Keith Haring
Blueprint Drawing 10 (Littmann PP. 180) , 1990
-
Complete Sets
Keith Haring
The Blueprint Drawings (Complete Set), 1990Set of 17 screen prints
Each signed, numbered and datedVarious (From 42 x 46 to 42 x 79 in)
Various (From 106.7 × 116.8 cm to 106.7 × 200.7 cm)Edition of 33 (Each)Series: The Blueprint DrawingsCopyright The ArtistFurther images
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 1
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 2
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 3
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 4
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 5
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 6
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 7
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 8
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 9
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 10
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 11
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 12
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 13
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 14
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 15
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 16
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 17
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 18
)
The Blueprint Drawings is a powerful portfolio of seventeen prints created over several weeks in 1980, which Keith Haring revisited again in 1990, the final year of his life. Ambitious...The Blueprint Drawings is a powerful portfolio of seventeen prints created over several weeks in 1980, which Keith Haring revisited again in 1990, the final year of his life. Ambitious in both scale and execution, the works are based on photostats of original drawings made by Haring using Sumi ink on vellum. The series is notable for its experimental approach: it marked the first time Haring employed this blueprint-style medium, while also reimagining many of the recurring visual motifs that defined his practice. The resulting images are among the most striking and uncompromising in Haring’s oeuvre.
A sense of violence and chaos runs throughout the portfolio. Haring’s figures tumble down staircases, are pursued and attacked by dogs, and hang suspended by their feet. Fear and panic permeate the scenes as the figures flee both dogs and looming spaceships—symbols that broadly suggest forces of “otherness” or an overwhelming non-human power. In the second plate of the series, a crowd of figures appears to be assaulted by descending spacecraft, while beneath a staircase a pile of bodies accumulates and a decapitated figure hangs lifelessly above them. The imagery is stark and unsettling, presenting a direct confrontation with mortality—an especially poignant theme as Haring himself was living with AIDS and witnessing the illness claim the lives of many friends and fellow artists.
Structurally, each print is arranged in a grid-like composition reminiscent of a comic strip. The scenes unfold across panels of varying sizes; in some plates, such as plate seven, the format narrows its focus to a single moment, intensifying the depiction of suffering and vulnerability. While Haring had used a similar panelled structure in works like the Pop Shop Quads, here the familiar, almost childlike visual language stands in stark contrast to the dark and disturbing subject matter, heightening the emotional impact of the series.
Related artworks-
-
Keith HaringBlueprint Drawing 13 (Littmann PP. 181) , 1990
-
Keith HaringBlueprint Drawing 7 (Littmann PP. 178) , 1990
-
Keith HaringBlueprint Drawing 3 (Littmann PP. 176) , 1990
-
Keith HaringBlueprint Drawing 14 (Littmann PP. 182) , 1990
-
Keith HaringBlueprint Drawing 11 (Littmann PP. 180) , 1990
-
Keith HaringBlueprint Drawing 16 (Littmann PP. 183) , 1990
-
Keith HaringBlueprint Drawing 17 (Littmann PP. 183) , 1990
-
Keith HaringBlueprint Drawing 8 (Littmann PP. 179), 1990
-
Keith HaringBlueprint Drawing 6 (Littmann PP. 178) , 1990
-
Keith HaringBlueprint Drawing 15 (Littmann PP. 182), 1990
-
Keith HaringBlueprint Drawing 1 (Littmann PP. 174 - 175), 1990 1990
-
Keith HaringBlueprint Drawing 9 (Littmann PP. 179) , 1990
-
Keith HaringBlueprint Drawing 2 (Littmann PP. 176) , 1990
-
Keith HaringBlueprint Drawing 5 (Littmann PP. 177) , 1990
-
Keith HaringBlueprint Drawing 12 (Littmann PP. 181) , 1990
-
Keith HaringBlueprint Drawing 4 (Littmann PP. 177) , 1990
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 1
)
