Keith Haring at Musee d'Art Moderne

Friday June 27 was another cloudy day with a few drizzles of rain thrown in.  Our main destination for the day was the Keith Haring: The Political Line exhibit at the Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris.

First, I took a photo of Shirley on the bridge over the Seine nearest to our apartment for Kaliyana, the Toronto store where she bought her suit.

Shirley on bridge over the Seine

We took the Metro to the Musee d'Art Modern.  Just as we got close, we noticed a number of photographers hanging outside the front of the Palais de Tokyo, the contemporary art museum that is next door to the Modern Art museum.  A number of fashionable folks were also hanging out.  We figured that there must be an event from Men's Fashion Week happening at the Palais.


                                    Very cool socks and shoes

                       Pretty Cool

  Photographer with Style

We went next door to the Keith Haring exhibit.  The focus of the exhibit was the political dimension of Haring's work.  There were 230 pieces of work.  We hadn't realized how politically engaged Haring was.  He donated posters to the anti-aparheid and anti nuclear movements.  His work had a lot more depth than the marketing.  His works targeted racism, homophobia, social injustice and environmental issues.  

Haring was born in 1958 in Reading, Pennsylvania and started drawing when he was four years old.  His father also drew.  He was influenced early in his career by Jean Dubuffet and Pierre Alechinsky.  We learned that when he was young, he often drew comics and storyboards. He was a compulsive drawer.  He used unbroken black lines and many symbols including a Radiant Baby, barking dog and flying saucer.  He studied both art and symbiotics in New York City and started by doing subway art from 1980-1985.  He collaborated with LA11, a graffiti artist in the early 1980s.  He became an overnight sensation at 24, with an exhibit of tarps from the back of trucks at Tony Shafrazi's gallery in New York City in 1982.

Haring died of AIDs at age 31 in 1990.  The exhibit was a real eye-opener and we all have a better appreciation of what Haring was trying to accomplish with his work.  Most of his work was untitled as he wanted the viewer to come to their own conclusions about the works.

                                1984- done for the Musee d'Art Moderne

Everybody knows where meat comes from. It comes from the store- 1978

1982

                Breaking the baton of oppression

The following work was done shortly after John Lennon was murdered.  Haring had a dream about Lennon and produced this painting, picturing a man with dogs leaping through his stomach.

                                                  1982

1980

                                                                    1981 (with exploding head)

The following picture features a monkey, with people slavishly obeying him.  Haring wanted to show how people would follow others without thinking.  He also made many pieces of art dealing with the perils of blind religiosity, railing against organized religion, which he distinguished from faith.

 1985

                                                                            1982  Untitled (a recurring theme was the individual against the State)

Andy Mouse-New Coke 1985

Andy Mouse was Andy Warhol

Anti US/Capitalism painting

Crack is Wack  (Haring is pictured in the foreground).

It is ironic that I recently saw a poster with Crack is Wack in a small gallery on Queen West with a reference to Mayor Rob Ford.  I had forgotten that Keith Haring had used that slogan in his anti crack paintings.   

Haring also painted on huge vases and other medium for his art, such as this bust below.

While we were at the museum we saw a few groups of school children going through the exhibit. 

School kids at exhibit

                                                                                  Very strong anti capitalist piece 1984

                                                                                Andy Mouse Bill 1986

1984 Poster done for Anti-Apartheid movement- with black man breaking his chains

Showing the destruction of the planet 1989

A Pile of Crowns for Jean-Michel Basquiat 1988

                                                                              Untitled (Self-Portrait) 1985
                                                                   
Haring was diagnosed as HIV positive in 1988 and became heavily involved with Act Up (the activist group) and produced many works in the last few years of his life dealing with the AIDS epidemic.

Silence = Death 1988  (black and white images to the left referenced the work of James Ensor)   

Toby in front of 1984 work

Unfinished picture 1989

For Haring, drawing was a political act and during the last months of his life, an act of resistance against death.  The audio guide and commentary revealed a Keith Haring, that was far, far more complex and politically engaged than the colourful graphics.

After the exhibit, we took some pictures on the nearby bridge with the Eiffel Tower in the background.  More fashion shots of Shirley.

Alain and Toby

Shirley in front of Tour Eiffel

We walked up Rue Montaigne where the Canadian Embassy is located, and then walked up the Champs d'Elysee to the Arc de Triomphe.  Too many big box stores but since we were in the neighbourhood, we checked it out.

Dior window

Alain in front of Laduree

                                                                             Louie Vuitton window-- the Skeleton ate my Bag

We took the Metro back to the apartment and took a picture of the new street sign alongside the ancient sign of the street where our apartment is located.  It is great staying on such an old street with a sense of history.

                                                           Rue de Bievre-- our street

                                                       

Shirley made us a sausage dinner with French beans.  Alain made the salad and we had treats for dessert.   I'm finishing the post on Saturday June 29.  It was raining earlier this morning, but seems to be clearing.