Lake View East in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Keith Haring

The Legacy Walk

Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, August 26, 2021

1. Keith Haring Marker

Inscription.
Keith Haring
(Gay U.S. Artist)
(1958 - 1990)

In 1978, Keith Haring moved to New York to attend the School of Visual Arts. Energized by the influences he encountered, he developed a graffiti-inspired style emphasizing the line. Seeking to work outside the conventional art world, and committed to involving the public in his art, Haring began his series of “subway drawings” – recurring images drawn in chalk on expired advertising panels lining subway station walls throughout the city. The subway became a laboratory for Haring to work out his ideas, iconography and narratives. Executed at all times of the day, in full view of commuters, his drawings attracted a growing number fans (whose interaction he cultivated) as well as the police (who arrested him several times for criminal mischief). His style soon became associated with the tribal undercurrents that permeated metropolitan life; and overtones of his homosexuality can be found throughout the works he created in his decade-long career. The subway drawings and his shows in numerous alternative exhibition spaces received much notice, but it was a solo show at a Soho

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gallery in 1982 which launched his meteoric ascent. Haring was politically involved, designing anti-nuclear posters (1982); posters for an anti-apartheid campaign (1985); and painting a portion of the Berlin Wall (1986). By 1989 his work had also become synonymous with the AIDS activist movement. Commercially, Haring worked for such clients as Swatch and Absolut Vodka. In 1986, in an effort to keep his imagery affordable, he opened a store in Manhattan – the Pop Shop – featuring merchandise bearing his own artwork. Just as Andy Warhol defined the 1960s, Keith Haring defined the 1980s. Haring’s creativity bridged the gap between consumerism, pop culture and fine art. His pioneering vision remains an inspiration to artists today. Haring died of complications due to HIV in 1990. He was 31.

Erected 2012 by The Legacy Walk.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Arts, Letters, Music. In addition, it is included in the The Legacy Walk series list. A significant historical date for this entry is May 4, 1958.

Location. 41° 56.585′ N, 87° 38.967′ W. Marker is in Chicago, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in Lake View

Keith Haring Marker - wide view image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, August 26, 2021

2. Keith Haring Marker - wide view

The Haring marker is visible here, mounted to the rainbow pylon that it shares with a marker for Walt Whitman.

East. It is on North Halsted Street, on the left when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3342 North Halsted Street, Chicago IL 60657, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American Midwest.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Great Lakes,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Walt Whitman (here, next to this marker); Alan Mathison Turing (a few steps from this marker); Reinaldo Arenas (a few steps from this marker); Dr. Sally K. Ride (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (about 300 feet away); Cole Porter (about 300 feet away); Bayard Rustin (about 300 feet away); Pauli Murray (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chicago.

Also see . . .
1. Keith Haring (Wikipedia).

"Keith Allen Haring
Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, August 26, 2021

3. Marker inset: Keith Haring
(May 4, 1958 – February 16, 1990) was an American artist whose pop art emerged from the New York City graffiti subculture of the 1980s. His animated imagery has "become a widely recognized visual language". Much of his work includes sexual allusions that turned into social activism by using the images to advocate for safe sex and AIDS awareness. In addition to solo gallery exhibitions, Haring participated in renowned national and international group shows such as documenta in Kassel, the Whitney Biennial in New York, the São Paulo Biennial, and the Venice Biennale. The Whitney Museum held a retrospective of his art in 1997."

(Submitted on October 1, 2021.)

2. About Haring - Bio (Keith Haring Foundation). (Submitted on October 1, 2021.)
3. From the archives: Keith Haring was here (YouTube, 3.5 min.). 'Artist Keith Haring took the New York City subway system by storm in the 1980s, with his drawings appearing on the walls of hundreds of stations. His art is known for expressing concepts of death, sexuality and war. Charles Osgood takes a look at how Haring managed to get his works up, in this profile first broadcast

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on the "CBS Evening News" on October 20, 1982.' (Submitted on October 1, 2021.)

Additional keywords. lgbtq lgbt

Credits. This page was last revised on January 30, 2023. It was originally submitted on October 1, 2021, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 594 times since then and 34 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on October 1, 2021, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.