Keith was born on May 4, 1958. He grew up in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, the oldest of four children. He started to draw right away.
After high school, he went to art school in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for a year. He started making big drawings, and when he was 19, he had his first public show.
In 1978, Keith moved to New York City to go to a different art school. He loved being in the big city. There were big museums with all kinds of art. There were many young artists working in his neighborhood. And there was a lot of energy on the street.
One day, while riding the subway, Keith noticed the plain black paper hanging in all the unused advertising space. He ran to a store and bought plain white chalk, returned to the subway, and started drawing.
Keith knew that he could get into trouble with the police if he was caught drawing on the paper, so he had to work fast. With just a few lines, his simple figures came to life. Sometimes they became barking dogs or a group of heads. Sometimes they became little characters hugging each other, pyramids, light bulbs and flying saucers. After drawing in the subway stations a few times, Keith had attracted a lot of attention. People often simply stood and watched him work, but sometimes they asked him what his drawings meant. He used to reply: It s your job to decide, I only do the drawing!
Keith started to become famous. All the people riding the subway saw his work, and it was also on TV and in the newspaper. Untitled, 1982, Enamel and Dayglo on metal, in The Universe of Keith Haring, an Arthouse Films release 2008.
Keith started showing his work in art galleries, where many people started to buy them.
City Garden in downtown St. Louis His paintings and sculptures became very expensive. He wanted everyone to be able to buy his work, so he opened a new store called the Pop Shop to sell his art on posters, buttons, T-shirts, and games. San Franciso
Instanly recognizable as a classic Keith Haring... this sculpture is near the recently constructed commercial and entertainment complex of Potsdamer Platz. Berlin While he was an art student at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, Keith realized that he wanted to bring art to everyone rather than creating art only for museums or individuals. He wanted to work with lots of different people, inspiring their imaginations and emotions. The most important thing to Keith was to be able to communicate to the whole world.
In 1988, Keith got very sick with a disease called AIDS. At that time, doctors could not help people with AIDS. Keith knew he was going to die, but he was very brave and kept working as hard as he could until the end. He also made posters to tell people about the sickness and gave money for doctors to search for a cure.
After Keith died, his work still lived. You can find it in museums, in books, on posters, on TV -- and now even here on the World Wide Web. Keith wanted everyone to make art, especially children.
Working together is sometimes the best way to get a job done. Everybody has different abilities and interests. People working as a team sometimes resemble a big machine and each person is like a different part of the machine. What do you see?
Artists have different ways of letting others know a painting is theirs. They might sign it with their name or put a special symbol on it. Keith often drew a "Radiant Baby" as his signature on an artwork. The rays around the baby symbolize energy. Because Keith felt that art should be everywhere, he put drawings like the "Radiant Baby" on everyday items such as posters, buttons and T-shirts.
There are other images besides the "Radiant Baby" that Keith used again and again that are now recognized around the world. He also drew the "Barking Dog" and dancing people in different colors. By rearranging the same pictures in different ways, Keith was able to change the meaning and feeling of every picture.
These are some things he liked to draw a lot. But he also drew other things. These are some cartoons he drew.
Keith liked to cut things up with scissors and make collages. He also liked to make sculptures, and to take pictures too. His favorites were Mickey Mouse, Dr. Suess, and Peanuts.
Keith liked to watch Mr. Ed, I Love Lucy, and the Mickey Mouse Club. This is a picture Keith drew of himself.
Washington, D.C. '88 Montreux '86