Big Picture Big Sound

Short of Universal Appeal

Keith Haring was a very well known and respected artist who succumbed to AIDS in 1991, at the tender age of 31. Even though his life was short, his legacy is strong. I was always very aware of his work even though I didn't know the name of the artist producing the work. It was everywhere in New York City, from the exterior walls of buildings to the walls and floors of the subway system.

Keith was born in the small town of Kutztown, Pennsylvania and from a very young age, his father encouraged him to draw. It was a talent they shared and it bonded them together. When other kids were getting together to play football or another sport, Keith and his friends would gather to draw and swap stories about artists such as Picasso but it was the art of Walt Disney that captured him. After high school he went to the Ivy School of Professional Art, in Pittsburgh, because his parents felt artists can't make a living other than in graphic art. Six months later he knew this wasn't for him and he embarked on a journey that took him to the downtown scene of New York that was exploding in the late 70s and early 80s.

In New York, he found both his artistic voice and his sexual voice, coming to terms with his homosexuality. In 1980, he started drawing in the subways and for the next five years his art was absolutely everywhere. It became part of the fabric of the below surface world of the city. His work soon became the rage of the scene and his life became one of day to day interactions with celebrities like Andy Warhol. Whatever he drew became worth something. He became an art-producing machine. Eventually his artistry made it into the commercial world. He was doing billboards in Times Square and advertising ad work, in addition to his paintings that hung in galleries. His fame quickly became international in scope.

"The Universe of Keith Haring", directed by Christina Clausen, is a quick-paced glimpse into his life. She uses old family snapshots, home videos of Haring and taken by Haring, interviews with his parents, siblings, friends, family members and celebrities to try and give us a look inside Keith. Her success is limited because even though we get a real good feel for his work and its import, we never get a clear picture of what made him tick. One gets the feeling that is not the failing of Ms. Clausen, but rather that the focus is on his work and what his work meant. Yes, there are a few moments where a friend of his gives us at least a slight look into his psyche but it is only a peek. The only annoying interview comes from Yoko Ono, who somehow is forced to tell us of her psychic powers in deciding where a bit of Haring's ashes should be spread. Haring apparently whispered into the gifted ears of Ono after his passing.

"The Universe of Keith Haring" is informative and smooth, except for the director's incessant use of zooming into the eye socket of the first 15 or so people interviewed. It's clever one time. The second time, it's a bit annoying. After that, it is downright abrasive. Thankfully, she drops this "artistic" idiosyncrasy before you want to scream at her.

For those of you who fancy tee-shirts, there is a good chance that you have a Haring drawing on one of them, even if you don't know it. That is how pervasive his reach was, and remains. Arguing the relative talents of artists is not a very objective exercise but there can be little doubt that Haring had a talent that made people take notice of him and his legacy appears cemented in art circles even if his name has never become one as well known as an Andy Warhol.