Keith Haring’s Pop Shop
Written by River Berry
Keith Haring was born on May 4, 1958 in Reading, Pennsylvania. Growing up he learned cartooning skills from his father and was influenced by popular culture, such as Dr. Seuss and Walt Disney. Haring attended college initially in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania where he studied commercial art. He eventually realized that being a commercial artist was of little interest to him. Haring continued to study and create work on his own rather than at a university and in 1978 had a solo exhibition of his work at the Pittsburgh Arts and Crafts Center. Later that year he was able to move to New York City and enroll in the School of Visual Arts. In the city Haring discovered the thriving alternative scene. The artists around him were experimenting with ways to show their artwork outside of the conventional gallery space.
Keith Haring was a Postmodern artist working in the graffiti scene of the 1980’s. Haring mainly began his efforts to democratize art with his Subway Drawings from 1982. From this point on Haring continues to define and develop his personal style. The Subway Drawings were placed on empty ad space in the subway tunnels of New York City. The drawings were simple, graphic, black and white cartoon drawings; placed on empty advertising boards in the subway. Haring would cover the space with matt black paper and use white chalk to complete the drawing. The Subway Drawings seemed to somewhat resemble the advertisements they were placed to, almost mocking them. Haring attempted to draw connections between the ads and his own work. It was common in the graffiti scene for artists to apply the guerilla approaches to showing their art, many Postmodern artists sought to express themselves outside of traditional gallery spaces. The images on these drawings were bold, humorous, playful, sometimes political, cartoon-like images. These works were meant to disrupt the flow of daily life in the city. Haring anticipated that the drawings would make people smile or question something. The subway became what Haring called a “laboratory” for working out ideas and establishing new ones. The Subway Drawings had sparked inspiration and experimentation that would come to affect his later works. At twenty seven Haring had already attained fame, but he was unaffected by it. His line based, graphic illustrations had become widely popular. As many galleries sought to codify his work Haring decided he would commodify himself instead. One of Haring’s most groundbreaking works was his Pop Shop from 1986.
The Pop Shop was located at 292 Lafayette Street in the Soho neighborhood of Manhattan, NYC. Haring saw the shop as an extension of his artwork and sought to include as many people in his process as possible. Keith Haring's Pop Shop helped redefine the way artists sold and marketed their works. Similarly to other East Village artists, Haring wanted to create an alternate space to show his work as well as others. He included many other popular artists of the time in his shop, artists such as: Kenny Scharf and Jean Michel Basquiat. Many Postmodern artists wanted to invent new ways of showing and selling their art. These artists wanted to make their art more widely available. This attempt to democratize the art world helped not only the artists themselves make money, but also allowed people more accessibility in purchasing art for themselves. Keith Haring’s Pop Shop showcased his artwork in every way possible to make it available to as many people as possible. He described his goals for the shop as, “... I wanted to attract the same wide range of people,” he said, “ I wanted it to be a place where, yes, not only collectors could come, but also kids from the Bronx. The main point was that we didn’t want to produce things that would cheapen the art. In other words, this was still an art statement.”. Haring wanted to stay true to his artistic aspirations while still finding a feasible way to share his work with all people. The shop was covered in artwork from top to bottom including a black and white mural on the walls, floor, and ceiling creating an immersive experience. Inside the shop he sold his artwork, as well as the works of other artists, on a number of things including shirts and coffee cups. His use of commercial objects allowed him to reach an even wider audience. Haring spoke about his project saying, “The Pop Shop makes my work accessible. It’s about participation on a big level.”.
Haring’s innovative Pop Shop sparked criticism from the artworld with claims that allowing artwork to be bought by anyone cheapened the work itself. Although he was criticized he was also adored by many. The Pop Shop was meant to be an example of the correct way to go about selling artwork instead of the traditional ways of selling art to collectors and in galleries. Many of these Postmodern artists strayed away from traditional gallery spaces during this time period. This break away from the wealthy world of fine art galleries affected the way artists used their spaces. The collapse of high and low art was happening throughout the Postmodern era. This manifested itself in the artists physical artwork as well as the spaces they chose to show their work in. Keith Haring used his Pop Shop to do exactly this, bridge the gap between high and low art. Haring was a very successful artist by this time, his artworks were selling for tens of thousands of dollars. By selling his artwork on commercial objects that many people at the time would have seen as cheap and kitsch, he was able to successfully combine high and low art forms.
Although Haring died in 1990 he left a large impact on the artworld. His Pop Shop in New York City remained open until 2005 when it inevitably shut its doors and has since then moved online. The original ceiling of the shop was donated to the New York Historical Society and is installed in its entry. Haring had also started a Pop Shop in Tokyo which closed in 1988. Although Haring’s career was short lived he has become one of the most influential artists of his time. He continues to be widely popular in contemporary life with stores like Urban Outfitters, Target, Adidas and American Eagle all currently are or have produced Keith Haring lines. In Haring’s place his foundation, The Keith Haring Foundation, continues his work to improve the lives of many.
Keith Haring was a very socially continuous artist. Besides the creation of his Pop Shop he continued to make art that advocated for social justice. Haring created many public works of art around the world. He wanted to create works that would better the community. His work We the Youth Haring was created through a collaboration with schools and museums where he constructed murals with children from New York. This project was meant to spark the children’s interest and investment in the arts. In all of the work Haring created his aim was to make artwork as accessible as possible for everyone. Haring also worked with Act Up, an organization that aimed to gain recognition of the AIDS epidemic. He designed an AIDS guide for teens to inform them of the virus. Haring created other works meant to raise awareness of AIDS. His work Ignorance = Fear / Silence = Death directly references the harsh reality of ignoring the AIDS epidemic. The work even contains a call to protest with the inclusion of the pink triangle Act Up logo. Many artists of the LGBTQ+ community began referencing this anger and mistrust of the United States Government’s handling of HIV AIDS. During the epidemic the United States Government was slow to react and even slower to provide the necessary resources to help those affected by AIDS. Act Up and others protested this blaintent ignoring of a virus that was killing many people. This reaction to AIDS is what inspired many artists of the time. AIDS awareness was something that Haring was very passionate about having been diagnosed with AIDS in 1988 shortly after he had gained fame. Haring’s dedication to the support of those affected by AIDS continued after his death through the Keith Haring Foundation. The foundation supports AIDS foundations as well as funds children’s programs. Haring also created work that spoke out about the crack cocaine crisis that was occuring during the same time. In a mural he created titled: Crack is Wack from 1986, Haring attempts to educate the public about the negative effects of crack cocaine. Throughout his career Haring worked to better his community and the communities of others through not only his art, but his foundation as well.
Haring’s work has continued to affect the way contemporary artists sell and create their artwork. Some of Haring’s own works are still being sold on commercial objects today. His Pop Shop remains open online in connection with the Keith Haring Foundation. Many museums and artists themselves have begun to apply their work to a number of commercial objects in a similar way to Haring. Some of these museums even sell Haring's own artwork on knicknacks. Although many of these museums and artists do this solely for profit, there is less of a stigma attached to this way of commodifying art. Haring was able, during his short career, to completely change the way people buy and experience artwork. He completed more than fifty public artworks throughout his career for institutions such as charities, hospitals and daycare centers. Keith Haring also made a large impact on the communities around him through his work with Act Up as well as through his foundation. The Keith Haring Foundation’s mission is to “...sustain, expand, and protect the legacy of Keith Haring, his art, and his ideals.”, and still continues to non-profit organizations that assist children as well as organizations that provide resources about HIV AIDS. The foundation also supports the arts by funding exhibitions, programming and publications. Additionally the foundation maintains archives of Haring’s artwork as well as research.
Haring surely made his mark on the artworld as well as Pop culture. His work remains popular to this day. He has become known for his socially driven artworks and projects throughout many communities. Haring’s legacy remains protected by his foundation, The Keith Haring Foundation. Starting out drawing on empty advertising spaces in the subways of New York City, Haring’s career grew very quickly until his death in 1990 from AIDS. His Pop Shop influenced the way contemporary artists sell their own work as well as how it is viewed in the artworld. Keith Haring's way of commodifying his own work has led to many changes in the way artists maintain their careers, which has in turn made buying artwork much easier for the general public. There are many brands, and stores that produce artist-designed collections today. Haring’s Pop Shop coincides with the use of alternative spaces by Postmodern artists. As these artists, as well as Keith Haring, moved away from the traditional gallery scene they began to expand their audiences to include as many people as possible. Another one of Haring’s goals with his Pop Shop was to do just this, make his art available to as many people as possible. With the opening of the Shop Haring ushered in a new way of democratizing artwork and the art world.
Bibliography
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Boram- Hays, Carol. “Postmodern Art and Culture.” Class lecture, Columbus College of Art & Design, OH, October 8, 2020.
Figure 1. Chantal Regnault, Keith Haring working in the subway, Photo, 1983, The Keith Haring Foundation. Accessed November 25, 2020, https://www.haring.com/!/about-haring/to-new-york
Figure 2. Keith Haring, Subway, Chalk on Black Paper, 1982, The Keith Haring Foundation. Accessed November 25, 2020, https://www.haring.com/!/about-haring/to-new-york
Figure 3. Tseng Kwong Chi, Keith Haring Foundation, Photo, Date Unknown, The Keith Haring Foundation. Accessed November 23, 2020, https://www.haring.com/!/pop-shop/attachment/pop_shop_three_s01
Figure 4. Tseng Kwong Chi, Keith Haring Foundation, Photo, Date Unknown, The Keith Haring Foundation. Accessed November 23, 2020, https://www.haring.com/!/pop-shop/attachment/pop_shop_three_s01
Figure 5. Keith Haring, Ignorance = Fear / Silence = Death, 1989. 61.1 × 109.4 cm., The Whitney Museum of American Art, accessed November 23, 2020, https://whitney.org/collection/works/46387
Haring, Keith. “Keith Haring: Ignorance = Fear / Silence = Death.” Keith Haring | Ignorance = Fear / Silence = Death | Whitney Museum of American Art. Accessed November 25, 2020. https://whitney.org/collection/works/46387.
Lakin, Max. “Keith Haring's 1986 Pop Shop Invented Modern Day Merch.” Garage, December 11, 2017. https://garage.vice.com/en_us/article/kzgw89/keith-haring-pop-shop-harpers-apartment.
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