Keith Haring

Keith Haring was an American artist from Kutztown, Pennsylvania. 
​Haring was inspired by cartoons at an early age, especially those found from Dr. Seuss and Walt Disney.
Although Haring dropped out of college in Pittsburgh, he continued to study and work on his own until he was granted to exhibit his art. After achieving his first solo show, Haring moved to NYC where he was also inspired by and began hanging out with performance artists, musicians, and graffiti artists. With new inspirations, Haring pushed his original cartoon-style drawings into more graphic and expressionistic line work. He began using the empty, blackened ad space in the subway stations to create white, chalk drawings, making around 40 drawings per day. He considered the subway stations his "laboratory"  where he could work out his ideas, experiment with lines, and engage with the everyday passer-byers. His work became a sensation of the 1980's, enabling him to develop watch designs for SWATCH, create advertisements for clubs like studio 57, Coca Cola, and Absolut Vodka, as well as create murals worldwide. One of his most popular mural in NYC is "Crack is Whack" along FDR Drive. Many of his other murals were created for charities, hospitals, orphanages, and day care centers to communicate important messages to the public. Haring's work was such a phenomenon, he opened up a pop-up shop, painting the facade of the building in his juvenile black and white cartoon graphics, allowing art to be affordable and readily available, spreading these messages he felt was important for the community. Although it was always important for Haring to communicate to the public and spread awareness on various topics, it became his way of life in 1988 when he was diagnosed with AIDS, as his latest artworks would be his last. 
keith_haring_symbols.pdf
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"The formation of a symbol is made by the minimum
number of lines to indicate the entire object.
This is common to all languages, all people, all times."
                                         - Keith Haring

Do Now:

  • Click on the Art tab
  • Choose 1 of his artworks that you are drawn to 
  • Recreate the artwork in your sketchbook 
    • If it has a  title  write the title of the artwork 
    • Write the year it was originally made & Keith Haring above or below your artwork 
  • Answer the following questions on the same page as your drawing
    • ​In your opinion, what is the message of this artwork? 
    • Why do you think this message is important to communicate?​
    • Do you think this message is still relevant today or just for its time period (1980s)? Explain your thoughts. 
               ** This assignment is worth 50 points **

                 Your Mission                                       Teacher Examples

As you have seen in all of Keith Haring's artworks, the lines used are expressive, show movement, and varies in styles and type. Accompanying the lines, Haring also uses symbolic figures and/or objects such as people, robots, television sets, dogs, dolphins, and spaceships. These are called semiotics, symbols that are used to express or represent a story or message.
In your project, you will be creating a Keith Haring inspired post card representing a symbolic moment in life or an awareness you would want to promote to the world. 
​
  1. Think of an image, message, or theme that is symbolic or meaningful to you or someone you are close to​
  2. Come up with symbols or designs that can be used to help narrate your message either by drawing or collage
  3. Create your figure(s) appropriately to your chosen theme either by drawing or collage
  4. Determine what colors, if any, you want to use. Remember, all colors have meaning!
  5. After finalizing your idea, complete your project on final copy paper
    1. ​Be sure all negative space is filled in with various lines

                Rubric:

keith_haring_rubric.pdf
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