Keith Haring

An activist artist

I know Keith is not such a celebrity in the sense of being in the spotlight, but he is a famous contemporary artisan. Haring was born in Pennsylvania in 1958 he became famous as a graffiti artist in New York, in the days when he started making his art in the city’s subways and became world famous, he participated in a lot of art events, such as the São Paulo Biennial in 1983.

Although his appearance of a shy-guy didn’t make him stand out, he did an amazing job and stood up for important causes. When searching online, we can see pictures of Keith in T-shirts and jeans, and always wearing his small round glasses. At most he wore his art, he made clothes with his drawings, and because of that, I like to think that he believed in his art and was proud of it.

Besides the aesthetic aspects of his art, we can list, as an important part of his work, his ideals of doing accessible art. He used to do voluntary art murals in hospitals, orphanages and public places, also he did free merchandising for events and protests he believed in and supported. Other than that, he had a store, the Pop Shop, where he sold art pieces of different types, for an accessible price.

Furthermore, I admire him for using his art and his importance in the artistic scene to defend important social causes. He made anti-apartheid pieces, his work reflected in the fight against drug use, in favor of safe sex and also addressed the importance of knowing about AIDS. All in all, what I admire most about Keith is that he did what he could to help himself and others.