Tate Modern Uses Keith Haring's Original Journals in Short Film
As part of the museum’s ongoing “TateShots” series.
TateShots, a series of short films exploring art and artists, has released a new video on Keith Haring. Utilizing quotes from his original journals kept between 1971 and 1989, ‘I’m Glad I’m Different’ offers insight into the life of an artist whose iconic style came to mark New York City’s street culture in the 1980s.
Voiced by Kyle Soller, the film explores how graffiti, pop art and hip hop culture inspired Haring’s work. “I wanted to let people experience art without having to feel inhibited,” the artist wrote. “It is art that is somewhat less serious and less untouchable.” He worked alongside like-minded artists such as Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat, designed fashion lines with Vivienne Westwood and created record covers for David Bowie.
Creating art that responded to social and political issues such as racism, homophobia, AIDS awareness and drug addiction, Haring tackled challenging subjects in a simplified and accessible way. Haring wrote, “I hope my generation will be able to carry on the “magic” that this previous generation has excavated and gently tried to teach us. They have liberated a part of us that is too important to be dismissed and passed over.”
Watch TateShots’ entire video on Keith Haring above.
In related news, Keith Haring’s 85-foot Grace House mural will go up for auction next month.
