Haring’s Grand Finale

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Designs created
by Keith Haring have
a consistent style; bold
expressive lines on
a flat background
.

Here’s
a favorite
from one of our
Christmas albums
:

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The
Christmas
theme is expanded
in his “Nativity” design
:

*Keith Haring, “Untitled (Nativity)”, 1983*

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As
Keith
began losing
his battle with
HIV and AIDs,
he made one
final artwork
named

“The Life of Christ”

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The
photo above
is the altar piece at the
Cathedral of St. John the Divine
in Manhattan
.
This
is the church
where the altarpiece
was dedicated during
his memorial service
.
It’s 5′ x 8′ in size
and weighs about
600 pounds,
cast in
bronze
and covered
with white gold
.
There are nine copies.
Others can be seen at the
Saint-Eustache Church
near Les Halles,
and at
Grace
Cathedral
in San Francisco

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According
to his friend
Sam Havadtoy,
Haring used a loop
knife to draw the
image into clay
.
Sam shared this
first-hand account
after watching him
create the design
:

“The images
came directly
from his head…
he never stopped
to rethink the line
.
He never edited
himself and never
made corrections
.
The lines he
carved in the clay
were seamless,
flawless.”
Sam Havadtoy

Sam
describes
the result
:
The images

“were religious:
an inspiration of
the life of
Christ
;
a baby
held by a
pair of hands;
hands ascending
toward heaven;
Christ
on the
cross
.
On one
side panel
he depicted
the resurrection
.
On the other,
a fallen
angel.”
Sam Havadtoy

When Keith finished,
as he stepped back and
gazed at this work,
he said,

“Man,
this is really heavy.”

He passed away
two weeks later
.

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The image
is easier to see
in this staged photo
:

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excerpt from the
Keith Haring Foundation
website:

Determined
to devote his career
to creating a truly
public art, Haring
began to create
drawings in
white chalk
upon blank
paper panels
throughout the
subway system
.
The
subway
became,
as Haring said,
a “laboratory” for
working out his ideas
and experimenting with
his simple lines
.
During
a brief but
intense career
that spanned the
1980s
Haring’s work was
featured in over
100
solo and group
exhibitions
.
By
expressing
universal concepts
of birth, death, love,
sex and war, Haring
was able to attract
a wide audience
and assure the
accessibility
and staying
power of
his imagery
.
Throughout
his career, Haring
devoted much of his
time to public works,
which often carried
social messages
.
He
produced
over fifty public
artworks from 1982 to
1989, in dozens of cities
around the world, many
of which were created for
charities, children’s day
care centers, hospitals,
and orphanages
.