KEITH HARING Pop shop VI, 1989

Inspired by the street culture of New York City in the 1980’s, Keith Haring was acclaimed for his Pop Art and Graffiti-like work that has been described as a visual language – Haring's work was often spontaneous and created in subways upon blank, black backgrounds. Haring was politically and socially motivated and used his art to comment on deep-rooted issues within the city such as drug use, sub-cultures, wars and AIDS– Rebel with Many Causes is one of his most popular works and comments on the ignorance and avoidance surrounding AIDS by depicting a ‘hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil’ theme throughout the piece. Artists such as Basquiat and Warhol were among Haring’s influences, alongside Beat writer William Burroughs, with whom Haring collaborated on another AIDS-related piece. Colourful murals and recognisable motifs were heavily employed throughout Haring’s work – as a subway artist, he would often tag his work with the ‘Radiant Child’ - a depiction of a crawling baby emitting rays of light. Less

Inspired by the street culture of New York City in the 1980’s, Keith Haring was acclaimed for his Pop Art and Graffiti-like work that has been described as a visual language – Haring's work was often spontaneous and created in subways upon blank, More