Keith Haring x Brooklyn Museum

I have always been a fan of Keith Haring's work both for it's boldness and it's ingenuity. As well, I really admire all of the gay rights activism he did. There's no doubt he was a brilliant guy and when the Brooklyn Museum announced that they would exhibit his life works I knew I had to be there. Yesterday, I finally had the opportunity to go. I admit, I had never been to the Brooklyn Museum prior to this trip so I was immediately amazed at all of the other amazing art displayed throughout the building. I especially enjoyed the feminist art portion of the museum, which I was so pleased existed. That said, I still immediately went to the fifth floor to see Haring and I was very happy with what I saw.

Along with Haring's notable works the exhibition also featured pages and sketches from various journals Haring had kept throughout his lifetime. As well, there were some of his video projections and collages, pieces of work that haven't gotten as much publicity as his paintings and street art, but never the less were still very impressive. The museum also chose to include many night life photographs that Haring was a part of so that the entire exhibit exuded the essence of Keith Haring.

For those of you unfamiliar with Haring's work, he was a prominent artist in the 1980's. Haring was greatly inspired by New York City street culture and graffiti art. As a result a great amount of his art appeared on the streets of New York. He is most known for his subway series, where his art appeared in New York City transit stations. Haring was also a prominent figure in New York City nightlife and a huge gay rights activist. A lot of his work had sexual and gay connotations to it and he was completelu unashamed of that. Unfortunately, in 1990 he passed away due to AIDS. Today his work is still celebrated and many AIDS charities exist in his honor.

The Keith Haring exhibit ends tomorrow, Sunday, July 8th, at the Brooklyn Museum. To see more images from the exhibition check out my tumblr.