Haring’s dancing figures clearly evoke fun, joy, energy and community, and can also be considered a reflection of the artist’s love of hip hop, which was emerging in New York City around the same time his art rose to prominence. However, beyond this, the hole in the stomach has also been argued to represent the emptiness within people.
The artist initially came up with this visualisation in response to the murder of John Lennon on 8 December 1980. Many of Haring’s figures have gaping holes in the middle of their stomachs, which other figures often interact with, such as by high fiving or even dancing through the space. These are some of the most common ways his famous figures were presented, and what these compositions illustrate. The ways in which Haring displayed his figures conveyed additional meaning. Haring wrote in his journal that: “It is important to the future existence of the human race that we understand the importance of the individual and the reality that we are all different, all individuals, all changing and all contributing to the ‘whole’ as individuals, not as groups or products of ‘mass-identity’, ‘anti-individual’ or ‘stereotyped’ groups of humans with the same goals, ideas and needs.” Haring’s multicolored, faceless figures reveal no hint of gender, race, religion or sexual orientation, representing humans as distinct but equal beings. What is the meaning behind Keith Haring’s figures? Other themes Haring tackled include religion, war, and apartheid in South Africa. As a gay man, he also used his platform to address issues which directly affected him, promoting safe sex and AIDS awareness.
#RETROSPECT MEANING CRACK#
Many of Haring’s paintings reflect on significant social and political issues, such as his Crack Is Wack mural, created in response to the crack cocaine epidemic that swept America during the 1980s.
What are the main themes of Keith Haring’s artwork? In doing so, he succeeded in proving that even seemingly simple art still had immense value. Though graffiti had traditionally been considered a trashy artform, he broke barriers by creating work that was just as comfortable on street walls as it was in exclusive spaces like galleries and museums. Whether painting energetic motifs or commenting on serious social issues, his work always evoked wit and charm, and was brought to life by the strategic use of lines and dots to convey sound, movement and texture.Īlong with his artistic contemporaries (and friends) Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat, Haring was determined to make his art accessible, and engage with as diverse an audience as possible. Haring is most famous for his street art, which also took influence from the pop art movement, utilizing thick black lines and bright block colors that became synonymous with his creations. Using his distinct artistic style, Haring conveyed a variety of incredibly important themes and ideas through these characters. And at the heart of his work were his highly symbolic ‘figures’ - outlines of humans signifying the people within modern society. Like the hieroglyphics of the past and the emojis of the present, the visual representations created by Haring succeeded in saying a great deal. This is common to all languages, all people, all times.” “There is within all forms a basic structure, an indication of the entire object with a minimum of lines, that becomes a symbol. “I am intrigued with the shapes people choose as their symbols to create language,” he once said. The Alphabet held at Vienna’s Albertina Museum, with its curators emphasising the artist’s fascination with hieroglyphics. This was extensively explored in a 2018 exhibition called Keith Haring. The painter and sculptor intended to create an effective visual language, with every image having a unique meaning behind it. And while his cartoon-like drawings may seem simplistic compared to more traditional forms, Haring’s art is no less thought-provoking. His vibrant, eye-catching pieces are grounded in street culture, yet also respected in the art world. Keith Haring was one of the most widely-celebrated artists of 1980s New York, and his work is still hugely popular today.
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