Angel

Much like fellow graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, Haring reuses particular symbols, all present in the Icons series, to produce a memorable pictorial language. The angel is an image used repeatedly by Haring, in works such as Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1984) and Anti-Nuclear Rally (1982), to speak to the ambiguities and socio-political injustices of the time. Angel overflows with paradoxical themes like life and death, good and evil, religion and sexuality, heaven and hell. This paradox is further exemplified when considered alongside other prints in the Icons series, notably Flying Devil.

Haring produces a set of recognisable positive symbols and clear-cut narrative views in his use of simplified form and repetition of images from previous works. Angel communicates the fragile line between life and death by emphasising the existence of heaven with the uplifting image of a dancing cartoon angel. This is particularly pertinent within the context of the AIDS epidemic, Haring’s own AIDS diagnosis in 1988 and his preoccupation with end of the world narratives amidst anti-nuclear debates. Indicative of his prevailing interest in the manipulative power of religious imagery, Angel becomes a biblical metaphor for heaven, life and, by extension, death.