'It's about having your tag everywhere': why Keith Haring's art is all around us
Google Keith Haring and unlike other artists - Picasso, for example, or Tracey Emin - you're as likely to find ads as art. The adverts suggest an Abercrombie & Fitch sweatshirt with Haring's artwork on the front for £60. A ring from Pandora with Haring's dancing figures around the design for £125. Or a Uniqlo t-shirt, featuring two numbers and a heart, for £14.90.
That's just a fraction of the items you can now buy online. displaying the works of Haring. The Keith Haring Foundation - the organization responsible for his imagery since his death in 1990 - has teamed up with a plethora of brands in recent months, including H&M, Primark and Bershka, collaborations that follow his partnership with Uniqlo, which debuted in 2003. More than 30 years after his death, Haring's crawling babies, barking dogs and dancing characters are ubiquitous.
Commercial value is since long a central tenet of Haring's work. But are the number of these new collaborations going too far and compromising his legacy? Has his art been reduced to glorified logos? Have we reached Haring Peak?
Haring was born in Pennsylvania and moved to New York to study art in 1978. Two years later he began his subway drawings; the artist and his work have become a familiar sight for city commuters. His fame grew over the decade – he was the subject of 40 articles in 1986, appeared in over 50 solo exhibitions during his lifetime, and created over 50 public works of art. During his own lifetime, Haring had few qualms about commercial work. He's worked with Absolut, Fiorucci and Swatch, though he's also turned down some brands, including deals with Kraft cheese and Dodge trucks. Basically, in 1986, he opened Pop Shop, a store on Lafayette Street in New York City, and sold T-shirts, toys, posters, and badges at affordable prices.
Haring died of an AIDS-related illness at age 31, but he left behind an important body of work , and a life that has made him a hero to many. He camps...
Google Keith Haring and unlike other artists - Picasso, for example, or Tracey Emin - you're as likely to find ads as art. The adverts suggest an Abercrombie & Fitch sweatshirt with Haring's artwork on the front for £60. A ring from Pandora with Haring's dancing figures around the design for £125. Or a Uniqlo t-shirt, featuring two numbers and a heart, for £14.90.
That's just a fraction of the items you can now buy online. displaying the works of Haring. The Keith Haring Foundation - the organization responsible for his imagery since his death in 1990 - has teamed up with a plethora of brands in recent months, including H&M, Primark and Bershka, collaborations that follow his partnership with Uniqlo, which debuted in 2003. More than 30 years after his death, Haring's crawling babies, barking dogs and dancing characters are ubiquitous.
Commercial value is since long a central tenet of Haring's work. But are the number of these new collaborations going too far and compromising his legacy? Has his art been reduced to glorified logos? Have we reached Haring Peak?
Haring was born in Pennsylvania and moved to New York to study art in 1978. Two years later he began his subway drawings; the artist and his work have become a familiar sight for city commuters. His fame grew over the decade – he was the subject of 40 articles in 1986, appeared in over 50 solo exhibitions during his lifetime, and created over 50 public works of art. During his own lifetime, Haring had few qualms about commercial work. He's worked with Absolut, Fiorucci and Swatch, though he's also turned down some brands, including deals with Kraft cheese and Dodge trucks. Basically, in 1986, he opened Pop Shop, a store on Lafayette Street in New York City, and sold T-shirts, toys, posters, and badges at affordable prices.
Haring died of an AIDS-related illness at age 31, but he left behind an important body of work , and a life that has made him a hero to many. He camps...
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