Tate Liverpool Study Day: Keith Haring - Silence = Death
KEITH HARING: SILENCE=DEATH
A University of Liverpool Continuing Education study day by Dr Lee Kendall
Saturday 6 July, 10.30 to 4.30 at Tate Liverpool, Albert Dock
Keith Haring (1958-1990), in his short career, went from counterculture rebel within the artistic community centred in New York City’s East Village to international art star. Tate Liverpool’s exhibition Keith Haring (14 June until 10 November 2019) is not only the first major retrospective of this artist in the UK, it also serves to highlight the artistic community from which he emerged and explores how a 1980s artistic/political sub-culture became popular culture and a commodified art form. Haring was inspired by democratic, public street art, such as graffiti and murals, and his career helped to shift attitudes and valuations around those kinds of creations. Early on, he associated with like-minded figures who were part of New York’s underground club culture, such as Madonna, and apart from the conventional gallery and museum system, such as Jean-Michel Basquiat. Eventually he was collaborating with a wide array of artists, including Andy Warhol, David Bowie, Grace Jones and Vivienne Westwood. One of the most important expressions of Haring’s powers of communication was his work as an artist-activist, particularly in addressing the growing AIDS crisis in the 1980s. Haring produced the widely-recognised, simple but powerful design “Ignorance=Fear, Silence=Death” in 1989. He said, “Actually this is my predicament. But I'm going to use my remaining time on the earth to educate, to make work and be as open as I can be about my situation.” Haring died of the disease in 1990.
At Tate Liverpool, Haring’s vibrant 1980s world is re-created with over 70 works of art from international collections, including large canvas paintings and chalk subway drawings. The show features contextual works by Haring’s contemporaries along with video installations, archival materials, printed posters, flyers, photography and other documents. To help make sense of such a richly dense and exciting exhibition, join art historian Dr Lee Kendall at Tate Liverpool in a Saturday study day organised by Continuing Education in collaboration with our partners, Tate Liverpool. Lee will provide illustrated lectures and group discussions, as well as a guided tour of the exhibition. Entry to the exhibition is included in the course fee.
To book a place on this study day click here