History
Bringing gay art and AIDS awareness to the massed was what Keith Haring dedicated his career into. He was a talented pop artist who, between 1980 and 1985 created advanced ideal drawings on empty black advertising panels in the New York subway. He often produced dozens of those drawings in only one day. Using his art to engage or include people walking by in the act of creation as well as the resulting images.
Haring opened the Pop Shop which was a Soho retail outlet that sold his works of arts on t-shirts, toys, magnets and other materials, in 1986. He stayed committed to sharing his work to different audiences even while many artists from the art world criticized his shop’s commercialism. He gained a lot of support from his friend and mentor, Andy Warhol who was also a pop artist.
In 1988, Haring was diagnosed with AIDS. That is when he established the “Keith Haring Foundation” to raise money and provide art to AIDS organizations and children’s programs. He dedicated his art and the two last years of his life into creating awareness and fostering understanding about AIDS.
Two of his brightly colored sculptures were added to UNAIDS “Art for AIDS” collection in 2008.
Haring’s brief but intense career was only the beginning of his growth as a gay icon. His colorful, provocative, and socially-conscious images form an important part of the history of gay symbolism.
Haring opened the Pop Shop which was a Soho retail outlet that sold his works of arts on t-shirts, toys, magnets and other materials, in 1986. He stayed committed to sharing his work to different audiences even while many artists from the art world criticized his shop’s commercialism. He gained a lot of support from his friend and mentor, Andy Warhol who was also a pop artist.
In 1988, Haring was diagnosed with AIDS. That is when he established the “Keith Haring Foundation” to raise money and provide art to AIDS organizations and children’s programs. He dedicated his art and the two last years of his life into creating awareness and fostering understanding about AIDS.
Two of his brightly colored sculptures were added to UNAIDS “Art for AIDS” collection in 2008.
Haring’s brief but intense career was only the beginning of his growth as a gay icon. His colorful, provocative, and socially-conscious images form an important part of the history of gay symbolism.
My opinion
Now like AIDS plays a big part in gay history. It’s where most of homosexuals died except for concentration camps in Europe. Keith Haring is one of the best known people that fought for gay rights and AIDS. He spent his lifetime dedicated to working on helping homosexuals gain influence in a positive way, until he was diagnosed with AIDS where he tried with all his efforts to provide as much help with people with the same disease. What I really admire about him is that he never gave up, he continued all the way even if some people criticised his work and were unconvinced.