Poster
1989 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Haring's earliest work in the form of graffiti was executed in chalk on the blank poster hoardings of the New York Subway system. He subsequently established himself as a gallery artist with an international reputation. As well as working in the more traditional gallery mediums of drawing, painting, collage and print he also designed theatre back drops, record covers and produced many public murals as well as producing and selling smaller affordable items in his own 'Pop Shop' in down town Manhattan. His cartoonish style lends itself particularly well to posters. Haring produced this poster in 1989 a year after his own diagnosis with AIDS. This was also the year in which he established the Keith Haring Foundation in support of children’s charities and organizations involved in education, research and care related to AIDS.
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Health and safety posters
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Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Screenprint |
| Brief description | Poster by Keith Haring entitled 'Ignorance=Fear, Silence=Death'. USA, 1989. |
| Physical description | Poster with three yellow graffiti figures with pink crosses covering their torsos standing in a line. The figure to the left covers their eyes, the middle their ears and the right their mouth. A banner running across the top reads 'IGNORANCE = FEAR' and a banner across the bottom reads 'SILENCE = DEATH' followed by a pink triangle and 'FIGHT AIDS ACT UP'. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Given by Robert D Farber |
| Object history | This poster was given to the museum by artist, photographer and AIDs activist Robert D Farber. He was given the poster by Keith Haring and had it pinned to the wall of his studio in New York. It was taken from his wall for inclusion in the V&A display 'Graphic Responses to Aids'. |
| Summary | Haring's earliest work in the form of graffiti was executed in chalk on the blank poster hoardings of the New York Subway system. He subsequently established himself as a gallery artist with an international reputation. As well as working in the more traditional gallery mediums of drawing, painting, collage and print he also designed theatre back drops, record covers and produced many public murals as well as producing and selling smaller affordable items in his own 'Pop Shop' in down town Manhattan. His cartoonish style lends itself particularly well to posters. Haring produced this poster in 1989 a year after his own diagnosis with AIDS. This was also the year in which he established the Keith Haring Foundation in support of children’s charities and organizations involved in education, research and care related to AIDS. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.82-1996 |
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| Record created | April 20, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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