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Keith HaringRare original Keith Haring record art (Keith Haring Crack Is Wack) 1987
1987
About the Item
Rare Keith Haring “Life is Fresh! Crack Is Wack!” 1987:
A rare, highly sought-after 1980s record album featuring original artwork by Keith Haring. Among the most difficult to find of Keith Haring record illustrations.
Keith Haring's cover illustration here for his friend at the time, Bipo, is inspired by his famous 1986 Harlem mural by the same title - perhaps the most famous of all public artworks by Haring. Rare as presented here in nice condition (also includes the original album).
Off-Set Lithograph on vinyl record cover. 1987.
12 x 12 inches (30.48 x 30.48 cm).
Minor shelf-wear; otherwise very good to excellent condition.
Plate signed by Haring on lower left. Scarce from an edition of unknown.
Reverse photo by Haring's close friend, Tseng Kwong Chi.
Well suited for framing. Vinyl record included in very good condition.
Keith Haring Crack Is Wack: A brief history
The historic 1986 mural, done in Haring's signature style of thick black outlines, bright colors and intermingling, cartoon-like bodies, was painted to send a serious anti-drug message to the community.
In the days following its creation, the mural was quickly picked up by the news media, not because of Haring’s arrest — but because of the newsworthiness of crack cocaine and Reagan’s “War on Drugs”. Haring explained: “Every time the news did a story on crack, they would flash to the [mural as a visual]. NBC [even] did a public service announcement using it as a background.”
Close to the court date, the New York Post contacted Haring and asked if they could take a picture of him in front of the mural. In the process, they learned about Haring’s arrest and were shocked. They had no idea he could face jail time.
People immediately came to Haring’s defense. The topic even made the evening news, which prompted Mayor Edward Koch — who was both anti-crack and anti-graffiti — to have to consider the issue. Koch commented that “we have to find somewhere else for Haring to paint.”
Several years after Haring’s untimely death in 1990, the park was officially named the “Crack Is Wack Playground" and put under the protection and jurisdiction of the City Department of Parks and still exists.
Keith Haring Album Art: a brief history:
Whether collaborating with Grace Jones, Andy Warhol, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, regularly frequenting clubs like Paradise Garage alongside close friend Larry Levan, or sketching DJ robots, New York artist and activist Keith Haring’s work was deeply entwined with the music world lending his vision to sounds by everyone from David Bowie to Run DMC. Looking for something cool to complement this work? Please feel free to browse additional items like this from Jean Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, Keith Haring & more on our 1stDibs gallery page.
Related Categories
Keith Haring Graffiti. Street Art. Futura 2000. Kenny Scharf. Keith Haring public art works. Keith Haring murals. Lee Quinones. Crash. Daze. Subway art.
- Creator:Keith Haring (1958-1990, American)
- Creation Year:1987
- Dimensions:Height: 12 in (30.48 cm)Width: 12 in (30.48 cm)Depth: 0.01 in (0.26 mm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:NEW YORK, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU35439200212
Keith Haring
Keith Haring began experimenting with his bold, graphic lines and cartoon-inspired figures on the walls of New York City subway stations in the early 1980s. He called them his “laboratory,” places to develop a radical new aesthetic based on an ideology of creating truly democratic public art.
Haring’s paintings, prints and murals address the universal themes of death, love and sex, as well as contemporary issues he experienced personally, like the crack-cocaine and AIDS epidemics. They derive much of their impact from the powerful contrast between these serious subjects and the joyful, vibrant pictographic language he uses to express them, full of dancing figures, babies, barking dogs, hearts and rhythmic lines, as well as references to pop culture.
To make his art even more accessible, in 1986, Haring opened the Pop Shop in Soho. In a foreshadowing of today’s intermingling of art and fashion, the shop sold merchandise and novelty items featuring imagery by Haring and contemporaries like Kenny Scharf and Jean-Michel Basquiat. While his works sometimes included text, for the most part, he chose to communicate through drawing.
“Drawing is still basically the same as it has been since prehistoric times,” Haring once declared. “It lives through magic.”
Find Keith Haring art on 1stDibs today.
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