Today we celebrate the anniversary of the American artist Keith Haring, born in Reading on May 4, 1958 and died at the age of thirty-one in New York on February 16, 1990. Despite his untimely death, Keith Haring was one of the most prolific artists of the twentieth century. His graffiti, in addition to creating works of art destined to remain in history, were also important social messages. We propose below the 5 most important works of the artist. Untitled, 1982
A prophet and follower of love in all its forms, Keith Haring explores sentiment in many of his works. Untitled 1982, one of his first works, and a naive painting with respect to future sexually explicit representations, but still controversial for the time, represents the love of two men who dance joyfully under a red heart. The audacity and social intent of the young artist were already clear at the beginning of his career. Free South Africa, 1985
One of Keith Haring’s most famous and important works is the 1985 Free South Africa poster. The artist’s social commitment becomes more explicit and marked. A protest campaign performed by an artist of the caliber of Haring reached the greatest number of people in a simpler way. A struggle, the one against apartheid that lasted for a long time, but was won thanks also to the help of such influential figures. Rebel with Many Causes, 1989
Rebel with Many Causes represents a recurring theme in Haring’s art, namely the “I don’t see, I don’t hear, I don’t speak”. Haring wanted to denounce the common lack of interest in the numerous social problems affecting the United States and the world. Among these is the problem of AIDS, a disease contracted by the artist himself who died at the age of thirty-one. AIDS was a widespread social scourge in America but too little was talked about. Tuttomondo, 1989
Keith Haring I make Tuttomondo in Pisa. The mural tells of harmony and peace in the world, visible through the joints between the 30 figures that, like in a puzzle, populate the 180 square meters of the wall of the Convent of Sant’Antonio. The work was requested by the Municipality of Pisa and represents a splendid hymn to life. This was Haring’s last public work before he died. Ignorance = fear, 1989
An explicit manifesto for the fight against AIDS and more particularly for the fight against ignorance about the disease. With this work Haring, now close to death, wants to denounce the silence and shame that live together with people affected by AIDS. Keith Haring
Keith Haring was one of the greatest pop artists ever, an emblem of post-pop art visual art, he fights for numerous social battles, from the struggle against apartheid to the discrimination of homosexuals. His drawings contain all the founding principles of human life: love, death, life, fear, peace. His Radiant babies (little men who radiate) and Barkings dogs (dogs that bark), immersed in a graphic flow that has created a new and unmistakable visual language, have invaded the public spaces of many cities around the world.
Photo Credit: Keith Haring Foundation
