HARING THE BRAVE FPO
THE O U TSP O K E N WORK OF 1980S ICON AND ART WORLD DA RL I N G K E I TH H ARING IS EXAM INED T H ROUG H A
P O L I TI CA L L E N S AT A NEW DE YOUNG M US EUM EXH IB IT ION.
BY L E I L A N I M A R I E L A B O N G
COLLECTION OF THE KEITH HARING FOUNDATION
Julian Cox , curator at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, regards Haring’s widely acclaimed October 1982 debut at the Tony Shafrazi Gallery in SoHo as the single most defining moment of the artist’s career.
COLLECTION ALLAN TK TANNENBAUM OF THE KEITH HARING FOUNDATION
WHE N P O N D E RI N G THE ME TEO RI C CA RE E R O F P O P ART IST KEIT H H ARING, T H E P HRASE “ F L ASH I N THE PA N ” I S O F TE N U TTE RE D, B UT ITS RELEVANCE IS UP FO R D E BATE . Dr. Timothy Leary, late psychologist and LSD poster boy, appreciated this
description of his friend, despite its anticlimactic connotations, saying that it was a “good place to start.” A mere decade in the making, Haring’s skyrocketing trajectory, tragically cut short by AIDS in 1990 when he was 31 years old, surely qualifies as fleeting, but then again, his work—easily recognizable by its strong lines and kinetic nature—still makes an impact. On November 8, the de Young Museum unveils “Keith Haring: The Political Line,” an exhibit that emphasizes the artist not just as an ’80s icon (whose pieces feature, among other of-the-era motifs, break dancers and Mickey Mouse likenesses) but also as a full-throttle political force.
[ABOVE ] Keith Haring’s religious views are often represented by a glowing halo-like ring in his work. These three Untitled paint-on-tarpaulin works are from 1982.
Raised in rural Pennsylvania, Haring identified as someone who, as he wrote in his journal (first published in 1996 by Penguin Books), “grew up on Pop, who watched television since [he] was born, who ‘understands’ digital knowledge.” Though some may dispute the gravitas of work that unapologetically
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