KEITH HARING, APOCALYPSE 9, APOCALYPSE SERIES, SIGNED SCREEN PRINT, EDITION OF 90, 1988
Making up one of the artist’s most compelling works, Apocalypse 9 is a screen print from Keith Haring’s Apocalypse series (1989). Showing a demonic head, ‘devil sperm’ and a naked man hanging upside down from his feet, this print is created with bright splashes of green, red and yellow and thick, bold lines.
Haring uses collage to embed a 19th century portrait of Saint Fabiola into the print and form the head of a deformed creature. Fabiola was a nurse and Roman matron who renounced all earthly pleasures to devote her immense wealth to helping the poor and sick. Contextualising the original image within the chaotic scene through his pop-graffiti style, Haring uses this historical imagery and high culture to provoke dialogue on contemporary concerns with HIV/AIDS.
Two of Haring’s most cited works of influence, Dante’s Inferno and Hieronymus Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights, come to the forefront in this image. In Apocalypse 9 the end of the world is strongly linked to the ongoing HIV/AIDS epidemic. Dante and Bosch’s works are famous for their moralistic tone and Haring is citing these works, in his distinct cynical approach, to present a dire warning on the perils of sexual joy.
Read more about Apocalypse by Keith Haring.
ABOUT KEITH HARING
Known for his bold graphic style and playful sense of humour, Keith Haring is one of the most influential and adored artists of the 20th century.
Born in Pennsylvania, in 1958, Haring was a talented draughtsman as a child and developed his cartoonish style at the hands of his father and the work of Walt Disney and Dr Seuss. However it would take some time before he realised he could marry this kind of drawing with being a fine artist. Upon graduating from high school he enrolled in a commercial art school before realising he had little interest in pursuing a career as an illustrator or graphic designer. After dropping out of college he joined the hippie movement and hitchhiked across the country where he made anti-Nixon t-shirts to pay for food and Grateful Dead tickets. Learn more about Keith Haring.
