KEITH HARING, THE BLUEPRINT DRAWINGS 1, THE BLUEPRINT DRAWINGS SERIES, SIGNED SCREEN PRINT, EDITION OF 33, 1990
Regarded as the last cohesive project of the artist’s career, The Blueprint Drawings 1 is a print from Keith Haring’s The Blueprint Drawings series from 1990. Originally produced as unique works on paper with Sumi ink, Haring displayed these works in a one-week exhibition in Manhattan in 1980 where not a single drawing was sold. However, he did find success in the sale of several blueprint copies of the original drawings and so revisited the subject in 1990, a month before his tragic death creating a portfolio of 17 screen prints of the original images.
The Blueprint Drawings 1 shows a series of frames rendered in Haring’s iconic linear style, exclusively black rounded lines against a white backdrop, whereby scenes of genderless figures, dogs and UFOs play out as a vision of chaos. Haring makes explicit references to sex, religion, death and AIDS as a means to confront the viewer with difficult issues of the time.
Speaking of the difference between his subways drawings and his studio prints Haring has said: ‘I do use a little moral discretion between what I put on the street and what I put on the subway. The things in the studio obviously have more sex. But I think it’s inevitable that the subway drawings have it too because it’s part of my life and part of the rest of the body of work.’
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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.
