Keith Haring
Inflatable Baby, 1985
Inflatable
Courtesy of Mary Goodwin, director of Aurora Photo Center
Artist Keith Haring first gained notoriety by making subway graffiti in New York City. His simplified linear drawings of humans, dogs, fish, and aliens were well suited for the fast-paced necessities of illegal street art. Even after he became famous in the art world, he continued to find ways to make his art accessible to all, including objects like this inflatable that could be purchased for a relatively modest price. This inflatable depicts a commonplace motif in Haring’s art creation: a “radiant baby.” For the artist, a baby was the ultimate symbol of potential, innocence, and creativity. Rather than lying inert, it crawls forward, exploring its surroundings. Haring was diagnosed with HIV in 1987, after which time he focused his energy on raising awareness and funds to stop this insidious pandemic. He used similar human forms as seen in this inflatable on posters for AIDS Awareness groups like ACT UP. In the face of the prejudice experienced by many living with HIV and AIDS, the radiant baby provided a hopeful and positive view of humanity. Haring himself died of AIDS-related complications in 1990.
"Inflatable Baby" was marketed and sold through the Pop Shop, a
commercial venue established by Keith Haring in 1986 as an extension of his work, going so far as to cover the walls and ceiling in large scale murals. It was an avenue through which he could bring his iconic designs within the reach of the broadest public audience available. Materials sold through the Pop Shop contained the logo of the store, seen on the right, which you can see on the box of the Inflatable Baby. The Manhattan location survived on Lafayette Street until 2005, when increasing rent made the location cost-prohibitive.
Image Credits: Keith Haring, 1986. Wikimedia Commons.
The logo of the Pop Shop is copyright of the Keith Haring Foundation and is used under Fair Use, one time, at low resolution, for the purpose of identification and critical commentary.
To learn more about Keith Haring's use of commercial venues to widely disseminate art, see the published selected writing from the Keith Haring Foundation on the 2006 Tampa Museum of Art Exhibition, "Keith Haring: Art and Commerce" written by Jade Dellinger.
To learn more about Keith Haring, check out his Wikipedia article.
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