KEITH HARING, THE BLUEPRINT DRAWINGS 13, THE BLUEPRINT DRAWINGS SERIES, SIGNED SCREEN PRINT, EDITION OF 33, 1990
This screen print, The Blueprint Drawings 13, is from Keith Haring’s The Blueprint Drawings series from 1990 and shows a set of four frames in the graphic of a comic strip or storyboard. In this print, Haring uses his strikingly graphic pictograms made up of simplistic shapes, so as to create an image that is highly recognisable to the viewer.
The Blueprint Drawings 13 shows an otherworldly sequence of images with a UFO in the first frame, followed by images of genderless figures running away and jumping into a hole in the ground. In Haring’s work the UFO has come to symbolise the presence of unknown forces and an extra-terrestrial future. In particular the UFO represents otherness and those who lie outside of social norms, notably those who live with HIV/AIDS and face the stigma attached to the virus.
Reminiscent of Haring’s subway drawings from the early 1980s that only appeared as related sequences when viewers passed them on their way through the corridors. In The Blueprint Drawings series the artist was able to bring together individual scenes on a single print to create an entire storyline. In doing this, Haring could begin to communicate more complex ideas through the use of his graphic symbols.
Read more about The Blueprint Drawings 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.
