KEITH HARING, THE BLUEPRINT DRAWINGS 4, THE BLUEPRINT DRAWINGS SERIES, SIGNED SCREEN PRINT, EDITION OF 33, 1990
Created in the artist’s immediately recognisable linear style, The Blueprint Drawings 4 is a print from Keith Haring’s The Blueprint Drawings series from 1990.
Completed the year of Haring’s tragic death by AIDS in 1990, this image cannot be considered outside of the context of sexuality, HIV/AIDS and death. Haring’s faceless figures in this print, characterised only by their erect penises, plays into the idea of anonymous sex as taboo in the homosexual community. As the HIV/AIDS epidemic devastated the gay community in the 1980s, Haring spoke of the horrors that could result from extreme promiscuity at the time. The Blueprint Drawings 3, shows these figures crying for help as they are struck by the UFO one by one, symbolising this fear of dying from the virus.
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.
