequels.  It features some decent covers and original holiday songs performed by celebrities like Run DMC, Mary J. Blige, Enya, Smashing Pumpkins, the Pointer Sisters and Dave Matthews.  There are at least 7 A Very Special Christmas Albums and several live albums.  Each album pretty much uses the same art piece created by Haring which features an adult-sized and radiating figure holding a small baby-like figure.  All of the proceeds from those albums go to the Special Olympics so between the great music, fabulous album covers and supporting an amazing cause, I definitely suggest you check out those albums! 

If you are enjoying the PCRP please tell your friends and family about the show!  Please also rate the show on Apple Podcasts.  The more we spread the word, the more listeners will find the show!  

Thank you for your patience as I rolled out this episode.  It’s been a busy summer but I am hopeful that as we approach August and September I will be able to get back to my regular schedule of releasing a show every 2 weeks.  

I hope you will join me for my next show where we will be discussing  _______

Until then BK, BS and HOTYM.