Keith says "RESIST!"

"In 1988 Keith created the logo for an organization called Refuse & Resist! R&R! opposed censorship, war and police brutality. The organization dissolved in 2006 but this image still resonates very strongly today & is one of the most widely shared Haring images on the internet."
--The Keith Haring Foundation

https://www.haring.com/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Études

And here we are, finally, in Paris.

Jérémie Égry, Aurélien Arbet, and José Lamali of Études presented a Fall-Winter '19-'20 collection that, while structurally pretty pedestrian, featured the dynamic, iconic work of the late artist Keith Haring (previously here and here). In collaboration with Keith Haring’s Haring Studio, they used his squiggles and doodles to nice effect.

Haring is such an iconic 80s artist, coming from the downtown Manhattan art scene along with Jean-Michel Basquiat and Madonna, and although Haring died in 1990, his work still speaks to us today. His graphic street style translated well onto large canvases in which he railed against injustice of all kinds: apartheid, the destruction of the planet, rampant consumerism and greed, and the bigotry and hatred that allowed thousands and thousands to die of a disease that, if we had gotten a jump on finding a cure, might be eradicated by now.

His work reads like hieroglyphics, recording and marking the rage, terror, and sadness that infiltrated the dark Reagan years. Figures either dance in rapture, or shake and run from a restlessness born of frustration. I lived through those years and while Madonna sang "Everybody/ Come on, dance and sing," there was an anxious, fearful energy in the air because of AIDS and the very real threat of nuclear war with Russia. I think both of these paradoxical feelings--joy and fear--informed Haring's work. Things may have been difficult, but we still wanted to dance and have a good time...and perhaps the trio of designers at Études feel we are in the same spot now. I can feel it.

So few artists have created their own vocabulary. By that I mean that artists traditionally have painted landscapes or still lifes, figures of mostly women and some of men, allegorical scenes or scenes from the Bible. But who else created anything akin to barking human-dogs, a radiant baby, or persistent and zapping UFOs...and used them in their own visual language. Oh, there are some who created their own semaphores: maybe Cocteau... maybe Francis Bacon in a way...certainly Matthew Barney with his oblique Cremaster Series. But this is not so common to painters. And Haring did manage to invent his own visual language. So if you are going to put someone's art work on your clothing, go for the most unique you can find!

https://www.etudes-studio.com/
http://www.haring.com/

Keith Haring at the de Young, 2015

I am so pleased I got to squeeze in a visit to the de Young Museum in San Francisco to see their current Keith Haring exhibit before it closes this month.

Haring is such an iconic 80s artist, coming from the downtown Manhattan art scene along with Jean-Michel Basquiat and Madonna, and although Haring died in 1990, his work still speaks to us today. His graphic street style translated well onto large canvases in which he railed against injustice of all kinds: apartheid, the destruction of the planet, rampant consumerism and greed, and the bigotry and hatred that allowed thousands and thousands to die of a disease that, if we had gotten a jump on finding a cure, might be eradicated by now. His squiggles pack a punch. So much so that the show is entitled "The Political Line" since we are still dealing with all these issues more than thirty years on. His work reads like hieroglyphics, recording and marking the rage, terror, and sadness that infiltrated the dark Reagan years. Figures either dance in rapture, or shake and run from a restlessness born of frustration. I lived through those years and while Madonna sang "Everybody/ Come on, dance and sing," there was an anxious, fearful energy in the air because of AIDS and the very real threat of nuclear war with Russia. I think both of these paradoxical feelings--joy and fear--informed Haring's work. Things may have been difficult, but we still wanted to dance and have a good time...

And of course Keith Haring was unapologetically gay and used sexual imagery in his art work. Now, there is of course a history of gay male artists throughout the centuries, but I can't think of another gay artist who drew penises and erections with such dedication, love, and abandon (Tom of Finland aside!). I won't post them here, but the exhibition shows an entire notebook of penises (mostly self-portraits!) and the location where he drew each of them ("Drawing penises in front of the Museum of Modern Art").

As I toured the exhibit, I also realized that so few artists have created their own vocabulary. By that I mean that artists traditionally have painted landscapes or still lifes, figures of mostly women and some of men, allegorical scenes or scenes from the Bible. But who else created anything akin to barking human-dogs, a radiant baby, or persistent and zapping UFOs...and used them in their own visual language. Oh, there are some who created their own semaphores: maybe Cocteau... maybe Francis Bacon in a way...certainly Matthew Barney with his oblique Cremaster Series. But this is not so common to painters. And Haring did manage to invent his own visual language.

Before--and somewhat after--Haring became famous, he drew impromptu scenes on the unused black-lined niches used for advertising posters in the New York Subway. I recall being in Manhattan in the summer of 1982 and seeing, at seemingly every subway station, these curious white chalk drawings of the outlines of angels, or people, or robots...

The exhibit shows a marvelous collection of these drawings in a low-light room so as not to damage the paper or chalk. One is still attached to a film advertisement next to it. And clearly a friend of Haring's wrote some cheeky graffiti: "HARING STOP IT ENOUGH ALREADY."

As I mentioned, there is something wonderfully hieroglyphic and primitive about Haring's lines and he put them on some large vases...which feels ethnic and appropriate.

Below are some of his more directly politically charged pieces. I have to say that since I recall the 80s clearly, it was very powerful standing in front of his Silence = Death. It brought back memories of ACT UP and my own feelings about being gay, being marginalized, and feeling a kinship with the kind of fury that comes from having a large segment of humanity tell you, for no real reason at all, that you don't deserve to be here.

And here is your blogmaster outside the museum in front of Haring's delightful Three Dancing Figures, a joyous explosion of movement in primary colors. I could almost hear Madonna, back when she was still good, urging, "Everybody/ Get up and do your thing..."

If you are in Northern California, do try to get to the De Young for this rare opportunity to see so many Harings all in one place, and to learn about his life and works... it is very special. The exhibit closes this month, February 16th, 2015.

http://deyoung.famsf.org/haring
http://www.haring.com/

All photos by JEF except the last photo by JDG

Happy Birthday, Keith!

Keith Haring was born on May 4,1958. As part of the growing downtown art scene in Manhattan in the early 80s (he hung out with the also-up-and-coming Jean-Michel Basquiat and Basquiat's then-girlfriend, an ambitious wanna-be singer by the name of Madonna), Haring developed his own unique "graffiti" style of art. He started with quick sketches in the New York subway on blank black advertising niches (I spent the summer of 1982 in Manhattan and I clearly recall seeing his white chalk drawings on that matte black paper in the subway), and ended up a world-renowned and important artist. The hallmark of his work is large, graphic images outlined in thick black lines, bursting with energy, life, and joy. Often his figures are shown with radiating lines or "movement lines" as in comic books.

He painted on paper, canvas, walls, buildings, objects, Grace Jones, even on himself. His iconic active figures have been transformed into sculptures located around the globe. Haring, openly and proudly gay, was an activist and a very political painter. His subject matter often covered topics such as anti-apartheid, greed and consumerism, the darkness of and harm caused by organized religion, sexuality, and ultimately, AIDS. Haring was diagnosed with AIDS in 1988.

He died on February 16, 1990 at the too-young age of 31.

His art and legacy live on. The Keith Haring Foundation is still in operation. According to their mission statement, "The Keith Haring Foundation makes grants to not-for-profit groups that engage in charitable and educational activities. In accordance with Keith’s wishes, the Foundation concentrates its giving in two areas: The support of organizations which provide educational opportunities to underprivileged children and the support of organizations which engage in education, prevention and care with respect to AIDS and HIV infection."

Thanks for the art, and for making the world a little better.
Happy birthday, Keith.

Above and below: Haring drawing in the NYC subway.

Above: Keith painted the room and himself. Photo by Annie Liebovitz.

Above: Haring mural at Houston and Bowery, New York.

Above: his powerful work for ACT-UP.

Above" "The Radiant Baby" became an iconic symbol for Haring.

http://www.haring.com/