Keith Haring

Keith Haring , born on May 4th, 1958 with Reading in Pennsylvania and deceased on February 16th, 1990 with New York, was a major Artiste Années 1980 and American Activiste .

Biography

Teenager, Keith Haring listens to Aerosmith, the Beatles, and consumes drugs and alcohol. At 18 years he undertakes studies of commercial graphics to Pittsburgh then continuous at the school of visual Arts of New York. He tests himself with as many disciplines as the Collage, the Peinture, the installation S, the Vidéo, etc but its privileged mode of expression remains the Dessin. In New York, and more particularly in the East Village, he discovers the plentiful alternative culture of the Années 1980 which, out of the galleries and the museums, develops its expression on new territories: streets, subways, warehouses, etc It meets artists of the New Yorkean life underground such Kenny Scharf and Jean-Michel Basquiat with which it becomes friendly, and organizes or takes part in exposures and performances with the Club 57, which becomes the fetish place of the elite avant-gardist. It is at this place that the radiant Bébé , one of the most known pictograms of the artist, was inspired.

Inspired by the Graffiti, holding of the Bad Painting, and anxious to touch many people, Haring starts to draw with chalk white on black billboards of the Métro of New York. It also engraves sandstone flagstones of the pavements in the East Village (they are always present nowadays). A photographer, Tseng Kwong Chi, photographs it permanently, even when the police force stops it. He carries out several thousands of these drawings, with the energetic and rythmées lines. The claw Haring, it is the infinite repetition of synthetic forms underlined of black with bright colors, lighting on various supports. It is a permanent account where babies with four legs are found, dolphins, television stations, dogs which jappent, snakes, angels, dancers, silhouettes androgynes, flying saucers, pyramids or alarm clocks moving, but also sexuality and death instinct.

Its first personal exposure takes place in 1982 with the gallery Tony Shafrazi of New York and meets an immense public success. Its international notoriety consequently does not cease increasing. It takes part in many international exhibitions and carries out many prestigious orders. In its desire to meet many people and to make its art accessible to greatest number, it opens in 1986, in the district of SoHo, its Pop Shop , shop where objects are sold, clothing, posters, etc illustrated by him, like as many works “to the detail”. This step very discussed in the artistic mediums nevertheless is strongly supported by his/her friends and his mentor Andy Warhol. Its work leads it to collaborate with artists such as Madonna, Grace Jones, Timothy Leary or William S. Burroughs.

In 1988, he learns that he is infected by the virus of the AIDS. He engages consequently strongly in the fight against this disease, putting all his art and his notoriety at the service of this cause and his visibility. He creates for this purpose Keith Haring Foundation into 1989 which is charged to come to assistance of the children and to support the organizations which fight against the AIDS.

Its painting is close to the movement of the free figuration. Its work, a such language illustrated and voluble on universal subjects, remains like one of most important end of the 20th century.

It carried out the fresco of the Hôpital Necker of Paris.

Keith Haring dies of the complications due to the AIDS at the 31 years age, with the dawn of a new decade in February 1990.

The market of art very quickly recovered the Haring phenomenon, the artist however always sought to democratize the work of art and to mine his élitiste statute.

Keith Haring left a work where innocence hiding place a real inspiration, as if the artist had never wanted to grow and that it looked at the world with eyes of child for better speaking about the adults.

Expos

Museum of contemporary art of Lyon, February 22nd - June 29th, 2008.

See too

Random links: