r/ArtHistory • u/kooneecheewah • 1d ago

Other An October 1982 CBS News segment that follows artist Keith Haring as he draws across the New York City subway system before he's arrested by police.

2.3k Upvotes

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172

u/InvaderDepresso 1d ago

My dad and his brother worked in NYC and said they used to see Haring’s subway drawings all the time-they said it was so cool!

193

u/holagatito 1d ago

It’s chalk… like yea technically you aren’t supposed to but fucking New York cops.

64

u/spidersinthesoup 1d ago

were there really blank chalkboards all over back then???

91

u/fakemidnight 1d ago

The black areas are actually paper awaiting new ads

11

u/spidersinthesoup 1d ago

cool...makes sense...thx for your answer!

49

u/Maximum-Benefit4085 Fin-de-siècle 1d ago

I finished his biography Radiant by Brad Gooch just last night, so this is delightful to have this pop up in my feed. Thanks for sharing!

1

u/QueenInYellowLace 2h ago

You’ve gotta read his journal! It was published some years back and is lovely and sad.

21

u/SimpleJackEyesRain 1d ago

Sold piece (1.2 mil.) Recent Auctionof 31 pcs. In-Situwith their vintage subway ad neighbors

3

u/OneSensiblePerson 1d ago

Whoa! Well, good for Keith.

3

u/boppotib 19h ago

if only he hadn't died 35 years ago...

3

u/OneSensiblePerson 19h ago

And here all this time I thought the rumours of his death were gross exaggerations.

24

u/Timmy_Ache 1d ago

Keith Haring was arrested approximately 26 times during his career as an artist

17

u/AllesK 1d ago

Those would be worth quite a bit these days. He was so amazing.

5

u/vaporking23 1d ago

His art style looks familiar. I feel like I’ve seen something like that before. Like two people in red or something. Or one person in red.

4

u/totallytotes_ 13h ago

It was all over in the early 90s, pretty popular on shirts and stuff. If you Google him you can easily find the colored versions

2

u/finnishinsider 22h ago

Aids? Is he the artist who did all that? I'm about to dive into Wikipedia..... never saw his face and now I'm interested in his story

5

u/SchoolLover1880 12h ago

Yup, that was him!

1

u/QueenInYellowLace 2h ago

He was one of the most famous artists in America in the 1970s and 1980s. You’ve likely seen his art—or knockoffs—hundreds of times on tee shirts and ads without realizing it.

10

u/nabiku 1d ago

I don't like Haring's art, but it's cool to see an artist doodling on blank spaces reserved for ads.

2

u/doodlize 22h ago

I actually really like his shirt

2

u/nootnootz2 2h ago

Off topic, but did the news reporter say "short-lived" with a long "i"? That is not how I thought that was pronounced. . .

1

u/kittenmachine69 21h ago

Fascinating! I sometimes day dreamed about graffiti-ing the walls of the red line when I lived in Chicago, but didn't have the courage

1

u/Nightstands 12m ago

Wife grew up in the house next to his in Kutztown

-28

u/UnfilteredFacts 1d ago

"Artist"

1

u/Nighthawkmf 2h ago

Oh, I guess someone can only be called an artist if their art pleases you in specific! The very definition of Art says “*please refer to u/UnfilteredFacts for definition of art” right next to it in the dictionary!