Keith Haring was driven by a fervent desire to communicate. His work -- built from an iconic language of signature lines and symbols -- continues to reach out to the broadest of audiences, dissolving the boundary between fine art and popular culture, between the gallery and the street. His first retrospective on the West Coast, Keith Haring -- an exhibition of more than 130 works -- will be on view at SFMOMA from May 8 through September 8, 1998. The show spans Haring's career, from his beginnings in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, to his discovery of the thriving urban culture of New York City, to his final days as an internationally recognized public artist and social activist. The range of art and artifacts on display includes childhood doodles, rescued subway drawings, large-scale paintings, and ephemera relevant to Haring's life. Produced in conjunction with the exhibition, the following Web feature focuses on Haring as a public artist. Despite his death from AIDS at age 31, Haring was a prolific artist and his vibrant contribution to our cultural landscape deserves close inspection. Other Haring resources on the Web: Haring.com and Keith Haring at the Whitney Museum of American Art. This exhibition is sponsored by Swatch. Media sponsor: San Francisco Chronicle. Online sponsor: SF Gate. Education programs for the exhibition at SFMOMA are made possible by the Keith Haring Foundation. Additional support is provided by James C. Hormel and Timothy C. Wu, Shirley Ross Davis, Judy and John Webb, the Golden Gate Business Association, and the San Francisco Pride Committee. Keith Haring was organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. Support was provided by the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation.		Untitled, 1981. Collection of Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York. © Estate of Keith Haring.
	Copyright © 1998 San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.