KEITH HARING, UNTITLED (DOGS WITH UFOS), SIGNED LITHOGRAPH, EDITION OF 40, 1982
Completed near the beginning of his prolific career, Untitled (Dogs with UFOs) is a lithograph from 1982 by Keith Haring. This print is rendered in Haring’s signature graphic style and shows three of his trademark dog icons with two UFOs striking the central dog with its radiating beams.
The barking dog has become an iconic symbol created by Haring, first appearing in his subway drawing series from 1980-1985. Emerging as a symbol to represent authoritarian government, abuse of power and oppressive regimes, this print speaks to the way in which Haring warns the viewer of those in power throughout much of his oeuvre.
Haring uses dots in this print to convey the otherness of homosexuality and illness, specifically AIDS, and he depicts this process of transmission as originating from the UFOs in the sky. For Haring, UFOs symbolised forbidden desire, fertility, virility, authority, divinity and estrangement, working to convey the feeling of being human and animal and alien all at once. Through his use of graphic dots and emanating lines, Haring depicts infection from illness as radiant and energised thus subverting traditional HIV/AIDS narratives.
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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.
