A Day at the Keith Haring Exhibition

This October I visited the Keith Haring exhibition at the Liverpool Tate Gallery. The day started out quite wet and miserable, the idea of a 4-hour coach trip down wasn't a pleasant one! We eventually arrived in Liverpool where spirits lifted with the view of the beautiful harbour and Tate building. With Keith Haring being one of my favourite artists, I was excited to see the collection in real life and see the scale of his artwork for myself. 

Tate Liverpool

The exhibition conglomerates various aspects and styles Haring lived through, with his work focusing on key radical movements of the 1980's. Most of the work on display had strong underlying political, social themes, or an activist slant masked by his iconic graffiti-like almost hieroglyphical artwork. From the art I've seen, I see a strong sense of community in his work, he cared for creating art with an intended purpose of making people happy. His style is inclusive, previously painting many communal murals in Australia and New York, he's creating for all audiences which is how street art should be; not promoting himself for personal gain as an artist, with the emotive response being more valuable. The work on display in the Tate captured the vibrancy of New York's street culture through photographs, commercial posters, sketches and videos. I particularly loved his mural paintings including 'The Matrix' which he painted in 1983 live in a gallery. With matrix meaning 'cultural, social, or political environment in which something develops' is captured in Haring's work through symbolism; the movement he creates in a piece has many meanings, it could suggest everyone being tangled up together with his view that everyone should have equal rights. 

1980s New York Street Culture inspired collage

Prior to visiting the gallery, I'd researched Keith Haring finding he was inspired by Jazz and Soul music, which is recognisable in his work. The rhythm and structure of the music can be seen in his graphic characters. In an interview, he said he likes to create things meaningfully, looking at different peoples association in the world, therefore keeping his work quite simple in its appearance, letting the viewer debate the importance and meaning of the work. Haring's human and animal characters are quite primal, almost like symbols of life; he doesn't plan his work, instead letting his creativity take over with influence from his surroundings. For most of his life, Haring was based in New York with street art being very recognisable. His murals are seen by thousands each day which he prefers to a gallery environment where the artwork is more heavily criticized; street art is for the community with a sole purpose of provoking positivity. Among other reasons, this is why I like his work as his aim was never to become famous, he just created what he enjoyed. Although some of his work is based on prominent issues, AIDS awareness and drug addiction to name a few, the production of themes are approached with colour and abstract shapes so audiences can connote the intended meaning. I see it as an approach to raise awareness in a lighthearted way that all audience would understand. 

Overall, I enjoyed visiting the Tate and seeing Keith Haring's exhibition among others on display. I'll be looking out for future exhibitions to visit as they provide a deeper insight into an artists life than online research would. With a collection of photos from the gallery and better understanding of his style, I will incorporate this into my sketchbook work, referring to the use of vibrant colours and current themes woven into the narrative of an illustration. 

Lithograph prints on paper, 1982-1988