Keith Haring was an artist and social activist whose work continues to embody concepts of birth, death, sexuality and war, all from the perspective of a gay man living in New York City during the 1980’s. Throughout his career he devoted much of his time to public works, brimming with social messages, which were often quite political. His work very clearly demonstrated the way much of what was going on in the world at the time personally influenced him, as well as the impact his sexual orientation and his AIDS diagnosis had on his life.
Sexuality, specifically homosexuality, was one of many consistent ideas throughout Haring’s work, however it was rarely shown in a positive light; Haring often depicted sexuality as threatening, often associating it with images of monsters and skeletons. Such an association makes sense when we come to realize that Haring’s perception of sex was accompanied by a constant fear, with the threat of HIV always imminent throughout his adult life. Haring’s work demonstrates a lot of stigma associated with homosexual relationships, with Haring being among the first to present homosexuality in such a progressive way. Haring worked hard to remove sexuality, specifically homosexuality, from the subculture and the stereotypes that it embodied during the 1980’s. Much of his work gave a minority community of gay men the chance to express and appreciate their sexuality through his art. Unfortunately, due to the strong association presented between homosexuality and HIV/AIDS throughout his work, as progressive and as important as it may have been, his message may have been misinterpreted by those uneducated about HIV during this time period, solidifying the link between homosexuality and AIDS in the minds of his ...
... middle of paper ...
...g was able to attract a diverse audience and assure that his images would stay with them forever. Dying of AIDS related complications at the age of 31, Keith Haring’s legacy lives on through his work and through his charity work, spreading awareness through beauty even after death.
Works Cited
"Art.com - The Keith Haring Artwork Collection." Art.com - The Keith Haring Artwork Collection. N.p., n.d..
"Bio | Keith Haring." Bio | Keith Haring. N.p., n.d..
"Feature story." "Art for AIDS" receives Keith Haring sculptures. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Feb. 2014. .
"Keith Haring Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. .
By the late 1950s, Voulkos had established an international reputation for his muscular fired-clay sculptures, which melded Zen attitudes toward chance with the emotional fervor of Abstract Expressionist painting. Some 20 works -- including five "Stacks" (4-foot-tall sculptures) as well as giant slashed-and-gouged plates and works on paper -- recently went on view at the Frank Lloyd Gallery. This non single show is his first at a Los Angeles gallery in 13 years, although a survey of his work was seen at the Newport Harbor Art Museum (presently carries a different...
"Project MUSE - Radical Modernism and Sexuality: Freud, Reich, D.H. Lawrence & Beyond (review)." Project MUSE - Radical Modernism and Sexuality: Freud, Reich, D.H. Lawrence & Beyond (review). N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2013.
In 2002, Perry had a major solo exhibition in Amsterdam. A year later he was awarded the Turner Prize, and was praised for his “uncompromising engagement with personal and social concerns”. (Tate, 2003)
Warhol, Andy. The Philosophy of Andy Warhol: (from A to B and Back Again). Orlando: Harcourt, 2006. Print.
Many may argue that the gay lifestyle was hidden from society until recent years, however, many books argue otherwise. It is surprising to know just how massive and significant gay society was in the beginning of the twentieth century. It is also important to understand how society’s acceptance of the gay lifestyle has changed over time. All four books I reviewed speak on gay society and how it flourished on its own, separate from “regular” society despite existing within it. Much of the content in all books is presented with an oral history methodology. Accounts of interactions between gay individuals are presented and described to validate points made by the authors. Overall, the books help modern readers understand the history of gay society
This essay sets out to distinguish how male characters can be portrayed in the same fashion as their female counterparts, and therefore become subjected to the same erotic objectification. This will be researched under the circumstances that the production revolves around gay characters and the assumed audience is exchanged from a homogenous crowd of heterosexual spectators, to a homogenous crowd of homosexual spectators. To support this claim there will be references to a segment from the American remake of the television series Queer as Folk (USA, dev. Ron Cowen, Daniel Lipman, 2000-2005) where Brian Kinney (Gale Harold) and Justin Taylor (Randy Harris) first meet.
Considering the fact that today’s political and social climate is very much like the one discussed in the play, it is well worth trying to find out if said play is indeed still relevant. In doing so we will look at issues of disease, sexuality, binary systems, and conflict trying to show how a play that talks of the queer fails in actually being a play about the queer.
Keith Haring was an artist with a plan to educate and inform society of many issues facing peers among them. He accomplished many things through his lifetime and many of them still are and always will be reminder of his contributions. His life was hard and had many obstacles but that never stopped him from doing what he loved. He died at the age of 31 in his Manhattan home from AIDS- related causes on February 16,1990(Yarrow,1990). Haring lived a life of helping others and pushing for society to have more understanding about social and political
Conservativism found connection between the AIDS epidemic and homosexuality, and George Piggford finds, “AIDS theorists in the 1980s and 1990s closely associate the discourses of the syndrome with cultural perceptions of homosexuality; AIDS is seen in many theoretical texts as a horrifying literalization of the disease that homosexuality is already perceived to be” (Piggford 20). By extension, the lesions which identify the contraction of AIDS in Angels in America are not only representational of the illness itself, but point to an undesirable societal implication of effeminacy, socio-economic status, and promiscuity. The public had limited knowledge of the disease and in the panic, the homosexual community was further demonized in the political
Just as Arthur Miller, the writer of “The Crucible”, said, “Sex,sin, and the devil were early linked” (Miller,1125). During the AIDS hysteria, homosexual intercourse was thought to be the cause of widespread immune deficiency, so the disease was soon labeled “Gay Men’s Health Crisis” (“History of HIV and AIDS”). As time progressed AIDS, it was discovered, could also be spread through heterosexual couples(“History of HIV and AIDS”). This
The topic of homosexuality has become a constant issue throughout our society for many years. Many people believe that being gay is not acceptable for both religious and moral reasons. Because being gay is not accepted, many homosexuals may feel shame or guilt because of the way they live their everyday lives. This in turn can affect how the person chooses to live their life and it can also affect who the person would like to become. Growing up, David Sedaris struggled to find the common ground between being gay as well as being a normal teenager. He often resorted to the conclusion that you could not be both. Sedaris allows us to see things through his young eyes with his personable short story "I Like Guys". Throughout his short story, Sedaris illustrates to the reader what it was like growing up being gay as well as how the complexities of being gay, and the topic of sexuality controlled his lifestyle daily. He emphasizes the shame he once felt for being gay and how that shame has framed him into the person he has become.
These men are punished for sexual behaviors and gender identification that society punishes unfoundedly while also serving as a message to those within this small community as an inspiring piece to give context to feelings unexplored and, perhaps more importantly for the sake of this essay, to reclaim a heritage that they may not be aware they possess. In this pursuit Werther identifies several historical figures, from conquerers to playwrights, that could have identified with the community or cultures where the traits that they are often supressed for posessing are celebrated or accepted with the intent of inspiring and informing his
Whitman uses homosexuality in his poetry to present how sexual experimentation helps individuals develop. The reader should see a person’s sexuality as a development in their life. According to Killingsworth “Complete human beings, especially artists, must transcend themselves during their development
Throughout various mediums, queer and gender portrayals are not shown in the best light. Majority of media show clear negative connotations of homosexuals and queens while constantly being a target of discrimination and ridicule. Though as time went on many writers decided to speak up and gain awareness for queer and gender biases by incorporating messages of societal discrimination in their plays. Much of their ideals were that of how sexual/gender identity portrayal, lifestyle stigma, and preconceived notions of the homosexual community. These ideals were combined in what is called gender studies and queer literary theory. Some of these concepts and ideas of queer and gender theory can be seen throughout the play
Like Vincent van Gogh, Kurt Cobain and River Phoenix, Diane Arbus’s incredible success and early, tragic death have forever immortalised her. However, as with many pop-culture ‘legends’ who are catapulted to fame following the general cacophony surrounding their own tragedies, her premature death often has a way of occluding her art. The legend of Diane Arbus is untouchable. How then, to organise and curate an exhibition of her work that rejects sensationalism? Well, the National Art Gallery has decided to eschew Arbus’s well-told ‘origin myth’ in favour of focusing on her inspirations, her life and her legacy.