Discover 1980’s American artist Keith Haring and his collection from the subculture art movement at The Broad Art Museum in Los Angeles.
New York in the 1980’s saw the first of American subculture artist, Keith Haring, and now, his greatest pieces are taking up residence in Los Angeles’ The Broad Art Museum. Famously creating “art for everybody,” 120 pieces of Haring’s work are up on display in a series that takes you through cultural movements, iconic characters and stances ranging from environmentalism to religion.
From the very start, Haring’s name appears in bold, black lettering on a neon green-and-yellow wall before emerging into a photo gallery of bystanders passing by Haring’s art that spread throughout New York City. It is only seconds before you are transformed into a world of color, imagery and the inside of Haring’s mind for an exhibit that marks a great movement in American art history.
Following Haring’s fondness of bold and eclectic, the first room is striped in fuchsia and bright orange stripes with a muraled Statue of Liberty in the middle. The surrounding walls contain artwork of stylized shapes outlined in black with splashes of color–producing a type of abstract art that entices and excites.
With the turn of a corner, the exhibit turns black and white aside from a hint of red, often used in the depiction of hearts. Outlined Mickey Mouse and human-like forms paint the canvases and display a “less is more concept” that attracts onlookers to stop, think and even grab a quick photo. It is only if you take a deeper dive into Haring’s past that you realized Mickey Mouse was one of the first characters he learned to draw.
But Haring’s work also busies itself with shapes and patterns that overtake an entire canvas and takes more than one look to catch the hidden messages within.
This exhibit also prominently features Haring’s sexuality through artistic representations in paintings, comics and statues. Bringing awareness of the AIDS epidemic was an important aspect of Haring’s life and mission–where he created advertising imagery and eventually established the Keith Haring Foundation to help educate the public on the crisis and provide assistance to those suffering from AIDS.
Haring was no stranger to social, economic and historical issues, which played a large part in the messaging of his work. His later paintings encapsulate his thoughts and feelings on particular movements of the 80’s, which can stir emotions in today’s exhibit-goers once the deeper meaning is uncovered. All during the viewing process, music soundtracked by the artist himself emerges from the speakers and engulfs the exhibit into a full sensory experience, transforming the art into a center stage of Haring’s legacy.
As you walk through each of the 10 distinct exhibitions, you will notice that Haring’s artistry walks a line between ordinary and extraordinary. While made for the people–“art is for everybody”–his complexities within the work itself can puzzle, dazzle and jolt just about anybody. Incredibly rich to see from close up and far away, his work wraps the brain and fosters deep thoughts and provoked feelings–-making it one of the most intriguing art exhibits to hit Los Angeles as of late.
Surveyors of the pretty things and connoisseurs seeking artistry infused with knowledge, truth and history will find Keith Haring: Art is For Everybody a treat—and will discover the inner workings of one man’s life that shaped the subculture artistic movement as well as art that is truly for the people.
Keith Haring: Art is for Everybody will be available for viewing at The Broad from now until Oct. 8. To purchase tickets or learn more about Haring and his legacy, visit thebroad.org.