keith haring paints grace jones

i am torn between feeling both strange about and excited by the fact that this season keith haring has become, dare i say, trendy?! in the early 1980s, while enrolled in art school, haring discovered the thriving alternative art scene in new york, which worked outside of the system and took to the streets and subways. he made is mark with his own brand of bold and vibrant chalk drawings, creating hundreds, at times up to 40 in one day. haring died in 1990 from AIDS complications, and has since become as iconic as his counterpart jean-michel basquiat, or his own mentor, andy warhol. so i suppose it shouldn't come as much of a surprise now, with this whole resurgence of nineties "cool", that his art is resurrecting yet again by means of fashion. i myself enjoy it for nostalgic purposes; however, i do seriously wonder if the youngsters these brands are targeting will have any idea whatsoever just who he was or what he stood for.

at karmaloop we not only sell a line of keith haring jewelry by the brand noir, but we are also carrying wall decals by blik walgraphics, and tee shirts from the brands public library & trash and luxury. 

shoe designer, nicholas kirkwood, will be coming out with a line of kicks come february of 2011. it's a 12 piece collection which came to be after the designer was inspired by viewing a documentary which portrayed the artist's prolific life. he thus approached the keith haring foundation to pitch his idea. functional? perhaps not. awesome? oh yes.

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