Being born in 1958, the first generation of the Space Age, born into a world of television technology and instant gratification, a child of the atomic age. Raised in America during the sixties and learning about war from Life Magazines on Vietnam. Watching riots on television in a warm living room comfortably safe in middle-class white America.
ーKeith Haring, 1982
Poster for Nuclear Disarmament, 1982
Keith Haring handing out Nuclear Disarmament Posters after a No Nukes Rally
©Joseph Szkodzinski 2023
Untitled, 1984
©Keith Haring Foundatio..
In the 1980s, when Haring’s career took off, the world was amidst a significant nuclear arms race, especially in the United States. In June 1982, in response to the escalating arms race, the largest anti-nuclear demonstration in U.S. history took place. For this event, Haring created the “Poster for Nuclear Disarmament,” distributing 20,000 copies in Central Park to advocate for disarmament. Throughout his life, Haring continued exploring various mediums and methods to deliver his messages, focusing on themes of peace and freedom.
In October 1987, Keith Haring visited Japan to conduct a workshop at the "Parthenon Tama," a multifaceted cultural facility located in Tama City, Tokyo. This workshop, held as part of the facility's opening commemoration event over two days, saw the participation of 500 children. While Haring conducted similar workshops around the world, he paid attention to details such as composition and color scheme even in collaborative works with children. By adhering to his own sense of aesthetics and maximizing the level of completion, he believed that the artworks would endure for future generations and that the voices of the children would be carried into the future.
Keith Haring inTama City
1987
My Town, 1987, Courtesy of Tama City Cultural Foundation
Exhibit Period: December 3, 2024 (Thu) to May 18, 2025
Peace Ⅰ-Ⅳ, 1987, Courtesy of Tama City Cultural Foundation
Exhibit Period: June 1, 2024 to December 1, 2024
Photo by ©︎Chikako Ikegami
Apocalypse
1988
Every dedicated artist attempts the impossible, Success will write APOCALYPSE across the sky. The artist aims for a miracle. The painter wills his picture to move off the canvas with a separate life, movement outside of the picture, and one rent in the fabric is all it takes for pandemonium to sluice through.
ーWilliam Burroughs (excerpt from the introduction)
This work is a collaboration between Keith Haring and William S. Burroughs, representing the "Beat Generation," which used words to dissent against conservative regimes in 1950s America and had a significant influence on fields like art. Finally given the opportunity to collaborate with his admired writer, Haring interpreted Burroughs' ten poems independently, constructing a collage-based portrayal of the end of the world around imagery from art history, Christianity, and popular culture.
Apocalypse, 1988
Keith Haring
in Hiroshima
1988
In 1988, Haring was involved with the 'HIROSHIMA ’88' charity concert for the construction of an atomic bomb victims' home. His visit to Hiroshima, the first city to suffer an atomic bombing, deeply moved him. Visiting the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, he wrote in his journal: “Who could ever want this to happen again? To anyone?” This quote underlines the exhibition’s theme. A single atomic bomb was capable of reducing a city to ashes. Today, as we continue to witness ongoing wars and confront the presence of over 12,000 nuclear warheads around the world, we approach the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. This backdrop serves as a stark reminder of the devastating impact of atomic bombs and underscores the ongoing struggle for peace, highlighting the pressing need to reflect on the contemporary meanings of “peace” and “freedom.”
©︎Keith Haring Foundation
Poster and LP Cover for "HIROSHIMA '88", 1988