KEITH HARING, DOG (BLACK), DOG SERIES, SIGNED SCREEN PRINT ON PLYWOOD, EDITION OF 15, 1986
Keith Haring’s signed screen print on plywood from his Dog series (1986) shows a piece of plywood cut into the shape of one of the artist’s trademark symbols, the barking dog. Haring uses a limited colour palette of black and white to cover the plywood in a complex print of humanoids, deformed animals and tv screens.
First appearing in his subway drawing series from 1980-1985, the barking dog became an iconic symbol by Haring to represent authoritarian government, abuse of power and oppressive regimes. Within the shape of the standing dog, Haring creates a dizzying frenzy of pictograms in a fluid composition from the crawling baby in the lower left foot, through to the anthropomorphic dogs dancing on men. Dispersed throughout are human figures branded with the letter X, a symbol of death, possibly characterising them as targets of an oppressive regime or the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
This chaotic visual scene created by Haring is exemplary of the way in which he responded to socio-political events of 1980s New York such as the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the Cold War and the crack epidemic. Haring’s interconnected pattern of menacing creatures that decorate the standing dog figure makes clear this often overlooked oppression of society in relation to abuse of power by government.
Read more about Dog 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.
