When your raised in a certain climate sometimes things that seemed regular in hindsight aren’t regular at all especially when your young. You see things like people that look like skeletons trying to sell broken VCR’s , or those same skeleton people breaking into houses at night, or the once prominent basketball player fall from grace because of his addiction. The crack era was like nothing I have ever seen and this mural reflects that. This mural was done in (1986) by Keith Haring. A mural that was created in reference to the crack epidemic that plagued the inner city. I love this mural for a few reasons. Its artistic representation the horrors of drugs, his stylized character design and also because I witnessed how bad that climate really was and art was all I really had. To me this artistic activism brought awareness to a problem that was ignored or swept under the rug . The mural was created without the city’s permission and Haring was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct as often artistic activists are. Another artist painted over Haring’s “crack is wack” so that it read “crack is it”, and the entire mural was painted over by the City Parks Department.
Later when the New York City Commissioner was informed that a famous artist work had been erased he apologized to Haring and offered him several different locations where Haring could paint. Haring’s signature visual style of thick black outlines around hieroglyphic like characters convey movement. The mural displays the word crack is wack in a large cloud of smoke from a crack pipe. Some symbolism is shown as the right side of the mural displays Haring’s character being lowered into the jaws of a monster. I have watched people deteriorate from the outside in after being swallowed by the beast that was crack. Haring’s “crack is wack” mural is one of his more famous pieces for its simplistic but engaging artistic value. His work also spoke volumes regarding social and political issues. His art was more conscious as opposed to the trashy art form graffiti had been labeled around that time. Haring’s mural has since become a New York Landmark.
Hi Antione, I like the mural, bringing forth the awareness of the crack epidemic in the city. The mural represents death if you continue to consume the dangerous drug. This mural showed this artist’s artistic activism to show the city. There is always a certain way the law wants to ignore the problem, but trying to illustrate the problem and help change it will help everyone overall.
I loved that you brought up the crack is wack art. This was a sable in my chidhood, i remembered when they took down the original it was like a big piece of the neighborhood was gone. It was a statement and artistic activism that i didn’t realize when i was a kid.
Thank you for showcasing Haring, he’s one of my favorite artists. I actually have a tracksuit that’s covered with a reproduction of his body painting of Bill T. Jones. It’s obviously a very eye catching thing to wear and garners a lot of attention, but what I love about wearing it most is when people share how meaningful his art was for them in their lives. More often than not it will be an older gay man who lived through the AIDS crisis, another area of activism his art explored.
YES!! I adore Haring and his work is all over the city. The LGBT Center on W 13th Street also has kept the bathroom walls he painted while still living (it’s no longer an actual bathroom). It feels powerful in there. I also just gave my nephew a fabulous book about it (for kids) called Drawing on Walls: A Story of Keith Haring. It’s really great if you want to check it out.