annieb123's Review of Keith Haring (Lives of the Artists)

by Simon Doonan

Keith Haring was a revolutionary artist, who transformed the art world during his short but impactful life. Brought to life by Simon Doonan, Creative Director for Barneys New York, this new pocket-sized biography tells his inspirational story.

Revolutionary and renegade, Keith Haring was an artist for the people, creating an instantly recognisable repertoire of symbols - barking dogs, space-ships, crawling babies, clambering faceless people - which became synonymous with the volatile culture of 1980s. Like a careening, preening pinball, Keith Haring playfully slammed into all aspects of this decade - hip-hop, new-wave, graffiti, funk, art, style, gay culture - and brought them together.

Haring's fanatical drive propelled him into the orbit of the most interesting people of his time: Jean Michel Basquiat envied him; Warhol, William Boroughs and Grace Jones collaborated with him. Madonna and he shared the same tastes in men. Famous at 25, dead from AIDS at 31, Keith Haring is remembered as a Pied Piper, an unpretentious communicator who appeared happiest when mentoring a gang of kids, arming them with brushes and attacking the nearest wall.

A series of brief biographies of the great artists, Lives of the Artists takes as its inspiration Giorgio Vasari's five-hundred-year-old masterwork, updating it with modern takes on the lives of key artists past and present. Focusing on the life of the artist rather than examining their work, each book also includes key images illustrating the artist's life. Hardbound, but pocket-sized, the books each sport a specially-commissioned portrait of their subject on the half-jacket.

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Keith Haring is a very short and accessible biography of the artist/icon written by Simon Doonan. Due out 23rd Feb 2021 from Laurence King, it's 128 pages and will be available in a pocket sized hardcover edition.

This is a volume in the Lives of the Artists series of short biographies. Written in chatty and exuberant language, the style suits Haring's ebullient life and work. It's a small book, and as such doesn't go into much detail, but it provides a nice intro to Haring's world, his meteoric rise to influence, and his all too short life and career. The book isn't illustrated, but there are a number of well annotated photographs of Haring himself, collaborators, friends, and tantalizing glimpses of the rarefied world he inhabited.

This was a very short but informative read. It's stuffed full of name-dropping celebrities and famous (infamous) parties from the 80s. I had a great deal of nostalgia reading this one, and well remember how much I loved his art and style the first time around (saving for months to afford a Haring Swatch watch).

The book includes a very short bibliography for further reading and an index.

Four stars. This would make a good classroom/library selection, gift, or home library acquisition.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Keith Haring (Lives of the Artists)

by Simon Doonan

Reviewed by annieb123 on Jan 18, 2021

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