Although Haring was known to be conspicuous of the technologies of his time, UFOs came to represent something more positive and empowering. Haring presents scenes of otherworldly chaos throughout The Blueprint Drawings, notably in his incorporation of UFOs in the sky, ancient Egyptian pyramids and radiating energy lines. Often Haring would allude to these themes through the depiction of an extra-terrestrial or otherworldly landscape, as a form of escapism but also to shed light on the empowering effects of ‘otherness’. Successfully dissolving the boundaries between high and low art, The Blueprint Drawings are a great example of the way in which Haring worked to merge his highly recognisable icons together with a unique visual language to express complex socio-political events in a succinct manner.ĭiagnosed with AIDS in 1988, the subject of HIV/AIDS epidemic, illness, homosexuality and otherness dominated the latter part of Haring’s career. Heavily inspired by and admiring of the graffiti artists around New York at the time, Haring sought to create easily readable subjects through the highly technical process of printmaking. Additionally, like much of his other work, the prints in this series were left untitled, thus leaving the viewer with an open-ended visual language to be honestly interpreted without bias. The striking simplicity of the series works to confront these complex themes head-on and it is clear that Haring is unafraid to use explicit sexual imagery throughout. Throughout The Blueprint Drawings series there are images of radiating bodies, dotted landscapes and figures, UFO’s, barking dogs and penetration that come together to form an ambiguous narrative on homosexuality, otherness, and death. Incorporating some of his most recognisable figurative motifs, this series of prints is rendered exclusively in black and white in Haring’s trademark linear style. However, he did find success in the sale of several blueprint copies of the original drawings and so revisited the subject in 1990, a month before his tragic death creating a portfolio of 17 screen prints of the original images. Originally produced as unique works on paper with Sumi ink, Haring displayed these works in a one-week exhibition in Manhattan in 1980 where not a single drawing was sold. The monochrome, almost comic-strip style Blueprint Drawings are considered the last cohesive project of Haring’s career, screen printed in 1990.
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