Art Avenue: Haring & Basquiat

By: Ashley Wells

Basquiat (left) & Haring (right) at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, 1987

Keith Haring Early Work: Subway Drawing, chalk on paper, 1983

No matter where it’s found, art is everywhere. According to the Cluj Cultural Center, art consumption reached an all-time high during the pandemic. Despite the millions of artists who create every day, there are arguably none quite as recognizable for their signature styles as 80s art scene phenomena Keith Haring and Jean-Michael Basquiat.

Keith Haring: Beginnings

Haring’s signature style of eye-catching, bright, and colorful characters can be spotted anywhere from his collaboration with Doc Martens, to his vast array of hand painted public murals all around the world. Haring began showing an interest in art at a very young age, and learned basic skills from his father, who drew comics as a hobby. He grew fond of cartoons like Mickey Mouse, the Looney Toons, and Dr. Seuss. After high school, Haring enrolled into the Ivy School of Professional Art in his home state of Pennsylvania, where he eventually dropped out after realizing he had no interest in commercial graphic design. He found himself inspired by graffiti in the subway stations of New York after moving to the East Village, and eventually began contributing to them himself. It’s said that at one point, Haring was making 70 pieces per day and adding them to empty poster holders all around the subway. It was here where Haring found his true passion for publicizing art. Haring skyrocketed in popularity after becoming involved with the East Village art scene, which hosted fellow artist Jean-Michael Basquiat, with whom Haring would develop a deep and meaningful friendship.

Crossing Lines: Jean-Michael Basquiat

Basquiat was a smaller artist, known at the time for his collaborative character “SAMO” (pronounced same-oh) created with fellow graffiti artist Al Diaz. Coming to fruition during Basquiat and Diaz’s high school career, SAMO was an old man who tried to sell fake religion to audiences. It started as a joke between friends and grew to a global scale when Basquiat began tagging it on buildings, public toilets, and elevators around SoHo and Lower Manhattan. After a nasty falling out, the tags changed to “SAMO IS DEAD." Haring invested in the storyline and hosted a fake wake for SAMO at Club 57 in the East Village, a hot spot for those in New York’s new-wave art scene.

Jean-Michael Basquiat, "SAMO IS DEAD" sign, Lower Manhattan, late 70s.

Untitled, 1980: Keith Haring and Jean-Michael Basquiat

Keith Haring, Untitled (Silence=Death), 1985

Activism Through Art

Basquiat and Haring’s art shared a similar purpose-they were both activists, and used their art as a platform to broadcast struggles within society that they were passionate about. The bulk of Haring’s art focused on AIDS, but he also made pieces focusing on deforestation, Apartheid, racism, and government criticism. Basquiat’s art consistently focused on the struggles of people of color in the United States during the 70s and 80s. His crown motif, which is seen in many of his pieces, was meant to paint black people as kings and saints. These similarities allowed for seamless collaboration between the two artists, who shared studio space and became close friends. Haring and Basquiat’s friendship can be described as something of a rivalry, as they continuously challenged each other to become the best artists that they could.

Struggles of Success

Haring and Basquiat enjoyed nearly parallel success before their deaths, both conquering their own respective niches within the art community and pioneering styles that are still widely known to this day. Basquiat is widely regarded to be the first black fine artist to gain national acclaim, as well as being the youngest artist to host a solo exhibition.

Despite being something of a prodigy in the art world, Basquiat struggled with the pressure of being a first-of-his-kind artist-although he could easily fill up any New York art gallery at the height of his career-cabs would pass him by as he hailed them on. He experienced racism outside of the art world, as well as within its walls. His prodigy status was exploited by the white art collectors who would offer him drugs in exchange for his artwork. Basquiat struggled with addiction through his adult years, and on August 12th, 1988 at the age of 27 years old, he was found dead of a heroin overdose in his Manhattan apartment. Friends and family of the late artist contribute the stress of maintaining his character as a black artist in a predominantly white art world.

In a tribute to his late friend, Haring created A Pile of Crowns for Jean-Michel Basquiat, a nod to the motif which helped distinguish Basquiat as a name in the art world. In a lovingly-crafted obituary commissioned by Vogue, Haring wrote of Basquiat; “The supreme poet. Every action is symbolic, every moment an event.” Dealing with his own failing health, Haring was diagnosed with AIDS shortly after Basquiat’s passing. In the two short years before his death, he created art at a rate which he never had before. He opened the Keith Haring Foundation before his passing, aimed at funding research for a cure for AIDS. At the young age of 31, Haring passed away, but not before creating at least 10,000 pieces of work in his lifetime.

New York Times obituary for Jean-Michael Basquiat, 1960-1988

A Pile of Crowns for Jean-Michael Basquiat, 1988, Keith Haring.

Defacement (The Death of Michael Stewart), 1983, Jean-Michael Basquiat

Tiffany & Co. 2021 Fall Campaign, featuring Basquiat's "Equal's Pi" & Beyonce and Jay-Z

Keith Haring for Doc Martens - Junior 1460 Leather Lace up Boots

(Art) Life After Death

Haring and Basquiat were shooting stars in the sky of the art world.Their time was far too brief, but their mark will stay for generations to come. The commercialization of their artwork may dilute the meaning of certain works, but it helps immortalize art that would otherwise be lost to circumstance. Haring himself even opened a Pop Shop in SoHo before his death to sell buttons, t-shirts, postcards, and more, with his most recognizable pieces of artwork on them. Art is a universal language spoken by all; Haring and Basquiat invented a dialect which spoke directly to the heart of the underprivileged and undermined within society. The art of Keith Haring and Jean-Michael Basquiat will continue to live on as a catalyst for meaningful change within society, and once that change arrives, it will serve as a reminder of all of the progress that's been made to get to that point.

A letter from Keith Haring to a young Basquiat

"It's not who you are that holds you back - it's who you think you're not"

- Jean-Michael Basquiat